Joshua 4:1-7

When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: “Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, and 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.’” Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. Joshua 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, so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then 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.”

Reflection by Kenneth L. Samuel

If we are not careful, the past can keep us in a backward momentum. We can so romanticize the glories of what used to be that we fail to press toward any higher calling in the future. Transgressions of the past can keep us blinded by hurt and unable to see the imperative to forgive. Traumas of the past can leave us in perpetual states of emotional shock. The past can be a stumbling block to our present opportunities and future possibilities.

But just as the past can be our stumbling block, the past can also be our stepping stone. Malcolm X said that a people's history is a people's memory. And is it not our memory that connects where we've been to where we want to go?

People often wonder why the past shouldn't just be passé. Why do women's rights still require so much vigorous defense? When will we ever be able to put the atrocities of the Holocaust behind us? Why do we still need an NAACP now that Barack Obama is in the White House?

The reason is that our memory not only reminds us of the past, it serves as a guide for the future. It is only as we remember what has happened in our past that we can determine what must happen in our tomorrows.

The children of Israel faced an exciting future as they crossed over Jordan into the land of promise. As they pressed toward their long-anticipated future, God instructed them to take up the stones of their past and tell the next generation about where they had been . . . and how they got over. History not only precedes the future, it inspires it as well.

Prayer

Dear Lord, please let the stones of our past propel us toward hope. We thank you for where we've been, because now we know where we must go. Amen.