Loosing Track in the Story

Read again Joshua 5:9-12.

Before starting these entries on Joshua, it had been a long, long time since I had read that book of the Bible. Funnily enough, Joshua is one of my favorite heroes. I thought it would be good to refresh myself so I reread the first seven chapters. As soon as I became involved in the story of the spies taking shelter in the house of Rahab, the prostitute (she's an ancestor of Jesus by the way), I forgot I was reading the Bible. (I admit, I remembered again when the Israelite warriors were marching around the city walls for the millionth time.) I love it when I forget myself while reading scripture. And I was all caught up when God rolled the river Jordan back and allowed the tribes to pass over into Canaan on dry land. I remembered too in that moment the dry passage through the Red Sea and Jesus' baptism in that holy river. There are many stories held in the sacred geography of the Bible.

I was thinking about the two most recent baptisms in our church while I read these stories as well -- how the water we poured over them contains that whole history. The water contains the travels of all our ancestors. We need our rituals to remind us of the stories that have formed us. But we also need to know the stories so that when we enact our rituals, we feel the richness of meaning layered into the signs of God's grace.

Reflection

• What book of the Bible is a favorite of yours that you haven't picked up in awhile?
• When you participate in church rituals like baptism, what do you think about? How about communion? What do you imagine during the Words of Institution?

Prayer

We give thanks, O God, for our traditions and the stories that made them. Guide our feet in the way of our ancestors and as we travel, open us to your mysteries and Word. In your Holy Name, Amen