Life is Full of Choices

November 8, 2020 Joshua 24:1-3,14-25 23rd Sunday After Pentecost Year B Life is Full of Choices Opening Song Welcome Opening Prayer Contemporary Gathering Words (Matthew 25) (Each line could be read by a different voice.) It is time to wake up, for God is about to surprise us. It is time to prepare, for God's love is about to change the world. It is time to get ready, for God needs us to proclaim the good news. It is time to start planning, for God's invitation will fill our church. It is time to worship, for God is here now! Stewardship Moment Offertory Lord, as you have so abundantly blessed each of us, let us return a portion of these gifts in gratitude for all you have given to us. Let us receive our morning offering. Prayer of Dedication Lord, we return a portion of all the gifts you have given to us in remembrance and in gratitude for these blessings. Use these gifts to support ministries of healing and hope, for we ask this in Jesus’ name. AMEN. Scripture Joshua 24:1-3 Common English Bible What God has done 24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges, and officers. They presented themselves before God. 2 Then Joshua said to the entire people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates. They served other gods. Among them was Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. 3 I took Abraham your ancestor from the other side of the Euphrates. I led him around through the whole land of Canaan. I added to his descendants and gave him Isaac. What God has done 24 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges, and officers. They presented themselves before God. 2 Then Joshua said to the entire people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates. They served other gods. Among them was Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. 3 I took Abraham your ancestor from the other side of the Euphrates. I led him around through the whole land of Canaan. I added to his descendants and gave him Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Mount Seir to Esau to take over. But Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 5 Then I sent Moses and Aaron. I plagued Egypt with what I did to them. After that I brought you out. 6 I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the sea. The Egyptians chased your ancestors with chariots and horses to the Reed Sea.[a] 7 Then they cried for help to the LORD. So he set darkness between you and the Egyptians. He brought the sea down on them, and it covered them. With your own eyes you saw what I did to the Egyptians. You lived in the desert for a long time. 8 “Then I brought you into the land of the Amorites who lived on the other side of the Jordan. They attacked you, but I gave them into your power, and you took over their land. I wiped them out before you. 9 Then Moab’s King Balak, Zippor’s son, set out to attack Israel. He summoned Balaam, Beor’s son, to curse you. 10 But I wasn’t willing to listen to Balaam, so he actually blessed you. I rescued you from his power. 11 Then you crossed over the Jordan. You came to Jericho, and the citizens of Jericho attacked you. They were Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites. But I gave them into your power. 12 I sent the hornet[b] before you. It drove them out before you and did the same to the two kings of the Amorites. It wasn’t your sword or bow that did this. 13 I gave you land on which you hadn’t toiled and cities that you hadn’t built. You settled in them and are enjoying produce from vineyards and olive groves that you didn’t plant. Challenge to be faithful 14 “So now, revere the LORD. Serve him honestly and faithfully. Put aside the gods that your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and serve the LORD. 15 But if it seems wrong in your opinion to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Choose the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you live. But my family and I will serve the LORD.” 16 Then the people answered, “God forbid that we ever leave the LORD to serve other gods! 17 The LORD is our God. He is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. He has done these mighty signs in our sight. He has protected us the whole way we’ve gone and in all the nations through which we’ve passed. 18 The LORD has driven out all the nations before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.” 19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve the LORD, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you leave the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn around and do you harm and finish you off, in spite of having done you good in the past.” 21 Then the people said to Joshua, “No! The LORD is the one we will serve.” 22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.” They said, “We are witnesses!” 23 “So now put aside the foreign gods that are among you. Focus your hearts on the LORD, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and will obey him.” Joshua makes a covenant 25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people and established just rule for them at Shechem. Sermon I don’t think it is just me, I think it has been a crazy out of control week for most of us. This is the first time ever that there has been a whole week of 70 degree weather in November – to distract us from staying inside all day. And now that we are starting to gather indoors more – the cases of COVID are skyrocketing. Many of my colleagues have been talking about just tearing up their sermons for the week and dealing with the divisiveness in our country in the midst of an election. No matter who would have won, there would have been deep feelings on either side. Many decided to talk about the results of the presidential election. Lucky for me, I don’t put my sermon on paper until Saturday night. But also my message has not changed because of the events of the day. My message is still to love Jesus, serve Jesus, keep the faith in all circumstances. A little boy asked his busy mother to help him find something to do. So the mother found a large map of the United States on a page in a magazine. With a pair of scissors, she cut up the map into small pieces like a puzzle. Then she gave the pieces and some tape to her son and challenged him to put it together. The youngster returned in almost no time with the map together. Mother was amazed