Joshua 3:7-17
Crossing into the promised land
3:7 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.
3:8 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.'"
3:9 Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God."
3:10 Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites:
3:11 the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
3:12 So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
3:13 When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, come to rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap."
3:14 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.
3:15 Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,
3:16 the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
3:17 While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
EVERYBODY knows who “Indiana Jones” is: Hans Solo in a honey of a hat; a man afraid of nothing…except snakes; a-religious, but spends his screen time looking for artifacts all ABOUT faith. What a guy. Of course, this character moved to movie prominence by chasing the Ark of the Covenant in the first film, “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” I’ve seen it well over a dozen times, and still get a kick out of it. Harrison Ford is the Sean Connery of Generation X, and who but Spielberg could put them together in the third film, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”? In case you’re wondering, “Raiders” is my favorite of the films, and the last two, my least favorite. “Crusade” is second on the list. I’d say this introductory material on this latest sermon is “just for free” and has nothing to do with my message, but actually, it does. The “Ark mystique” is what brought Indiana Jones to life, and it still occupies much of the weirdness surrounding what some people find worthy of pondering.
Those of you who grew up on the little painted chairs of the Sunday School room know the basics about the actual Ark of the Covenant found in the pages of scripture. This was the “box” that God told Moses to build as a carrying case for the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments (God’s law), as well as Aaron’s staff that budded, and a jar of manna, to remind Israel of God’s provision. God gave better plans for building the Ark than you get from IKEA, and most Bible scholars who spend time with this stuff say that the depiction of the Ark of the Covenant from the Spielberg film is probably as accurate as we can imagine, which shouldn’t surprise us, given the famous director grew up in the best of Jewish tradition, and has access to as many scholars as he would need.
The “bad guy” archeologist in the film, Rene Belloq, embodies two things that can get God-fearing believers in trouble: he’s a thief for hire; and he has some really weird, “SyFy” ideas about what the Ark is (“a radio transmitter for speaking to God”). While my own “inquiring minds want to know” interests find some of the theories out there about the shroud of Turin, the Ark that Noah supposedly built, and this Ark of the Covenant, interesting, I don’t spend a lot of time ruminating about them, really don’t believe they have much to do with a true faith in Christ, and I certainly don’t chase after finding them, as some have. Honestly, relics such as these, even if they exist and may be found, someday (obviously, the shroud of Turin already has been), they are just that--relics of the past, and it still has a provisional “maybe” about it, if you listen to authentic Bible scholars. In most of my sermons, if you have been reading them, I tend to discount the historicity of these things, in favor of what the stories about them are meant to TEACH us. If someone finds the actual Ark of the Covenant in the dank basement of an Egyptian church someday, no lightning bolts will fly out of it, and it will most likely be as empty as Al Capone’s safe. It’s not a radio transmitter, nor a magic prop. It was a box for keeping God’s law in the midst of God’s people, and the stories surrounding its “magic” are designed to remind us how important it is to know that God is our source, our protector, our loving, heavenly “parent,” and our disciplinarian, especially when we go astray, which might endanger not just ourselves, but the communities with which we affiliate.
Unfortunately, for some, such relics—or potential relics, like the Ark—become a kind of religious talisman which they expect would boost or “assure” their faith, if found. I think Jesus addressed this temptation to put our faith in something tangible when he said to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Again, for Moses and Israel, the Ark was a symbol of God’s presence among the people, and a reminder to keep God’s law, not just because it “pleased God,” but because the law was intended to keep the peace among God’s people, and therefore strengthen their relationships with humans AND with God.
So, do we have objects in our day that, like the Ark of the Covenant, remind us of God’s presence in the world? Some might cite the incredible “works of art” that are the great cathedrals of Europe. Having been to a number of them, I can see that. There is something so majestic about them. One can just sit, take them in, and be amazed. Like a Mozart composition or a Rembrandt painting, they convey the beauty of the artist’s work directly to the heart. Cathedrals speak of the intense creativity of their designers, as well as the countless craftsmen who built them, usually over many decades, and even a century or two. That amazing Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Antoni Gaudi, is one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I’ve only seen photos and videos! It is truly transcendent, even more so than a gold-covered storage chest, or a giant boat, in my opinion. And yet, it should only serve to remind and inspire, not be worshiped or venerated, in itself, unless to give thanks for the amazing creativity that brought it to life.
For me, the two things that regularly remind me of God’s presence among humans are not exactly “objects,” but spiritual commands and pursuits—LOVE and JUSTICE. Jesus commanded us to love one another as he loved us. Genuine love transforms and sustains people. It is hard, as I’ve often preached. To “say” I love you is empty unless our level of action, sacrifice, and attention is being demonstrated in an ongoing, edifying relationship with the other. The other sign of both true religion AND an evidence of God’s presence is the insistence of and working for JUSTICE. THIS is the “true arc” that spurs faith and lifts people! I say “arc,” for it comes from a phrase that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted while preaching and working for justice during the civil rights movement of the 1960s: “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” a form of which was first attributed to Theodore Parker, a 19th Century American abolitionist. This “arc” truly is a sign of God’s intent for humanity—justice for all—and requires a joint effort between the Divine and God’s human creation. Justice will not be arrived at on its own, nor will it be dropped on us by God like the manna Israel got for food in the wilderness. As Dr. King said, bending THAT arc will take both work AND sacrifice, the most supreme version of the latter took him from our presence.
So, the moral of the message, and today’s text, my friends, is that what we “carry” today as true signs of God’s presence AND our obedience to the commands of Jesus Christ, are LOVE and JUSTICE. If it is true that the moral arc of the universe bends toward justice, it is our task to keep pushing that sucker harder in that direction, and lubricating it with the kind of love that liberates, uplifts, and transforms, beginning with ourselves and extending to our neighbor. Ark vs. Arc? I’ll take the latter. Amen!
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