Remembering

There are only two of these twelve faith practices left to go in this journey we have been taking over the summer. Stick with it these next two weeks and keep following the suggested steps in your workbook to take some notes each week as you go along.

Today we turn to the Old Testament and consider a story from the time of Joshua when the people of Israel are crossing over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan. The quick background is that God gives Joshua instructions for the priests to carry the ark of the covenant down into the Jordan River. It is a time of year when the river is at flood stage and would have otherwise been uncrossable because of strong current and swollen banks. But as soon as the priest touch their feet into the water, the flow of the river is cut off and the riverbed is exposed for the people to walk across.

The priests are instructed to go stand with the ark of the covenant right down in the middle of the riverbed and stay there with the ark until all the people have crossed over. Here in Joshua 4 we read about what God tells Joshua to do next.

Joshua 4:1–9 (NIV)

Joshua 4:1–9 NIV

1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” 8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

There are bookshelves in my office at church. But I went to graduate school in a time when electronic books were becoming more and more available. As a result, about three quarters of my theological library is on my computer, not on a bookshelf. Whenever someone recommends a new book for reading, I will always go first to see if it is available as an ebook on Amazon Kindle. Whenever a favorite theologian of mine publishes a new commentary, I will always go first to see if it is available to download into the Bible software program I use.

items that tell a story about something in my life

The result is that the bookshelves in my office have quite a bit of empty space. But that’s okay because I have filled that space on those bookshelves with many other things. And the things on my bookshelves do not tend to all be decorative knick-knacks. Rather, they are objects that hold memories. They are items that tell a story about something in my life. There are pictures of my family. A photo or two of significant places I have visited. Items that were given to me as a gift which carry special meaning. I have the old Colorado license plate from my car reminding me of the years I spent living in Denver. My favorite toys growing up as a child were Lego sets. I have on my shelf the very first Lego set I was ever given as a child. It is a Lego set from 1976. There is a marble box inlayed with decorative stone I got while traveling in India. There is a raku clay vase made for me by a friend who is an artist.

reminders of certain events can also serve as a faith practice

There are certain things we all hang onto and set out on display because they are meant to serve as reminders. I imagine this is true in everyone’s home. You all have certain items that are placed out because they are reminders of something significant about your own life story. We see today in this story from the book of Joshua that reminders of certain events can also serve as a faith practice. Memory can help build and strengthen faith. let’s take a look at that today through the lens of this story.

a to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you,

b “What do these stones mean?” tell them that

c the flow of the Jordan was cut off

d before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

d′ When it crossed the Jordan,

c′ the waters of the Jordan were cut off.

b′ These stones are to be

a′ a memorial to the people of Israel forever.

Verses 6-7 display that familiar biblical pattern of mirroring which we see so often in passages of the bible.

a to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you,

b “What do these stones mean?” tell them that

c the flow of the Jordan was cut off

d before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.

d′ When it crossed the Jordan,

c′ the waters of the Jordan were cut off.

b′ These stones are to be

a′ a memorial to the people of Israel forever.

the ark was a symbolic representation of the very presence of God among his people

As happens so often in the bible, this kind of literary structure points us to a main point of some kind. In this case, the middle of this structure highlights the placement of the ark of the covenant. It is important that we recognize why the ark of the covenant is important during this time in Israel’s history. The ark was a symbolic representation of the very presence of God among his people. When the Israelites set up the tabernacle, they placed the ark in the very center room—a room called the holy of holies. The presence of God filled this room, and only the high priest was allowed to enter. The ark served as a reminder that the presence of God was dwelling among his chosen people.

Old Testament picture of the ark as the presence of God which went down into the Jordan River and comes up on the other side points ahead as a foreshadowing of Christ’s baptism in the gospels

We can skip ahead to acknowledge how the Bible fulfils and completes this picture in the gospels. The Apostle John begins his gospel by writing that Jesus is the word become flesh who made his dwelling among us—literally in Greek, he pitched his tent, or set up his tabernacle, among us. We in the church today understand that this Old Testament picture of the ark as the presence of God which went down into the Jordan River and comes up on the other side points ahead as a foreshadowing of Christ’s baptism in the gospels. In a sense, Jesus re-enacts this scene in his own baptism by going down into the Jordan River for baptism.

