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Advent 4, Year B
South Sydney Uniting Church
December 24, 2017
Joshua 5:13-14; Luke 1:26-38
‘A tale of two Joshuas’
Stories make sense in light of other stories. On this fourth Sunday in Advent we celebrate the imminent birth of one whose name means “salvation”. The English name, Jesus, is a translation from the Greek of the Hebrew Yeshua. Joshua is an English translation of Yeshua. Jesus and Joshua are the same name. We celebrate the imminent birth of one in whom the ancient story of Joshua is replayed, retold. The tale of two Joshuas is one of continuity and discontinuity. The task of reading and understanding is before us. The task of embodying salvation (birthing/nurturing) – love for the world – is ever before us. God be with you ...
Our text from Joshua 5 is especially intriguing. Joshua is hell bent on invasion and conquest. Just prior to leading an assault on the walled city of Jericho, he encounters a mysterious figure, a warrior with a drawn sword. “Are you with us or with our enemies?” a startled Joshua asks. “Neither!” the stranger replies. “I come to you as commander of the army of YHWH!”
“What command do you give to your servant?” asks Joshua. We might expect a word of military advice. “Remove your sandals,” the commander commands, “for where you stand is holy ground.”
The strangeness of the scene haunts the entire narrative. It undermines the triumphalism; goes some way toward explaining the recurring anxiety as to what faithfulness to God (over competing allegiances) really, ultimately entails.
If the commander of YHWH’s army is neither for nor against Israel in this moment, then the message of the book, which boasts of a divine mandate for violent acquisition of land, is unclear. Or perhaps the book stands as a warning against immorality and idolatry. The stone that Joshua erects as triumphant memorial blocks the way to salvation.
Indeed, one commentator writes: “Out of the rubble [31 Canaanite rulers and cities conquered/destroyed; subsequent suffering and exile] comes an awareness that the promise [originally made to Abraham and Sarah; for all the families on earth] continues, that the nation-
The account of the mysterious warrior is a whispered word (and all the more important for being so) – the reference to “holy ground” evokes Moses’ encounter with the burning bush and whispers the word “freedom”; the slight text mimics the “still small voice”, the revelation of God to the fiery prophet Elijah, under cover in the cleft of a rock (1 Kings 19).
At our most recent Bible study at the manse, we traced the rock/stone motif throughout the book of Joshua, from the magical ark containing the stone tablets of the law, to stone altars, stone knives for circumcision, a stoning to death, deadly hailstones of judgement, stones of entrapment and remembrance.
We then listed stories about stones in the gospels and epistles. Rocks and stones marking the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We counted 12, including: “Let the person who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 7), which prefigures the conversion of Saul/Paul. “Build your house on the rock” (Matthew 7). “If the disciples were to keep silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19). The apostle Peter nicknamed the Rock in recognition of his faith, that is, his need of love and forgiveness (Matthew 16). Stones as godly words, essential as bread (Matthew 4), and believers as living stones (1 Peter 2). The blessed cornerstone, once rejected (Matthew 21, after Psalm 118). A rolling stone to herald risen life. The main street of the New Jerusalem with paving stones of gold (Revelation 21).
Twelve rocks and stones become Christmas baubles, replete with red and gold ribbon bows.
The word of God is a rolling stone, a living stone, a shining stone (Lights of Christmas at St Mary’s Cathedral) ... we’ll each have our favourites. [And we have little terracotta angels from Bangladesh for the children.] We might also recall with fondness/sadness Canaanite fertility stones, stone pillars and stone pillows (bedrock of heavenly dreams and visions). Our SSH gardening columnist Chris Lodge points out that good soil is 90 per cent weathered rock (Mark 4).
The angelic warrior in Joshua 5 foreshadows the figure of Christ in Revelation 1. Wearing a long robe with a golden sash, the figure in John the seer’s vision has white hair, eyes like flames, feet like bronze and a voice like the roar of many waters. A sharp two-
In the story of Joshua, it is violence that wins the victory. Jesus’ victory is won through non-
Luke tells of a similar encounter between Mary and the angel Gabriel. Again, the word of God invites creative response. Mary makes her decision, she chooses love over fear, receives the promise and offers her own song about peace with justice: “You, O God, have deposed the mighty from their thrones and raised the lowly to high places ...” Again the blessed cornerstone, once rejected. Holy ground. Holy love.
It is right to be playful, to read, to take delight in reading, without fear.
And it is faithful to draw an ethical conclusion. Both Joshua and Jesus, according to Mary’s song, brought down the proud and the mighty. “Both sought the establishment of a community characterized by God’s law. The basic idea is this: God loves you; God has given you salvation; God’s mercy comes first. Now, what God asks of you is that you respond by living faithfully in light of this great mercy … Confess your sins and trust that God’s mercy will bring you healing” (Ted Grimsrud).
The angelic word, the whispered, subversive, salvific word is “love”. And the Rock at the Red Centre of our country – we need look no further – is holy ground. The God of Uluru speaks of sovereignty, spirituality. The Uluru Statement from the Heart calls for reforms and the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
“Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-
“We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-
“In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future” (Statement from 2017 First Nations National Constitutional Convention).
“Confess your sins and trust that God’s mercy will bring you healing … [Seek] healing over seeking to dominate. … [T]his is in fact what Jesus himself [will do] – [embracing] his own identity as Joshua’s heir while making clear that in the end God is a God who loves …” (Ted Grimsrud). A God with us who loves. Amen.