Joshua 4:1-13 (NRSV)
When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: 2"Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, 3and command them, 'Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.'" 4Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. 5Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, 6so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' 7then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever." 8The Israelites did as Joshua commanded. They took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord told Joshua, carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there. 9(Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.) 10The priests who bore the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan, until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people crossed over in haste. 11As soon as all the people had finished crossing over, the ark of the Lord, and the priests, crossed over in front of the people. 12The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the Israelites, as Moses had ordered them. 13About forty thousand armed for war crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for battle.
THOUGHTS:
My teenage daughter and I recently journeyed together by train to New York City to see the Pittsburgh Penguins (her favorite team) play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. It was the first time she'd seen a hockey game in person and she is enamored with New York City as well. On our way home, after what she described as one of the best days of her life, she informed me that her tickets from both the train and the game would be going into her "ticket box." As the name implies, her ticket box contains used tickets from all of the memorable sporting events, movies, plays, museums and other events and places that she has enjoyed throughout her life. Each ticket serves as a marker, and as a reminder, of some fantastic event or place that she has experienced; event and places worthy of being remembered.
The elaborate and detailed story told in our reading for this day from Joshua describes a fantastic event and a place worthy of being remembered by the people of Israel. It is as if the people are saying, "Do you remember when God acted to bring us out of our wilderness wanderings, making a dry path for us to cross the Jordan River, enabling us to then enter the Promised Land? Do you remember where that all happened? It happened right there, where we piled those rocks from the river to be for us a marker, a reminder to us and our descendants of what God has done for us!"
During our Lenten journey we would do well to occasionally stop and remember the fantastic events and places where God has been active in our lives. Some of us may even have, or might find, markers that we can use to remind us of those fantastic events and places where we have experienced God acting for us: a baptismal candle we can light on the anniversary of our baptism; a Bible given to us as at our Confirmation; a t-shirt from a youth gathering, service learning project or mission trip; a cross necklace or an Ichthus (fish) tattoo. These are but a few examples of the kinds of markers, signs and symbols that can be, for us, "rocks" that we use to mark the fantastic events and places where God has acted for us. Each and every one of them are worthy of being remembered.
PRAYER:
Gracious God, you have been, are and will be at work in our lives. Throughout this season of Lent, help us to be mindful of those fantastic events and places when they occur. May we ever be thankful for them and may we always remember them. In your holy name we pray. Amen.
When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: 2"Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, 3and command them, 'Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.'" 4Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. 5Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, 6so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' 7then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever." 8The Israelites did as Joshua commanded. They took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord told Joshua, carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there. 9(Joshua set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.) 10The priests who bore the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan, until everything was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to tell the people, according to all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people crossed over in haste. 11As soon as all the people had finished crossing over, the ark of the Lord, and the priests, crossed over in front of the people. 12The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the Israelites, as Moses had ordered them. 13About forty thousand armed for war crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for battle.
THOUGHTS:
My teenage daughter and I recently journeyed together by train to New York City to see the Pittsburgh Penguins (her favorite team) play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. It was the first time she'd seen a hockey game in person and she is enamored with New York City as well. On our way home, after what she described as one of the best days of her life, she informed me that her tickets from both the train and the game would be going into her "ticket box." As the name implies, her ticket box contains used tickets from all of the memorable sporting events, movies, plays, museums and other events and places that she has enjoyed throughout her life. Each ticket serves as a marker, and as a reminder, of some fantastic event or place that she has experienced; event and places worthy of being remembered.
The elaborate and detailed story told in our reading for this day from Joshua describes a fantastic event and a place worthy of being remembered by the people of Israel. It is as if the people are saying, "Do you remember when God acted to bring us out of our wilderness wanderings, making a dry path for us to cross the Jordan River, enabling us to then enter the Promised Land? Do you remember where that all happened? It happened right there, where we piled those rocks from the river to be for us a marker, a reminder to us and our descendants of what God has done for us!"
During our Lenten journey we would do well to occasionally stop and remember the fantastic events and places where God has been active in our lives. Some of us may even have, or might find, markers that we can use to remind us of those fantastic events and places where we have experienced God acting for us: a baptismal candle we can light on the anniversary of our baptism; a Bible given to us as at our Confirmation; a t-shirt from a youth gathering, service learning project or mission trip; a cross necklace or an Ichthus (fish) tattoo. These are but a few examples of the kinds of markers, signs and symbols that can be, for us, "rocks" that we use to mark the fantastic events and places where God has acted for us. Each and every one of them are worthy of being remembered.
PRAYER:
Gracious God, you have been, are and will be at work in our lives. Throughout this season of Lent, help us to be mindful of those fantastic events and places when they occur. May we ever be thankful for them and may we always remember them. In your holy name we pray. Amen.
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Thoughts by Rev. Mark W. Olsen, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Services, Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg
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