and said, "Son, how did you get that entire map of the United States together so fast?" The youngster said, "It was easy. On the back of the map was a picture of a family. So I turned it over and started to work. Once I got the family put together, the country turned out just right." Faith, service, trust brings us together. As long as we all follow Jesus, he keeps us united in spite of who we are and where we stand. The whole point of Christian community is to learn to keep the faith with people that you disagree with and whom you may not even like, but you know God loves. Our scripture for today comes from the book of Joshua. Now you may not realize that Jesus is the latin version of the name Joshua – meaning God saves. Now when Joshua in our story, came from Egypt in the great exodus – his name was Hoshea. Even as a young man, Moses noticed something special in him – a certain kind of holiness. A devotion to God. So when Moses took him in as his confidante and body guard, he changed his name to Joshua. The adult Sunday school is having a 4 week class on Joshua by the way if you want to know more. I love the challenge of Joshua 24 – choose who you are going to serve. I have a sign in my house that says – As for me and my house I choose to serve the Lord. Before learning the story of Joshua now, I always pictured this scene at Shecem where Joshua gathers the people, happening while Joshua was a young strong soldier, challenging the community to serve God. And as head of a household telling people that he had made that choice for his family. When actually, this story happens after Moses death. Joshua has been leading for 28 years, and now he is an older man. As a matter of fact, this is two years before Joshua dies at 110. By this time there was a generation gap between him and the majority of the families he was leading. Back in his day, it was assumed that you were faithful and that you loved God. Your family had no choice but to go to the tabernacle. In the wilderness of course you were faithful to God – you had no choice. But this generation was settled, they did not have to rely on God for survival, and there were other tribes that they could relate to. With this new life came choices – choices of what to do with you time and even of what to believe. It is sort of like in modern times, when young families can decide between church, sleeping in, or sports. True story – Chris, a young lady was in the confirmation class. In order to be confirmed they all needed to meet with the church elders. Chris did not show up for that meeting because she had a soccer game at the same time. Everyone else attended. When it was time for them to have class, everyone but Chris showed up. Her family had planned a trip for that Sunday, and they would not reschedule. When it came time for her to be confirmed, the elders chose not to allow her. They said that given the choices that she was making with her time, that perhaps she was not ready to become a member of the church. Being long time members of the church, of course the family was furious that this decision had been made. Life is full of choices, sometimes the choices that we make are not so much about right and wrong, good and bad. Sometimes both choices are good. But many times one of those choices doesn’t involve God. Joshua was giving the message that we should chose God in all that we do, But he also warned not to choose God lightly. God takes our choice very serious. Every choice that we make has consequences, every choice that we make has responsibilities, every choice that we make involves change. As I said, as a young man, Moses saw that Joshua was a man of faith. When Joshua became a soldier, and worked with Moses – He had to take a personal vow to be a servant of God. That personal vow made all of the difference in the world. Now as he is trying to get the community to be united under God – he realizes that the community has to take that same vow to put God before the world. In the midst of all of the choices that they had to live, He wants them to choose God. Interestingly, this is the first time that the people have been given a choice to serve. In all of the Hebrew Bible stories, It is God who makes the choice, and the people who follow along. That is not a real personal choice. I taught confirmation class for many years. And I always stressed to parents that I was trying to get the child to make a choice for themselves. When my son went through confirmation, I told him that it was his decision to make, as long as he made the right choice. In which case we would have to resort to other measures. He chose to be confirmed, so all is well that ends well. But of course as an adult, he does not attend church on a regular basis. Joshua wants to make sure that the people stay faithful long after he is gone. Joshua’s challenge was not a beginning, it was an end. He knew he couldn’t lead them much longer. There was not an obvious leader to pass the mantle on to . He was not giving direction on what the future holds for them. He didn’t give them any answers about what comes next. All he did was to challenge them to choose whom they were going to serve in the midst of the uncertaintly. A lot of times, when we are uncertain about the present, we look into the future, and we don’t see God anywhere. We start to panick and think that God has abandoned us. Have you ever noticed that in those times, the only way that you can regocnize God’s presence is to look back at the past, and see that God was there all of the time. Some years ago, I heard the poignant story of a woman struggling to reestablish a relationship with her father.2 "When I was a child," she recalled, "my dad and I were as close as we could be. And the times I knew it best would be at those family reunions, when after the big meal, they'd move all the furniture, crank up the stereo, and start playing polka records -- one after another. Eventually, someone would put on the 'Beer Barrel Polka.' It was our special song. And my father would come over with outstretched hand and say, 'Come on, girl, let's roll them blues away!' And we'd dance -- my father and I -- we'd dance. "As a teenager, however, I started to despise the silliness of those family get-togethers. I remember one occasion in particular when, for reasons known only to adolescents, I sat moping on the sofa in one of those don't-associate-with-anybody moods. As the 'Beer Barrel Polka' began to play, my father came over with outstretched hand. But I glared at him with icy indifference. 