Joshua 3-4

Last Saturday there was a large 10k fun run starting at Tranquility Park, near city hall. Some wondered why it started so late. It is because we preceded and led off the Rodeo Parade, a very big tradition in Houston. The parade traditionally starts at 10 AM. The rodeo parade reminds us of our roots as a farming and ranching hub. There are lots of otherwise city folk who spend the week before on horseback coming into Houston on "trail rides". Then they camp in parks around Houston the night before and participate in the parade on Saturday. As we finished the race we saw them still coming down Memorial Drive.

The race started at 9:10 AM but the 10k portion of the race had over 9,000 people so it took at least 30 minutes to get everyone through the starting gate.

The 5k portion had thousands more and it took quite a while for us to get over the starting mark. Just think if it had been over 2 million people, like the number of people who crossed the Jordan one day over 3,000 years ago. Joshua was the leader of this large group of people. The people crossed on dry land. The "ford" was bigger than the starting gate of a 10k race but still fairly small, I guess, when you consider how many people had to get across. It took a long time for everyone to cross over. They crossed before Joshua and before God, and before the Ark of the Covenant which was held by priests in the middle of the river until all had passed over.

After they all passed over and while the priests were still in the riverbed God told Joshua to send men back, one from each tribe to go back to the river to each get a large stone out of the river bed. Each man got one large stone. They carried them to the place when the new nation was to camp for the night. They used these rocks to make a memorial to what had happened that day. When in the future people had a hard time believing that anyone could have crossed the Jordan here (on dry land) they could point to the pile of rocks. They passed over in the harvest season, the time when the Jordan would be at flood stage. This was the time of year when the Jordan was strongest. Someone could point to these smooth stones, obviously coming from a river bottom and say, "Here is proof!"

We are sometimes tempted to think that people in earlier times were more gullible, more superstitious than they are now. But not really. There is no reason to think so. People have always trusted their experience. If in their experience a thing was unlikely, even impossible, they are not going to readily believe you when you say it once did happen. Crossing the Jordan was miraculous. If you did not see it with your own eyes, you are not likely to believe it happened. No matter how much you trust the person's testimony, you are still going to doubt. So the stones were set up to help people believe. So God had Joshua put up a memorial.

Psalm 8

Today's psalm (song) is psalm 8. This is a commentary on Genesis 1, the creation. "What is man that you should be mindful of him?"

The Celebration service at SJD is about to end. I will miss it. Yet I suspect it has run its course. It is a failed and failing service if you look at the numbers. And yet there are a few mature wonderful people who consider it their regular service and love it very much. But with less that 25 regular attendees we, the choir and musicians sometimes out number the congregation. I will miss my fellow worship leaders. But I suspect my relationship to SJD, as little as it has become, will dwindle to nothing now. Life moves on.

I bring that up because one of Celebration's favorite anthems based on Psalm 8. I did not realize how close it is:

"When I gaze into the night sky and see the work of your fingers.

The moon and stars suspended in space.

Oh what is man that you should be mindful of him.

You have made man in glory and honor and have made him a little lower than the angel.

You have put him in charge of all creation.

The beasts of the field.

The birds of the air.

The fish of the sea.

Yet what is man that you should be mindful of him.

Oh Lord our God, little children praise you perfectly.

And so should we."

Well pretty close to that.

God made an amazing big universe. We are such a little part of it. So little. Sometimes we marvel at it. Man knows more about it now than David did so long ago. Yet the more we know the more mind boggling it all is. Why did God do it? If we do not believe that God created it where does that leave us? It just is? It just happened? Big Bang Theory tells us there was a time when it was not. How did it all happen? Surely there has to be some kind of divine mover? Like I said it is all mind boggling.

Joshua analogy

I am always blessed that the Bible contains examples that have modern analogies. Take Joshua. Joshua followed a great iconic charismatic leader. We see lots of examples in business of this. Joshua represents something fairly common in business. He took over for the accepted founder.

Moses had his weak times early on and at first no one accepted him. But when he died he was revered as a multi-talented genius. Joshua is his protege. He has been helping Moses since he was a youth. He is Moses hand picked successor. He is also God's hand picked successor. But now, in the book of Joshua, he is on his own to guide a mobile nation into battles and then settling the new land. His role is a continuation of what Moses was doing but also something new. The world is changing around him.

In businesses the second generation of leadership, following after the successful founder, often has trouble continuing the vision. Often the most successful second CEO takes the company in a new direction. But many hand picked successors try to maintain the company as it is. As the world changes this usually stymies growth. At best the successor can only keep the same size and manage the asset that the founder created.

A good example is Apple Computer and founder Steve Jobs. Finally Jobs is out for good. He died of cancer, not terribly old. He is finally gone. His hand picked successor is doing a pretty good job. He is trying to keep up the visionary ways that allows Apple to stay ahead in the fast changing technological industry. But the new leaders just do not have Job's special vision. They are working to maintain. But in technology old products and methods are quickly replaced. Maintaining is not going to work. So far Apple is still successful. But it is different now.

