Stewardship of Life

Here We Stand

By Sharron R. Blezard, October 8, 2014

Narrative Lectionary Reflection Year One for October 12, 2014

Joshua 24:1-15

Now therefore 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….but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:14, 15b

Have you ever heard the expression “fish or cut bait” or similar idioms implying that an important and perhaps life-changing decision is imminent? Such is the case with this week’s lesson where Joshua is addressing the people one final time. It’s a pivotal moment, in an emotionally-charged location, about a critically-important issue. Whom will the people serve? Will it be the one true Lord or the gods of the land? Will they choose life or destruction? Will they “get real” and commit, or will they give lip service to the Creator of the Cosmos?

Of course, although the people do commit to following God and to a covenantal renewal, we know that life will continue to get in the way of that which really matters. The people will turn away from their commitment, they will pay the consequences, and, having suffered for their choices, they will turn again to the Lord who still desires good for all of creation (including knot-headed tribal folk and contemporary sinner-saints).

How then do we make this passage real, give it some life, and expand it beyond that oft-quoted declaration of nostalgic household faith? How do we capture that sense of zeal, for example, that Martin Luther exhibited in 1521 at the Diet of Worms, reportedly saying “Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God”? A little bit of role-play and contemporary contextualization will go a long way.

Consider “rewriting” the lesson to reflect your particular context. Think about the history of your worshiping community. How has God worked in this community of faith to bring the people through times of adversity, through fear and danger, beyond hurt and pain? You may have to dig a little if your congregation is a comfortable or well-heeled mainline bastion in the community. Trust me, the dirt is there. Human nature hasn’t changed all that much across the span of time and place. You could also consider broadening the scope—say to your denomination’s history in North America, or to your synod, conference, or diocese. Use your best powers of biblical storytelling and feel free to take poetic license. (You can see my initial attempt below.)

I’m reminded of Phyllis Tickle’s contention in her book The Great Emergence that the church undergoes a period of massive change every 500 years. We stand on the precipice of such a change right now, so this lesson really does have particular relevance for our faith communities right now. Will we choose to follow God out of whatever constitutes our contemporary slavery into an uncertain wilderness of doubt and change, trusting that God continues to do a new thing?

We, as the contemporary church, are already hurtling down a “road less traveled” whether or not we desire the journey. God’s people and the communities in which we gather will very likely emerge at the end of this stage of the grand narrative of faith looking significantly different, but in spite of us the church survives and thrives in many unlikely places and ideations. At the end of the day, we are still called to commit to the journey, to keep our eyes on the cross, to keep our feet moving faithfully in the world, and to honor God with every fiber of our being. It’s an impossibly tall order, and we cannot do it of our own volition, but by grace through faith alone it is possible.

With Children

Choose

For this illustration, you’ll be asking children to make simple choices (Do you choose vanilla or chocolate ice cream?) between two different things. You will make the two choices increasingly difficult (Do you choose a new bike or a new dog?) and less concrete, ending with the choice between God and “Anything that keeps you from God.” Talk to the children about how some choices are easy and simple, but committing to God means putting your whole self in–and it’s not just the Hokey-Pokey either.

 In Worship

Here’s my initial attempt at resetting the lesson in a specific congregational context (it still needs work!):

Then the aged and beloved leader gathered all the people of St. Matthew’s together by the cornerstone of the church building. He summoned the council members, committee chairs, staff, and other leaders of the congregation, and they presented themselves in prayer before God. And the leader said to all the people, “More than 200 years ago a group of German immigrants came to central Pennsylvania and settled along the banks of the Susquehanna river: Mussers, Herrs, Synders, Eckerts, Fetzers, Rinks, Schmidts, and Wolfs. Their deep faith and desire to worship God led them to establish a church and school in a log cabin less than a mile up the road from where we now stand. This new land was strange to them, presenting a host of challenges including illness, crop failure, and war, and yet they persevered desiring to educate their children, nourishing spirit and mind. A pastor came to them from Philadelphia to baptize, commune, and dedicate the building, but it would be three more years before they would have a pastor to serve them. Within five years, plans were set to construct a brick edifice of suitable grandeur with windows of stained glass to tell the great stories of faith, with pews and furniture carved from local walnut.

The congregation worshiped in this building for 74 years until it burned to the ground. By God’s grace the people built what is now the present chapel, dedicating it to the glory of God and the memory of Pastor Felix Musser who had served the congregation faithfully for 23 years until his death two years before the fire.

Three wars claimed 18 sons and a daughter of the congregation. During the great depression the congregation twice almost had to close its doors but found renewed strength and purpose by opening a kitchen to serve those who had even less. Somehow, by the grace of God, the church was saved, and in 1952 the new sanctuary was dedicated along with a Moller organ and the Luther Rose window. The congregation swelled to 540 members. The Sunday school program was vigorous, and three choirs sang regularly: the chancel choir, the youth angels, and the cherubs. St. Matthew’s was known for its high quality musical offerings and community concerts.

All but one pastor served faithfully, although the community around the congregation changed as people fled the downtown for suburbs. Attendance during the 80s and 90s dropped to below 100. By 1996, worship numbers were down to a faithful average of 71, and programs had to be suspended for budgetary limitations. Still the congregation continued to reach out in the name of Christ, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and welcoming the marginalized.

A congregational divide in 2010 left only 130 members. It was difficult to call a pastor, but in 2012 we called the Rev. Connie Knauss, a second-career pastor and new seminary graduate. A mission redeveloper, she began new worship and outreach initiatives that are meeting the needs of our community with its 29 percent poverty rate. By the grace of God we persevere.

Today we gather to answer whether we will recommit to serve God here in this place. I ask you, people of God, will you honor the Lord, serve God in sincerity and faithfulness, give generously of your time and talents and treasure? Will you put away that which prevents you from serving God with your whole heart and with all that you are? As for me and my household, we will recommit to this congregation and to serve God here and beyond these doors.

And the people said…

(Photos: dun_deagh, amras_de, and greg westphal, Creative Commons. Thanks!)