'Just leave me alone,' I muttered under my breath. Startled, he turned, and never invaded my privacy again. He danced with my mother, he danced with my sisters, but not with me. "I'd come home from a date, and he'd be waiting for me in the old chair -- his bathrobe loosely tied at the waist, an opened book in his lap, half asleep. 'What are you doing up?' I'd say. 'Why don't you just go to bed?' He'd look at me with sad, pleading eyes and whisper, 'I was just waiting for you, that's all. I was just waiting for you.' "I was glad to leave that house when I finally graduated high school. My father and I had a distant, formal relationship, but not much more. Eventually, though, I began to miss what we had once enjoyed -- only I wasn't quite sure how to bridge the gap. Until one day, when I happened to be home for a family reunion, somebody put on the 'Beer Barrel Polka.' As my father walked across the room, I went up to him with outstretched hand and said, 'Daddy, I believe this is our dance.' He looked at me and smiled, 'I've been waiting for you. I've been waiting for you.' " "As for me and my household," Joshua proclaims, "we will serve the Lord." Are there any other takers? The choice is ours. The time is now. And all of heaven waits .... Some people say that all of us give attention to at least four basic relationships throughout our lives: our relationship with God, our relationship with ourselves, our relationship with others, and our relationship with what’s around us, or in other words, our relationship with things. Each of these relationships takes some of our time and demands a certain portion of our energies. Figuring out which relationship matters most can be tricky. Of course, in those 4 relationships, there are 4 types of choices to make. Joshua’s message to us in the modern area, facing an uncertain future, is that when we choose God first – everything else falls into place. I tell that story to let you know that there will be times when we will Forget, Neglect and Turn Away. But hear the Good News. God will not forsake us or leave us. Hear the Good News, God will continue to call us and remind us of God's promises. Hear the Good News God will continue to offer forgiveness and a way home; if we will turn to God and Remember, Remind and Recommit. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., From the Pulpit, by Billy D. Strayhorn Let us pray……. Prayer Knowing we won’t know and sitting in the not knowing are not the same. We are in this together, for the short term and the long haul. We see each other, and we know that the only path to wholeness is through the rough terrain of truth-telling and repair work that will be required no matter the outcome of this election. We will feed each other and care for one another, meeting despair with tender compassion and anxiety with deep peace. We will reach for the visions and dreamcasts of our ancestors and conspire for a kind of peace and liberation that will set us loose in ways our opponents can’t even imagine. Breathe now, so you are restored for the resistance. Breathe deep, so you are grounded in love. Take courage, and remember, you are not alone. Rev. Shawna Bowman Lord’s Prayer Song for Reflection The Battle Hymn of the Republic Announcements Benediction Community Time Benediction Closing Prayer/Sending Forth Hold back and wonder what might have been; choose God and rejoice in the many ways you will see God’s love in the world. It’s all about choices — which will you choose? This answer can make all the difference in your life. Go in peace! AMEN. Children’s Sermon Additional Illustrations An old Reader's Digest story told of a man who flew his own plane but got tired of the long auto trip from the airport to his country place which was situated on a lovely lake. So he equipped his plane with pontoons so he could land right in front of his cottage. However, on his first trip up to the country with his newly-equipped plane, he headed for a landing at the airport just as he always had done in the past. Old habits are hard to break. But just as he was going in for the landing it dawned on his wife what was happening and she hollered, "What do you think you're doing? You can't land this thing on the runway. You don't have any wheels, you've got pontoons on it!" Fortunately, her warning shout was in time and he pulled up from his landing pattern, swung the airplane around, and headed the plane for a landing on the lake. After the plane landed safely on the lake he heaved a really big sigh of relief, turned to his wife and said, "That's about the stupidest thing I've ever done!" And then he opened the door, stepped out and fell directly into the lake." I tell that story to let you know that there will be times when we will Forget, Neglect and Turn Away. But hear the Good News. God will not forsake us or leave us. Hear the Good News, God will continue to call us and remind us of God's promises. Hear the Good News God will continue to offer forgiveness and a way home; if we will turn to God and Remember, Remind and Recommit. CSS Publishing Company, Inc., From the Pulpit, by Billy D. Strayhorn Another issue just as important as the generation gap has to be brought up before we dive into the story told in Joshua 24. The issue in mind has to do with the relationships we nurture across the years. Our nation will stand strong or feebly fall on the foundation of its homes. If moral and spiritual decay continue to nibble away at the fiber of American family life, then the downfall of this country is approaching rapidly. But if you and I, as Believers, will set an example by constantly working to create strong Christian homes for our families, there may be hope for the future. How true that is! The strength of our nation depends on the strength of our families. Let us be challenged today to work hard to make our houses into homes,... where positive Christian values are transmitted from one generation to the next;... where friends are welcomed and children are more valuable than furniture;... where undesirable pressures are kept out, and where Jesus Christ is kept centralThat's how you make a house a home! C.S.S. Publishing Company, HOME IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD, by R. E. Lybrand

