Today I am filling an in-between time
for Trinity. As you know, in the Methodist tradition June is the
month for pastoral change. Most of us have known for a number of
weeks that Gary and Charlotte would not be returning to Trinity after
annual conference this year. We are preparing to welcome our new
minister, Kim Isley, in the pulpit next Sunday and this week is
moving week for Methodist clergy. Change is hard on us, and change is
hard on Re. Isley and her family. Just ask Betty Smalley, or my
husband, Bill, who grew up as the son of a Methodist minister in the
days when 5 years was an unusually long tenure.
June is a month characterized by change
& transitions. School’s out. What will next year bring? Will my
teacher like me? Will I be in the class with my best friend? We all
remember those feelings.
Graduation: There is a time after all the requirements of schooling
have been completed, and before the diploma is issued. Schooling is
behind you but you have not yet begun the next phase of life. A time
after your life as a student is over, but before your life in the
world has begun. An in-between time.
Marriage: The period of engagement is also a time of transition. Once
the promise to marry has been made, you are no longer truly a single
person, in the world on your own. Yet your life as half of a married
couple hasn’t really begun. After the church is booked, the dress
is selected and the reception planned, but before the marriage is
finalized, there is that in-between time.
Birth of a Child, esp the first: Perhaps nothings causes such a great
change in the life of two people as the arrival of the first child.
The weeks and even months leading up to the birth are an exciting
time, filled with hope, anticipation, fear and anxiety – it seems
that every conceivable emotion comes to the surface. You are not a
parent yet, but you are no longer childless. Then life after the baby
comes has no resemblance to life before. The change is not just about
the sleepless nights and endless diapers, but in how you see the
world. Things that were important before, are no longer and things
never considered assume importance.
Likewise, the death of a loved one causes profound shifts in life
when you have to learn to be in the world without your beloved.
There is a time after loss and before adjustment.
Each of us has experienced these kinds of transitions in the course
of our life. Life is full of such transitions, in-between times, for
us as individuals, for families and even for communities – the time
after the old life as passed, but before the new has taken told.
These in-between times are characterized by conflicting emotions:
apprehension, anticipation, fear, excitement, longing for the past,
and hoping for the future. It is natural that we long for the good
old days, even when we are looking forward to the future.
The Bible has a lot to say to us about the in-between times. These
are times when we may be most acutely aware of our need for God’s
guidance to help us make the transition from past to future. One of
our Bible School stories is a perfect illustration of one of the many
in-between times that the people of Israel experiences. Let me set
the stage for our OT scripture passage from Numbers 27: 12-20. The
people of Israel are nearing the end of one of the most significant
transition times in the Bible. For forty years, they have been
wandering between Egypt and the Promised Land. They are no longer
slaves, but they do not yet have a land of their own. How excited
they must have been, and how afraid, when Moses led them out of
Egypt, out of slavery and out of all they had known for generations.
It wasn’t long before some were ready to return to slavery in
Egypt, because the fear of the unknown was so great and the Promised
Land seemed so remote. Now, after 40 years of wandering, the children
of those who fled Egypt are on the brink of entering the Promised
Land. They are on the very banks of the River Jordan. And more
change is coming.
Read Numbers 27: 12 – 20.
12 The
Lord said to Moses, "Go up this mountain of the Abarim range,
and see the land that I have given to the Israelites.
13 When
you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your
brother Aaron was,
14 because
you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the
congregation quarreled with me. You did not show my holiness before
their eyes at the waters." (These are the waters of
Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
15 Moses
spoke to the Lord, saying,
16 "Let
the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint someone over
the congregation
17 who
shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead
them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the Lord may
not be like sheep without a shepherd."
18 So
the Lord said to Moses, "Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom
is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him;
19 have
him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and
commission him in their sight.
20 You
shall give him some of your authority, so that all the congregation
of the Israelites may obey.
The people were about to enter the Promised Land, but their beloved
leader of the last 40 years would not be going with them. Life in the
new land required a different kind of leader. Moses had been a man
closer to God than any other. Only Moses saw God face to face and
spoke directly to him. Still, Moses had not been a perfect leader and
the people had been rebellious and cantankerous. The scripture
indicates that some of his failure of leadership was significant
enough to prevent him from entering the Promised Land. A new leader
was required for the new generation of Israelites and the new kinds
of tasks that lay ahead. Joshua was chosen by God and anointed by
Moses as his successor. He was chosen because he, like Moses, was a
charismatic leader, “a man in whom is the spirit.”
One of Joshua’s first tasks was take the people safely across the
River Jordan into the Promised Land. This story, from our Bible
School lesson, is told in the third chapter of Joshua, but I will
read just vs. 7-9.
Read Joshua 3: 7-9
7 The
Lord said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the
sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as
I was with Moses.
8 You
are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the
covenant, "When you come to the edge of the waters of the
Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.' "
9 Joshua
then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of
the Lord your God."
The crossing was to be done in ceremonial style according to God’s
specific instructions given to Joshua.
Joshua and the people stood on the bank of the Jordan. The river was
flooded and not safe to cross. The people must have been afraid.
Maybe some were suggesting that they turn back. Others might have
wanted to go upstream to find a better crossing. But Joshua knew
that God had a plan and he laid it out before the people. Acting with
God’s instructions, the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant,
the tangible symbol of God’s presence among them, stepped into the
swollen river. As they did, the water receded. The priests stood in
the middle of the river, on dry ground. All the people, the entire
nation, crossed safely.
God was with the people and would guide then safely across the
passage as long as they followed his word. He would provide a way for
the transition from the past – Moses and the wilderness – to the
future – Joshua and the Promised Land.
In the NT, two examples of in-between times jump to mind. First was
that awful time between Jesus death on the cross and his
Resurrection. His followers were confused and afraid. He had tried to
prepare them, but there was no way they could understand what was
happening during that period after his earthly life was finished and
before his resurrection was known. The next in-between period for his
followers came after Christ’s ascension, but before the Holy Spirit
was manifest at Pentecost.
In every instance of transition and in-between time, God’s guidance
carried the people safely forward. God was there to guide Joshua and
he was there to guide the first disciples. What about us? What
guidance might we, the people of Trinity, find in our in-between time
and how do we find it? We find our guidance as we pray, individually
and together as a community of faith. We find our guidance as we
study his Word, and as we reflect on his calling in our lives.
I would like to conclude with a scripture from the NT that speaks to
me at this time; that I am looking to for guidance during this
in-between time. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul was
specifically addressing the life of the church community. The
Ephesians were a Gentile congregation, and did not have the Jewish
laws and traditions about family, community and congregational life.
Paul was instructing them about how to be a Christians in a Christian
community.
Read Ephesians 4: 1-7 and skip to 11-13.
1 I
therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of
the calling to which you have been called,
2 with
all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another
in love,
3making
every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace.
4 There
is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope
of your calling,
5 one
Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one
God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
7 But
each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's
gift.
11 The
gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
12 to
equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body
of Christ,
Paul has set a high mark for us: Maintain a unity of spirit and
faith; recognize and appreciate the diversity of gifts among us and
grow in maturity “to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”
Let us Pray:
God, be with us in the in-between times in our lives, both personal
and communal; the times after the old is finished, but before the new
has take hold. These are difficult times for us, filled both with
anxiety and anticipation. Be our comforter and our guide during these
times. As a community of believers, help us to strive for unity of
faith, knowledge of your son, and Christian maturity. Be with us as
we go from this place and help us carry your spirit with us as Joshua
did.
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