God is baptizing the entire nation of Israel as all the people go down into the riverbed of the Jordan and come up again on the other side

Joshua places the presence of God—as symbolized by the ark of the covenant—at the very center

Retroactively, we could also make the connection from the gospels back to this scene in Joshua 4 as an instance in which God is baptizing the entire nation of Israel as all the people go down into the riverbed of the Jordan and come up again on the other side. It is the same baptism which takes place with the previous generation of Israelites back in Exodus then Moses leads the people down into the parted waters of the Red Sea and up to the other side. There are rich images of baptism bursting from these stories in the Bible. And the way in which the story is constructed here in Joshua places the presence of God—as symbolized by the ark of the covenant—at the very center of it.

a memorial of the specific instance in Israel’s history when God stopped the flow of the river in order for his people to cross over

a memorial reminder to the people of Israel that the presence of God is among them

it is foundational to their very identity as a people

It is worth us considering a little more deeply, then, the question of what this pile of stones set up in Joshua 4 is meant to memorialize. On the one hand, it is a memorial of the specific instance in Israel’s history when God stopped the flow of the river in order for his people to cross over. But more importantly than that, these stones are a memorial reminder to the people of Israel that the presence of God is among them. The future generations of Israelites need the reminder that the presence of God is among them. In fact, it is foundational to their very identity as a people.

remembering as a faith practice places in front of us an assurance of what God has already done in our lives

example: communion

This gets us closer to understanding the way in which remembering functions as a faith practice. The goal of remembering as a faith practice places in front of us an assurance of what God has already done in our lives. It helps to form and shape our identity as people in Christ. Think for a moment about the way this works. Last Sunday we celebrated the sacrament of communion during our worship service. Communion is one of those rituals we do repeatedly as a church as a way of remembering. We remember in communion all that Jesus has done for us by giving his body on the cross and pouring out his blood for our sin. We remember in communion that it is the cross of Jesus which now forms the foundation of our identity as the people of God—we could not be the people of God without the way of the cross. It reminds us of who we are as people of God. And we remember in communion a glimpse forward to see the great banquet which awaits when Christ returns to make all things new. When we take the sacrament of communion as a church we are engaging the faith practice of remembering in ways which remind us of our identity in Christ.

in our stories we embrace and understand our own identity as people

Everybody’s life has a story. It is in our stories that we embrace and understand our own identity as people. The story of my family is a story that also conveys my own identity. The story of my hobbies and talents tells something about who I am as a person. The story of my past experiences shapes a piece of my identity yet today. These are not just stories about me, they are stories that continue to be a part of who I am. Stories shape our identity.

Israel forgot the story that had shaped their identity as God’s people

Here in Joshua 4, as well as other places in scripture, God provides a means by which his people remember the story that shapes their identity as God’s people. It does not appear coincidental that whenever the Old Testament Israelites in the book of Judges and Kings turn away from God, it appears to be much less a conscious rejection of God and much more of a thoughtless dismissal of God. They simply forgot. They forgot about God. They forgot about their own history as God’s people. They forgot the story that had shaped their identity as God’s people.

Deuteronomy takes a perspective that it is a writing meant for the second generation of Israelites who were born during the 40 years in the wilderness

a writing during later generations who had forgotten the story of where they came from

I know tradition holds that the first five books of the Bible were supposedly written by Moses, but that is very unlikely to actually be true. The book of Deuteronomy especially shows strong evidence that it was written in an era significantly later than Moses lived. Deuteronomy takes a perspective that it is a writing meant for the second generation of Israelites who were born during the 40 years in the wilderness after the time when the law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. It was supposed to be a reminder for this new generation about to enter the promised land of Canaan to remember who they are as God’s people rescued from slavery in Egypt. Several biblical scholars suggest this was actually written much later as a reflection back on that generation who first came into the promised land during the time of Joshua. They suggest it was written as a way of retelling the story once again of God’s chosen people. It came as a writing during later generations who had forgotten the story of where they came from. They had forgotten their identity as God’s people.

faith practice of remembering places our story back inside of God’s story

What is it that you and I can do which helps us remember our identity in Christ?

The faith practice of remembering places our story back inside of God’s story. It is a faith practice which affirms, highlights, and strengthens the identity of who we are as God’s people by intentionally placing reminders of that story in front of us. Joshua instructed the people of Israel to set up this pile of stones as a reminder for the future, so that they would not forget. What is it that you and I can do which helps us remember our identity in Christ—that keeps our story connected to the story of Christ?

HC 1 — a statement of identity | I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful savior Jesus Christ

I love the way that our doctrinal confession in the Heidelberg Catechism begins at the very start with a question about identity. The first questions asks, what is your only comfort in life and in death? The answer to that question jumps straight into a statement of identity. It is a personal statement that not only provides an answer about comfort. It is a statement of personal identity. I am not my own, but belong body and soul in life and in death to my faithful savior Jesus Christ. For 500 years generations of Christians have held onto that statement as a reminder of their own identity in Christ. In a world which constantly pulls and tugs at our allegiances, it is comforting to remember that I belong to Jesus. In times when we might feel isolated and excluded with no place to belong at all, it is comforting to remember that I belong to Jesus. In moments when our own sins and shortcomings might lead us to question if God can still accept us, it is comforting to remember that I belong to Jesus. Let the faith practice of remembering keep in front of you every day the truth of your identity in Christ. You belong to Jesus.