The Day the World Changed

“The day the world changed”
September 11, 2011
Year A
Exodus 14:19-31
Romans 14:1-12
Matthew 18:21-35
13th Sunday after Pentecost



The importance of September 11th
Today is September 11th. We all know that ten years ago a plane destroyed the twin towers, and drove into the pentagon. We all know that was a pretty traumatic day for our nation. September 11, 2011 is also a day of trepidation as we have been told that the threat for today is just as real. We live in fear that it could happen again. And we don’t know what to do about it.

There are those days when we remember and will never forget
When we think about that day – most of us can remember where we were, what we were doing. I was on the train from Aurora to Chicago, I had a special meeting to attend downtown Chicago. A cell phone above me rang, and the lady above me was told that a plane had just driven into the twin towers. By the time we got to the meeting, everyone was so worried that we watched television as we met. We watched in horror. We told that the building had to be evacuated, and I caught the train back home. There have been several events in my life where a particular day will be etched in my mind forever. I was not yet three years old – but I remember the day Robert Kennedy was killed. I wasn’t born, but many have recounted the day MLK was killed or John Kennedy was killed
Those were moments when life as we know it changed forever, and we realized that there was no way that we could return.
Every year we are asked where we were on 9/11. Someone yesterday asked do you remember what you were doing on 9/10 – and I don’t. I didn’t need to. But when our lives change – things stick with us.

The Isrealites 9/11
Exodus tells of that day for the Israelites when life as they knew it would change. God had found favor on their condition. God sent them out. They crossed the red sea as Moses parted the sea for them. They all passed through. The angel passed before them and behind them and the spirit of God was with them. Scripture says that the Egyptians came after them, and the water passed over and they were destroyed. Once they made it over, they looked back and all they could see were dead Egyptians.

Midrash story
There is another midrash story which says that says that after the event, the angels noticed that God was sitting on the side crying. The angels asked why god was crying since god’s children have been saved. God said that he was mourning the loss of his children. The Israelites were his children, but so were the Egyptians. And now they lay dead.

Life changing moments usually a day of life and death
Death is usually a part of those life changing moments. In this story it was the death of the Egyptians, on 911 it was the 2000 or more people who perished that day, or it could be the death of an important or inspirational person. That day could also include the death of the past, the death of a dream, the death or all that you have been working for, the death of innocence, the death of normalcy in life.

Whatever that day may be – that day is a day when we look back and see death, and we look ahead and see a life that we don’t understand. It is a say when we see what has been taken away from us, but we don’t see what we have been given. We see that the life that we embraced doesn’t work anymore. But we don’t know what to do to go on. Until god comes along and tells us that there is no way to go back, we can only go forward. The question is not why life changes, but how it changes. What are we supposed to do now in order to go forward?
The motto for 911 is - we will never forget. Never forgot the moment that changed our lives. Never forget the people, who we lost,
This is a moment for our nation to questions the values that hold us together as a community, to look at who are our enemies, who are our friends. Who can we trust and who can’t we trust, who do we blame for all of our pain.
10 years later there still a lot of pain, a lot of woundedness, a lot of consequences, a lot of unaswered questions.
In teaching a class on forgiveness, there was a story of three mothers who lost sons who were fireman. 10 years later they are still in pain, because the bodies of their sons were never found. Until their sons are buried and laid to rest, there is no closure, no chance to heal and to move on. They cannot forget. But if you can’t forget, how can you ever forgive? If you can’t let go, how do you get to move on. Only God can answer that.


Christian community is an example for the world
“There will be no peace among the peoples of this world without peace among world religions. There will be no peace among the world religions without peace among the Christian churches. The community of the Church is an integral part of the world community” Hans Küng.

We are called to be an example to the rest of the world of what is possible when you forgive and vow to live in community. We will have our differences, but how we solve them is to be an example for others.

