"The Choice"
Dr. James L.
Mayfield November 10, 2002
Text: Joshua 24 (read selected verses) Bible times were different from our times -- different in understanding of the physical world, different in social organization and customs, different in technology. But I am convinced, the people who lived in those times were very much like we are. This is why the Bible remains so relevant, and passages such as the one we read today have something to say to us. Today's story takes place after the Israelites had taken possession of the Promised Land. It was time for them to live as faithful citizens in the land God had given them. So in his farewell address, Joshua went into great detail reminding the Israelites of all that God had done for them, and then Joshua said 14 ". . . revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, ... . ... (As) for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." If Joshua were speaking to us today, his message would be the same but but it would probably sound something like this. "Just think of all your blessings. Remember the many ways God has been at work in all of life, and especially in your lives. You have received grace upon grace, and its time for you to decide: are you going to worship and serve God or not? It's time for you to quit playing religious games. It's time for you to make a choice. What are you going to put at the center of your living? Are you going to worship the nation, as some of your ancestors have? What is going to be the primary priority that determines all the other the priorities in your living? Is the god of financial security going to be the god you choose to serve? What do you believe is going to make your life worth living, and give you purpose and peace? Will the goal of making your children happy be the god to whom you make your sacrifices? Or, will it be pleasing your parents that is the god determining how you live your life? Or will it be the God, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who has come among us in Jesus, the God at work among us in the Holy Spirit, the God who demands that we live lives of love, pursuing justice and mercy in all we say and do? Choose this day whom you will serve." The Israelites responded to Joshua's challenge saying: "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods..." I understand what they were saying. Like them, I have heard Joshua's sermon in many different forms, in many different ways, at various points in my life, and like those Israelites I have responded just as they did. "Of course I will serve the Lord." Many of us have responded this way. This probably why the most popular hymn among United Methodists today is: Here I Am Lord. Joshua told the Israelites it was time to decide whether or not they were going to choose to be faithful to God who had given them so much. Aware of God's grace, they rose up and sang with great feeling: "I am thine O Lord, I have thy voice...." This would be a wonderful place for this story to end. But this is not the end of the story as it is told in the 24th chapter of Joshua. The next words out of Joshua's mouth are not words of celebration and congratulation. They are words of warning: "20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good." Joshua knew the Israelites. He had known them since he was a child. Joshua grew into manhood wandering with them in the wilderness. After Moses died, Joshua had become their leader, and as with Moses, they had given Joshua many headaches. Joshua knew the Israelites had an ongoing tendency to drift away from God and ignoring what God wanted and doing as they pleased. There was an ongoing temptation among the Israelites to worship other gods. It is not that they totally rejected the Lord God; it is merely that they tried to reduce God to being merely one of among many deities in their lives. Joshua had heard their pledges of faith before, but he had also observed the short life of those pledges. When I reflect honestly on verses such as these, I find the Bible anything but comforting. In such moments it is as if the Bible holds up a great big mirror and in effect says: "Take a good look. What you see is the way you are." And is it not true? Who of us have not had those moments of profound inspiration when we have been filled with a renewed awareness of God's amazing grace and have made sincere commitments that this time we really mean it when we sing: Lead on, O King eternal, the day of march has come; henceforth in fields of conquest thy tents shall be our home. But then we lose our focus and we wander off in some other direction, or find ourselves seduced by some temptation, or when confronted by the cost of discipleship, we join some other group that seems to be going on a less expensive and more pleasant journey. It is not that we totally reject God, and renounce our faith in Christ. We give God some of our time on Sunday, but then, we give a lot of our time the rest of the week to worshipping other gods. Are there any of us who have not been there and done that? The problem of the Israelites, like ours, was not that of totally rejecting God. Their problem was, they tried to live as if the Lord, God, is merely one among many gods. They were like the man who says, "Well, of course I love my wife," while at the same time having a mistress and several affairs. The problem was not that the Israelites did not believe in God; it was that they also, at the same time, placed their belief in other gods as well. On other occasions, Joshua had heard the Israelites pledge their faith, and then seen how quickly and frequently that pledge was broken in their daily living. Joshua knew the Israelites, and because we are so often so very much like them, he knows us too. So Joshua warned them and us, saying, in effect: "God is not going to keep on putting up with your religious game playing. It's time to be serious and mean what you say." And the Israelites responded just the way I have so often done when confronted by warnings about the judgment of God: "Oh, but this time I really do mean it. From now on I really will serve the Lord." And at the time, we really do mean it. The next comment Joshua made sounds very much like what police officers are supposed to say when they make an arrest: "Anything you say can be used against you ...." What Joshua actually said in this passage is: "You are witnesses against yourself." And we are; aren't we? We who claim to be Christians, we who regularly show up in places such as this to worship, we are making a statement about ourselves for the whole world to see. This morning by our presence here, we are making a statement about ourselves, and this coming week will reveal whether or not we really mean it. We are witnesses against ourselves. The Israelites agreed. They acknowledged they had nowhere to hide. They agreed, they could not plead ignorance. They acknowledged they could not avoid responsibility for their behavior saying: "But I did not know worshipping God meant not doing this or making the effort to do that." They were aware, they had made their commitment. They admitted to Joshua, they knew they were witnesses against themselves. And at this point in the story, Joshua again told them what God expected, and then he sent them to their inheritance. That is to say, at long last, each was sent to their place in the Promised Land. This is where the story in today's passage ends, but it leaves us with an unanswered question. Will the Israelites keep their word this time? This story is the way it is; isn't it? After all the times we have been unfaithful, we are again reminded of God's grace; we pledge our faithfulness once again, and once again we really mean it. And once again we are sent to the places in life God has given us. And once again the question is: "This time, will we keep our promise?" God, we who have all too often failed in our faithfulness, like our Israelite ancestors, once again declare our faithfulness. Help us keep our word this time. Amen. Pastoral prayer: Let us thank God for the gifts and blessings we have received. We have come here with a variety of concerns and problems. Let us ask God for guidance and help. God, forgive us when we live our lives much like drivers in a speedway race going in circles, speeding through life, insensitive to anything but the tasks of staying on track and getting ahead of others. Forgive us when we confuse staying busy with making a difference. And when overcrowded schedules leave us exhausted and tempt us to see our fatigue as a sign that we are important, heal our blurred vision so that we are able to see our exhaustion for it really is - a symptom of our confused values. Rescue us from our addiction to constant activity. Help us learn that loving you with all we are and loving our neighbor as ourselves require an investment of time. Show us how to use the minutes in each hour so we are able to live as you intend. Give us courage to be less busy so we can experience the joy of discovering that in doing less we quite often get more done. Introduce us once again not only to the peace experienced in quiet, reflective meditation but also to the power that is generated by this peace. We remember Jesus did not live a frantically busy lifestyle. Help us live as he was teaching us to live when he taught us to pray: "Our Father ...." |