11-12-23 Proper 27A – George Yandell
The passage we heard today is Joshua’s last will and testament. He assembled all the people at Shechem and challenged them to choose whether they would serve Yahweh alone. The people had been worshipping Yahweh as well as other gods, and Yahweh wanted all or nothing. If the tribes chose to serve Yahweh only, there was no falling back to old gods.
Joshua repeatedly warned all the tribes, their elders, heads, judges, and officers that if they chose Yahweh, Yahweh would not forgive them if they returned to their old ways. “God is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. He will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” The people cried out loudly their desire to serve Yahweh. The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” So Joshua led the people to enter into a covenant with God, similar to the covenant their parents had entered into at Sinai. Joshua wrote their promise with God in the book of the Law of God. After the people dispersed to their territories, Joshua died.
It is true of all believers – we need to renew our covenant with God regularly, else we fall off in our faith, and forget the vows we have made. That’s what we did last Sunday in both services. Each Sunday we recite the Nicene Creed which is included in our baptismal covenant. It’s most important to note how different from the Israelites’ our covenant with God is. The Great Thanksgiving makes reference to that Covenant, quoting Jesus: “This is my blood of the new Covenant which is shed for you & for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
In remembering what Jesus did in his death and resurrection, we repeat the ancient Jewish tradition of remembering the acts of salvation God has wrought. A Jew was one who through holy remembering, had crossed the Red Sea and entered the promised land. The heritage and hopes of the Jewish people were the individual’s heritage and hopes. A holy remembering of the mighty acts of God was basic to Jewish blessings which reminded God of what God had done in the past. It was a dialogue that asked God to continue to act as God had acted in the past. [Adapted from pp. 366-7 from Commentary on the American Prayer Book, Dr. Marion Hatchett, Harper Collins, 1995.]
When we hear Jesus say ‘New Covenant’, it is not only for his disciples to remember, but to participate NOW in entering the sacrifice of his life and his resurrection into new life. We are not simply to recall his actions, but to enter them as a present reality. We have entered the kingdom Jesus promised, tho’ it is not yet fully realized. [ibid]
Where Joshua’s covenant reminded Israel how unforgiving God is, our covenant acknowledges that we do fall into sin, and whenever we repent, God forgives us. Where Joshua’s intends to keep Israel separate from the surrounding people, we state that we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves. Where Joshua’s covenant celebrated Israel’s domination of Canaan, we vow to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. Where the covenant of Israel at Shechem confirmed Israel’s strict adherence to the law of Moses, we pledge to proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ.
There are many in churches today who would push us back toward the judgmental, unforgiving, dominating, exclusive Joshua-type faith. They call themselves ‘orthodox’, and the rest of us ‘revisionists.’ To tell the truth, the great revisionist was Jesus, giving himself on the cross for all God’s people, then rising to carry us into the new life of grace. He spread disorder wherever he went, whenever he met people and told them of the coming Kingdom. He never pushed correct belief, but invited people to practice the Way God had opened, to do the things Jesus himself did. Jesus raised us all with him, putting behind us the fear of being cast off by God and he dismissed the need to besiege those who believe differently from us. Christ comes now with open arms, to embrace the sinner and love the world God created. He sows gratitude and grace among his followers.
Renewing our covenant each Sunday does have this important similarity to Joshua’s: We need to witness each other’s statements of faith, and hold each other accountable. It is only as the people of Christ together that we can attain the lofty intent of Christ for us: baptized into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we will be Jesus for our world. There are no boundaries to the territories into which God sends us. There are no wars to fight, simply souls to lead, gently, by our example, into fellowship with God and with one another. And finally, renewing our covenant with Christ means we work, pray and give for the spread of God’s domain on earth. That’s why we’re initiating our annual pledge campaign. In that process we are transformed into Christ’s body. Transformed for action in God’s world.