Just as God cares just as much as the Egyptians as he cares for the Israelites. He cares for the world, and how we treat one another. What we do to one another. Christian community is chosen to be an example for the world. Not because we are better than others, but because we have been appointed for a special purpose – to do the work of Jesus. Jesus was a peacemaker, a way maker.

We did not focus on the gospel, but peter asks Jesus about the magic number of forgiveness. How many times should forgive a person, seven times? Seventy seven times, and more if it requires it. We are a forgiven people, so we need to be forgiving people.


Forgiveness and nonjudgment



Along with unforgiveness, comes judgment. We label that person, and no matter what they do, we attach that label to them. If they crossed us, they will cross us again. If we are a follower of God and we have been wronged, then that person must not be a friend of God. The gospel of a story of grace and mercy, not a story of judgment and criticism.

The two million dollar mistake
John D. Rockefeller built the great Standard Oil empire. Not surprisingly, Rockefeller was a man who demanded high performance from his executives. One day, one of those executives made a two million dollar mistake. Word of the man’s enormous error quickly spread throughout the executive offices, and the other men began to make themselves scarce, not wanting to cross his path. One man didn’t have any choice, however, since he had an appointment with the boss. So he straightened his shoulders and walked into Rockefeller’s office. As he approached Rockefeller’s desk, he looked up from the piece of paper on which he was writing. “I guess you’ve heard about the two million dollar mistake our friend made,” he said abruptly. “Yes,” the executive said, expecting Rockefeller to explode. “Well, I’ve been sitting here listing all of our friend’s good qualities, and I’ve discovered that in the past he has made us many more times the amount he lost for us today by his one mistake. His good points far outweigh this one human error. So I think we ought to forgive him, don’t you?”



We are asked to do the same that God does for us
God does the same for us everyday. God takes into account or value, not or sin. God expects us to do the same for others.

Romans says that we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, if we die, we die to the Lord. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

God is the judge of my actions, not you. And everything that I do is to please God, not to please you. We all have to stand before God, so it is not our job to judge their character. It is or job to learn to live in community.


When we live in a world of us and them – it is real easy to point to finger at them. Romans says that we are all different, we understand or faith differently. What may be okay with you may not be okay with me. And yet we are not only Christian, we are a part of the same church. How do we manage our differences, how do we disagree without losing community? By learning to forgive, and not to pass judgment. If we master that, we can change the world.


We all stuck on Egypt
The truth is we all, faithful or not – we are all stuck in Egypt, looking for freedom. We are all holding onto something. There is something holding us back to being the person God wants us to be. There is something that we need to be delivered from.
We all live in a 9/11 world – where we have wounds that need to heal, unfinished monuments that we promised to build, things that we will never forget, and will drive our actions and opinions.


Live in 9/12 not 9/11
And the day has come and it will come again, when God will intervene in our lives, in a way that we can’t deny. When whatever happened yesterday is wiped away. And all there is for us to do is to take account of or lives and move on. 9/11 affects us all in some way. But let’s not stay stuck on what we were doing on 9/11. The real question for followers of Christ is what did we do on 9/12. If I remember correctly, that is the day that we got up and needed to pray. We needed to come together in community, we needed to volunteer to help make a difference, we needed to make plans for how to support others, and how to understand those who we have ignored, how to stand together in community. We can remember 9/11 – but we need to live for 9/12 and beyond. I want us to say a litany – a community prayer for God’s healing and hopes in our lives and in the lives of others.

Litany
Leader: When memories of terror reawaken the past, and experiences of death, loss, and grief, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
Leader: When anger and inflamed passion tempt us to respond with violence and seek revenge, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
Leader: When we are enticed to give in to the illusion that war alone will resolve conflict between enemies, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
Leader: When it feels like every menace, whether imagined or real, is a threat to our security, and fills us with fear, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
Leader: When religion is used as an excuse to exclude, threaten, or destroy others, forgetting or ignoring all that unites us, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
Leader: When we become stuck in the past, unable to respond to the challenges we face with vision and hope, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
Leader: When we wrestle with how to create a better future for our children, even to the seventh generation, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
Leader: When we struggle to find a new and peaceful way to live in the world, and forget that you, O God, are our help and salvation, then ...
People: In your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world.
All: O God of all peoples, nations and creeds: you have created us and rejoiced in the goodness of creation, and have wept with us when have experienced death, loss and grief.
Send your healing presence into the world and endow all people, leaders, groups and nations with your vision of unity and peace; so that we and all people may move on from the wounds of the past and seek to live in harmony with one another; to the end that the goodness of your creation may be restored, enhanced and sustained for the common good of all.
Through mercies of your love and grace, and in your sure hope, O God, bring healing to the world. Amen!