5 November – Treading the verge of Jordan
Pentecost 23
5/11/2023
Joshua 3:7-17
Psalm 107
Matthew 23:1-12
Sermon preached by Rev. Rob Gotch
The opening chapters of the book of Joshua tell how the Israelites are finally about to cross the river Jordan and enter into the land of God’s promise. For 40 years they’ve wandered in the wilderness, and during this time many of the people who came out of Egypt died in the desert. Like Moses, they never crossed over Canaan’s side. We can only guess how they might have felt, stumbling and falling on the way, hope surrendering to despair, as they realize they’re not going to make it. And yet, if it wasn’t for those who died along the way, there would not have been a pilgrim people to make the journey, and the destination would have been irrelevant. As the Israelites tread the verge of Jordan, the Lord says to Joshua: ‘This day I’ll begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I’ll be with you as I was with Moses.’ It’s no coincidence that what follows recalls the crossing of the Red Sea four decades before. While the priests bearing the ark of the covenant, the sign of God’s presence, stand in the Jordan River, the Israelites are able to cross over into the Promised Land without even wetting their feet. The message for the Israelites is clear – as the baton of leadership is passed from Moses to Joshua, the Lord is indeed among them just as surely as when they fled Egypt.
The leadership of God’s people has always been contentious, and the Hebrew Scriptures record the various ways in which it was exercised in different eras, from patriarchs to judges to kings to prophets; from priests appointed according to the Law to self-appointed leaders in popular lay movements. Leadership in Jesus’ day was no less contentious, as we note in his numerous conversations with the Pharisees, the scribes, the Herodians and the Sadducees. Jesus’ frequent criticism of these leaders seems to be at odds with a comment he makes in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. After blessing the poor, the grieving, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers, Jesus declares: ‘Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’ What seemed like an impossible goal for his audience is now clarified in today’s gospel passage, as Jesus says: ‘Do whatever the scribes and Pharisees teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach.’ In other words, the scribes and Pharisees are not nearly as righteous as they imagine.
But this begs the question – to what righteousness may God’s people aspire? Jesus then says: ‘The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled and all who humble themselves will be exalted.’ Many years ago, a colleague suggested that the purpose of the gospel is ‘to subvert the dominant paradigm’, and Jesus blessing the poor and critiquing authority certainly seems to achieve this. Yet, as attractive as this comment is, it’s important to understand why it’s not adequate. The gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t an ancient version of Marxist economic theory; it is rather the story of God’s determination to reconcile and renew a broken world. This provides the proper theological context for Jesus’ references to greatness and servanthood, to humility and exaltation. The good news is that Jesus is talking about himself, and his own vocation as a Messiah who will humble himself on a cross in apparent resignation and defeat. I say apparent act of resignation and defeat, because God vindicated the humility of Jesus and exalted him as Lord.
The flesh and blood of Jesus, crucified and raised, becomes – through the power of the Holy Spirit – the living body of Christ’s church, a servant community that embodies the grace of God. We are the body of his humility, breathed into life by his Spirit, to give glory to God. This is our vocation, purpose, and identity as church.
It’s now several months since this congregation shifted from North Melbourne into this facility. This transition seems to have gone well, largely due to congregational goodwill, as well as careful leadership, consultation, planning and preparation. Perhaps you feel a sense of satisfaction at this achievement. You’ve not spent 40 years in the wilderness, but this transition does mark the end of a long journey which is now concluded. And yet we should be cautious about any end that is not, as the Basis of Union, paragraph 3, declares, God’s end in view for the whole creation: ‘God in Christ has given to all people in the Church the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view for the whole creation.’
In light of contemporary political and social challenges, it can be hard to picture this coming reconciliation and renewal. The outcome of the recent Voice referendum obscures how progress towards healing and justice for Australia’s First Nations peoples may now be achieved. And fresh violence in the Middle East pours salt into an old wound in the heart of a region that, ironically, is historically acclaimed as holy ground. Equally ironic is that technologies and capacities designed and intended for human flourishing and peace appear instead to resource us even more deeply towards division and violence. The myth of human progress, so attractive during the second half of the 20th century, now seems largely forgotten or at least discredited. How can we imagine the vision of God’s end in view for all of creation?
Only by remembering and trusting that it is God’s vision. Like the Israelites treading the verge of Jordan, so too do we anticipate a future founded not upon human courage and design, but rather upon the call and promise of God. Just as the first generation of Israelites departing Egypt never enter the promised land, so too does the gospel of Christ crucified and risen call us to invest in a promise that is always beyond human possession and control. For us, the Jordan is not a place, but a person. Jesus is our Jordan, the verge and the fullness of God’s promise to a pilgrim people. He is the verge and the fullness we tread: as we gather in humble adoration of the one who is great on our behalf; as we learn the peace of the gospel and practise it in the life of discipleship; as we exercise the grace of God in our relationships, especially those that are strained; as we live simply and walk lightly, distancing ourselves from the death and despair of colonialist, nationalist, and materialist aspirations.
Let us tread the verge of Jordan, with all humility, patience, and grace, seeking in faith the one who makes our anxious fears subside. Let us trust our Lord to breathe his Spirit into his body, to meet us here and now in Word and Sacrament, our hope and our heaven. Faithful is God who has called us and who will not fail us. And now to the holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God, be all glory and praise, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.