Disney Pictures is a good example of a company trying to maintain the assets that the founder created. No one has had the vision of Walt Disney. There have been some successes yet the successors to Walt Disney mostly maintain the assets he created profitably. Disney himself started the procedure used to milk the blockbuster movies by re-releasing them every so often. The theme parks get renewed with new attractions. But really the leaders of Disney are maintaining what the founder created many years ago.

It is hard to follow the successful founder. Joshua is trying to do that. He tries to build on what Moses did. He tries to use his same techniques. But he also creates new things on his own, building on the foundation that Moses left. Of course Joshua is also following God and God speaks to him and gives him favor, as long as he stays obedient. That part makes it different than the business leader analogy. Still I get the impression that Joshua follows God as best he can, still he thinks of Yahweh as Moses' God. He is in the shadow of Moses for a long time. But in his old age he becomes a faithful beacon that those after him try to emulate. Unfortunately they begin to forget how and lose their zeal.

short post Joshua 1

Joshua was commanded to meditate on the book of the law (that Moses wrote). Joshua 1:8. We, in contrast, meditate on God, clearly seen in Jesus, who is God come as a human being. That in a nutshell is the difference in the covenants. The Israelites had a set of laws. That is how they served God. We see Jesus, identify with him and model our lives on his life.

We have a law of love if you will. But we also aspire to righteousness, as Jesus did. Jesus knew no sin. He never sinned. We will never be able to claim that but we aspire to righteousness. But the righteousness we aspire to is a righteousness of the heart, not only of actions. So only God can truly judge how righteous we are. Only God knows our hearts.

Matthew 9 - second question

The disciples of John came up to Jesus and asked him why his disciples did not fast. This seemed unusual to them. Would it seem unusual to us today? I don't think so really. But they said the Pharisees fasted and John's disciples fasted (a lot). So why did Jesus disciples act differently and not fast?

Why do you think they did not fast?

Jesus responded with a word picture. He said his disciples could not possible fast while the bridegroom was with them. He called his disciples attendants. Literally the Greek calls them "sons of the bridegroom". This reminds us of a Jewish wedding, that could go on for days. The attendants are eating and drinking and rejoicing. It would be rude. It would be wrong to fast during a wedding feast.

Today we do not regularly fast. Maybe some fast during Lent, but it is not very serious. Fasting is meant to draw us closer to God. But Jesus is saying "How can anyone get any closer to God than they are when they are with me. After all I am God in the flesh and they are living and eating with me."

Jesus follows up with two analogies. First he states no one would ever patch an old garment, or cloth with a new piece of fabric. When the new piece shrinks the whole thing will be ruined. Next he reminds them that new wine would never be poured into an old wineskin. If one did the one wineskin would burst destroying the wine, and the wineskin. No new wine in new wineskins and both are preserved. His audience would be nodding their heads knowingly. This would be practical knowledge.

What is Jesus saying here? He is saying the old covenant and the new covenant cannot be mixed. The Pharisees and the disciples of John are under the old covenant. Jesus represents the new covenant. This must somehow refer to the question about fasting. You can conjecture but it must somehow be connected. It is part of the same story, the same response to the question. How does two illustrations about the covenant refer to a question about fasting?

I think, among other things Jesus is saying fasting is associated with the old covenant. Jesus was gone for only a few days. But now he is back. He may not be here eating and drinking with us anymore but he is here in the Spirit. We have no need of a way of getting closer to God. We can get as close to God as our faith allows. Often our faith is weak and we feel a need for things to help us. But we really do not need things like sacrifice and fasting. Jesus tore the curtain dividing us out of the Holy of Holies. We can approach the throne of God because of Jesus' intercession for us. We are righteous because Jesus makes and calls us righteous.

I desire compassion and not sacrifice

Yeah this is a translation of Matthew 9:13. Jesus is quoting Hosea. Compassion is often translated mercy. But I like compassion. It is an emotion. Mercy seems more like an action to me.

I was preparing a message and I was struck by this. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees who prized sacrifice and minimized mercy, it seems. Obviously this was written by Matthew because Jesus was speaking to us too. I identify with the Pharisees because I can see that I much prefer sacrifice to mercy or compassion. I am defining sacrifice broadly. The Pharisees would have too. Not just animal sacrifice but giving money to the temple, giving alms, fasting, celebrating all the Jewish high holy days. Yet they did it without compassion.

Jesus said, "God desires mercy, not sacrifice." It is easier for me to sacrifice: money, time, talent (such as it is) rather than feel compassion or loving towards those less well off than me. Why is this bad? Bottom line, because God is a compassionate God. All my sacrifice does not glorify God if it does not include compassion, mercy. All Jesus' healing were done because he felt compassion for someone who had a need, not because he felt an obligation. He did not do good to make himself feel holy.

Lord help me, Lord help all of us to feel compassion for our fellow man. Good works do not make us righteous. Only Jesus can make his righteous through his work on the cross. So our works are done in grateful response. Remember his amazing love for us and reflect it back on those around us. We can be compassionate on all people, not just people we might consider less fortunate.