Pentecost 5

June 28 - July 4

Joshua, Book of Acts

On the bank of the Jordan sits a memorial of twelves stones, one for each tribe of Israel. Joshua has followed the LORD’s command to establish it as a remembrance. Just as their fathers had escaped Egypt on dry ground, so they now enter the promised land in similar fashion. And when they enter, their enemies melt before them. The promise to God’s people is being fufilled.

More than 1200 years later, some in the early church are concerned about who is actually crossing over. Peter appears to be associating with the ceremonially unclean, a Roman centurion, and Hellenists – not the holy people of God.

But Peter issues a forceful reply, forged in his own spiritual struggle: Jews, Greeks, Romans, and all others face the same enemy of sin, and the work of Christ carries everyone across the river to the promised land. So, if the same Spirit is at work in the crossing, who are we to stand in the way? Would we plant our feet on the miraculously dry ground between the desert and the promised land, convincing people God has made holy that they are not holy enough?

Today, every tribe and nation has a place among those twelve stones, as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached around the world, and the Holy Spirit continues to work in the hearts of people everywhere. The stones now commemorate something even greater than escape from Egypt or the wilderness: the liberation of the human race from sin and damnation.

You have a place among the stones. So, cross the river and rejoice in the repentance that leadsto life. Live in the land God has given to you in Jesus. Strive for the kingdom to come - and, by the Spirit, lead others to it.

Pentecost 6

July 5 - 11

Joshua, Judges, Book of Acts

What kind of god will you serve? This is the question an aged Joshua asks of the Isrealites. It should be rhetorical. Of course, the one true God, who has delivered them time and again, is the clear answer. But within a generation, they are willing to put Gideon to death for tearing down an altar to Baal.

In the early church, there are many who have a hard time reocgnizing the true God in the Gospel preached to them. Jewish leaders deem it blasphemy, stone Paul, and leave him for dead. Greeks, on the other hand, are prepared to worship him as a god in the flesh. Some receive it fully with joy, while others insist Mosaic law still applies, dividing the church over the practice of circumcision.

We are no exception. We love to impose our own conditions on the Gospel, too.

Bring us Jesus, but only if he can lead us to earthly success, wealth, or happiness.

Bring us Jesus, but only if he gives us a law we can abide by and earn God’s favor with.

Bring us Jesus, but only if we can be symbolic disciples and merge him with appealing spiritualism. 

But it is Jesus at the heart of the Gospel, not us. The more closely we look into his Word, the more often we gather together around it, the more we are fed with the Lord’s Supper, the more obvious it should be not only who God really is, but who we are before him. We stand among the ruins of our own altars with no excuse. But the true God became the sacrifice for us, enduring our punishment and conquering death itself. And, what is more, he remains among us to the end of the age.

 So, answer Joshua’s question, and answer today. Choose the one who has chosen you. Tear down your idols in repentance and receive the forgiveness won for you. Commit yourself to the study of his Word and faithfully partake of his sacraments for your life and salvation. The benefit is eternal.