A Sermon by John Brierly McCall, D. Min.
Joshua 3:7-17
You’ve likely argued with God, probably yelled and shaken your fist, too. Maybe it’s been a lover’s quarrel or a tug-of-war. But have you ever learned to dance with God? Maybe a slow, gentle waltz, or a wild, breathless tango? If you’ve tried – and tripped – I bet it’s because you fought God for the lead. It doesn’t work. When you let God lead you can discover such harmony and ease that you feel as though you’re floating.
Our culture tells us we all need to be leaders, never followers. You know what a mess that can make! Ginger Rogers once said she had to do everything Fred Astaire did, but did it backwards and in high heels!
Maybe that’s what it’s like for us – God leads and gets all the kudos and credits while we’re working like crazy to keep in step and feel like we might break a leg in a tumble.
Maybe that dance is something like the wonderful place a couple comes to when they’ve been together a long time – sickness and health, plenty and want, joy and sorrow, and they know the sizzle has been replaced by the ease and simple joy of facing life together; and then in the golden years when life can turn a little rusty!
Or maybe that dance with God is like raising a child and pushing and pulling and needing and rejecting and coming to the far side of the drama… when adolescence is over and your son or daughter has turned into a wonderful human being who doesn’t do everything your preferred way but is still a delight.
This image of dancing may be a bit of a surprise after hearing the lesson this morning. But here’s what I’ve been thinking: Joshua, the sixth book of the Hebrew scriptures, is different from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers. They form the Pentateuch or Torah. Joshua is the first of the so-called historical books – believed by many scholars to be more clearly rooted in historical events.
And the pivotal event is today’s story – the wandering tribes of the children of Israel crossing the River Jordan into the Promised Land – the fabled place flowing with milk and honey. This crossing, of course, is a clear parallel to the parting of the Red Sea some 40 years earlier at the beginning of the Exodus. Then followed the wilderness years with wandering and complaining and deep anxiety about God’s intention. Then God gave the law to Moses and began to shape the people into a true nation. But they rebelled in their fear and created a golden calf as an idol they could make and control. God forgave their betrayal and renewed the call to faithfulness.
At the very end of Deuteronomy God led Moses and the tribes to the high ground on the east side of the Jordan and there God let Moses have a glimpse of the Promised Land. Moses was 120 years old and God told him he could not enter. Many presume it was because of his sin – his enraged murder of an Egyptian soldier many years before. Moses laid the mantle of leadership on Joshua, and then he died. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Moab valley. Surely Moses had danced with God!
The people of Israel mourned for 30 days and then embraced Joshua’s leadership. They were ready to move forward. But it was dangerous to follow God’s leading.
This story has many metaphors. I’ll lift up three:
First, when you dance with God anything might happen. When you take a hold of God’s hand there’s no telling what’s coming next. We’re often pretty nonchalant about being disciples. We act like we can follow Jesus and not let it get in the way of whatever we want.
Author Annie Dillard suggests that we who gather as the church and invoke the name of God severely underestimate the power we’re engaging. She says we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. {Holy the Firm, pg. 41}
This God who led the people from slavery through the wilderness and to the valley of the Jordan River had promised them a return to the land of their origin. Joshua and the people knew the Promised Land wasn’t vacant. It was filled with other tribes – Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites, some nomadic and some settled with strongholds – like the ancient walled city of Jericho.
Life is fearsome. There will always be people and powers who get in your way. There will always be reasons it seems easier to stop in your tracks and give up or hide under the covers. You may choose to do that. But if you choose to welcome God into your heart you’ll also discover the greater joy and meaning that come when we make it to the other side and rejoice.
Second, when you dance with God you’re gonna get your feet wet. God may lead, but you need to do your part. When the priests from the twelve tribes picked up the ark of the covenant – the beautiful shrine in which the tablets of the commandments were placed – Joshua told them they would lead the procession into the Promised Land. Never mind that the Jordan River stood between them. Joshua promised that God would make the waters of the river “heap up.”
Fair enough… so did they wait for the miracle of parting waters before they stepped forward? No! Carrying the ark, the first priest put his sandaled foot into the flowing river, and then the waters stopped. God was true to God’s promise. God led, the priests followed. Then the miracle.
As disciples of Jesus we know God has been faithful in the past. We have hope that God will be faithful in the future. But we know we have to do our part. Even when God leads the dance you have to step up and step out. Then amazing things will happen.
Don’t be like the fellow in the old story who heard the flood warnings and prayed for assistance and heard God say: “I will take care of you.” The rains came and the waters rose, as the fire department drove down the road and warned everyone to move to higher ground. He ignored it: “God will take care of me.” The water rose higher and he climbed onto his porch roof. Neighbors came by in a boat and urged him to get in. “I’m fine,” he said, “God will take care of me.” The waters rose further and he had to climb to the very top of his roof. The Coast Guard came in a helicopter and called to him to take the rope. He ignored them shouting: “God will take care of me.”
Then he drowned. He was some angry when he went through the pearly gates and met God face-to-face. “You promised to take care of me,” he shouted, “and look what happened!” God answered: “You fool, I sent a fire truck and a boat and a helicopter. What more could you expect?”
When we dance with God – even though God takes the lead – we have to do our part.
Third, when you dance with God you’ll always end up in just the right place; maybe not today or next week, maybe not the place you expect or desire. But eventually, over time, you’ll realize that you ended up just right. Scripture calls this “The Promised Land” for a reason.
I know: we look around and see others’ lives: “O God, give me his money, her intelligence, his sense of humor, her good looks…” We cherry-pick. We want their blessings and comforts and conveniences – but not their heartaches. You can drive yourself nuts.
Dancing with God is about embracing your life. So you have a broken heart, or unresolved pain, or a deep sense of disappointment? Well dance with that limp. Anne Lamott writes: “Dancing almost always turns out to be a good idea.”
So why do we settled for shuffling along? It’s much sweeter to dance with God and open your heart to discerning more deeply who you are… how wonderfully and beautifully you’ve been created, and what your true potential is.
No one promised life would be easy. But life should be good. And for many of us, life can be better than we have settled for. Many of us create our own pain by fighting with God rather than dancing with God. There’s so much to discover when we welcome that embrace and learn to follow the One who truly leads.
As the philosopher Frederich Nietzsche said: I would believe only in a God that knows how to dance. How about you? Care to dance?
Amen.