Joshua 4:14-24

On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him, as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life. The Lord said to Joshua, “Command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, to come up out of the Jordan.” Joshua therefore commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” When the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet touched dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before. The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped in Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

Those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal, saying to the Israelites, “When your children ask their parents in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

Reflection by Donna Schaper

One of my sons thinks he is pretty smart about not-for-profits. He claims a certain critique of them, which goes like this: not-for-profits, and congregations, are so scared of conflict that they have forgotten how to ride its wave. One person complains, a bad press release goes out, a cabal is formed and people freak out. His youthful advice is to swim toward the vortex of the trouble. That way we ride the wave, learn from conflict, control the press, manage the message -- and reap the benefit of the Jordan. I think he's right, even though I would so love to be his teacher rather than his being mine.

Time after time we forget the dry ground and think we are drowning. Time after time, we forget what the stones of our ancestors mean, which is that Israel was first bound, then free. What the Jordan crossing means is that we can ride the waves. God is with us in the waves, swimming with us toward the vortex. Indeed Christians can even dare be glad at the arrival of conflict for it is the Friday, which leans towards our Sunday. Conflict is a great teacher. Without it we stagnate. In fact, our enemies are often our best instructors. Unless we have to listen to our children!

Prayer

O God, teach us how to paddle our little canoes toward the vortex of the water's flow and flow with us toward freedom from fear and freedom for learning. Amen.