Crossing Over the Waters

November 2, 2014 (All Saints Sunday)

Joshua 3:7-17

⁷The LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.⁸You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”⁹Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God.” ¹⁰Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: ¹¹the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. ¹²So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”

¹⁴When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. ¹⁵Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, ¹⁶the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

Sermon: “Crossing Over the Waters”

Few mysteries have captivated Jews and Christians alike as much as the ark of the covenant.  This vessel of acacia wood, painted gold with angels resting atop, was built to house the tablets upon which Moses wrote the ten commandments. But it was understood that the very presence of God was contained within.  It was carried by poles, because even touching such holiness would be too much for any mere mortal. 

The ark was carried before the people of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years; it then remained in Shiloh in the tabernacle for around 300.  Then, it was taken by the Philistines after winning a battle, but after 7 months of terrible suffering, they decided to give it back.  (We can assume there was a fairly decent return policy.)

The ark moved around a bit more through David, and then eventually Solomon built a permanent temple to house it.  Or so he thought.

The Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, destroying the temple in 587 BC, and the ark was never seen again.  But of course, there are several interesting theories.

Some say the ark resides at Mount Nebo outside of Jerusalem.  The Ethiopian Orthodox Church also claims to possess it, under the protection of monks in Aksum who give their entire lives to its veneration and protection.  (Smithsonian Magazine wrote a fascinating article about them, if you’re interested.)

The Lembe People of South Africa and Zimbabwe claim to have the ark; and then you have the highly  entertaining theories that the Knights Templar have protected it for centuries, in cathedrals either in France or Italy.

But of course one theory rises above them all, the most popular and historically-accurate description of the ark’s whereabouts:

That Nazis found the ark in Nepal, barely beating Indiana Jones to the punch, but that their lack of reverence for its holiness led them to a face-melting fate, and so the ark now resides in a nondescript crate among other priceless artifacts in a government warehouse somewhere here in the United States.

I’ll let you choose which theory you prefer about the fate of the ark of the covenant.

However, in our text in Joshua this morning, the ark is very clearly present.  As soon as it’s carried into the waters of the Jordan, we have a repeat of the Red Sea salvation of the people of Israel: the waters stop flowing and separate (literally “pile upon one another”).  As long as the ark is held in the center of the waters, they stand still, and the entire people of Israel pass through that flood-level river without harm.

Does this mean the ark of the covenant is magic?  Well, no.  This text says clearly that such an act will show the people of the Israel that the living God is among them and will save them from all who seek to harm them.  And that word “among” actually means “within.”  They will be able to pass through the waters, not because they have a magical golden box, within which God lives, but because of what that box represents: the real presence of God within them, within the whole people. 

Now, there are some serious problems with this passage we cannot ignore.  Mainly, God comes across as a violent, vengeful ruler who smites entire people groups in order to protect God’s favorite group.  There is no explaining this away; yes, it is symptomatic of the worldview of the time in which this text was written, and yes, it was the Israelites’ impression of how God was working in their midst as told through oral mythology and legend, and not necessarily a literal depiction of how God worked.  But it is still a problem. 

However, if we dismissed every scripture passage that was potentially problematic, our Bible would be very thin indeed.  We must acknowledge the messiness of this text, while at the same time seek truth within it like a blade of grass seeks the sun (or your preacher seeks coffee!).  Truth is always there to be found.  And I’ve found something rather exciting here.

I’ve found that the ark of the covenant – that reminder of the real presence within each of those weary, hurting people – did not follow the people, letting them test the waters first.  No, God went before them, right into the midst of those tumultuous waters, and stayed there, until they knew safety and hope.

We don’t have a gilded wooden box to remind us that God is in our midst in the most tumultuous of times, but we don’t really need one.  God is within us, you see, and refuses to leave those watery places of overwhelming grief until we know freedom. 

Because that’s another truth in this text: liberation only ever comes through the waters.  Freedom from slavery in Egypt only came after the Israelites passed through the Red Sea.  The promised land was only reached through waters once more, this time of the Jordan.  We cannot reach freedom without first passing through waters. 

This is actually good news, especially on a day when we remember those we have loved and lost, those for whom watery tears well up in our eyes.  It means that, though we mourn, freedom is on the other side.  Though we may weep, liberation comes with each cleansing tear.  Freedom is coming, it is always coming, because God is always about the work of liberation.  But the waters come first.

As entertaining as it is to imagine the possibility of a box containing the holiness of God, that magically works wonders in the world, that is not what we really need.  God has already given us what we need: God’s real presence within us, within all people God has made.  God’s real presence going before us, especially into those watery places of grief and uncertainty.  God’s real presence setting up camp in that precarious place of unknowing, until we know safety and home. 

So, do not fear the waters, whether they be the sort that roll down your face unbidden, or the sort that swirl deep within you that you do not let anyone else see.  God is in the waters.  And freedom is on the other side of them.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.