Rev. Patti Money
Oak Grove UMC
Joshua 1:1-9
November 9, 2011
“Be Strong and Courageous”
Lois Gibbs was an ordinary American woman, living an ordinary life in upstate New York in the late 7os. She prided herself on being a suburban wife and mother, and that’s all she ever wanted to do and be. She did not have a college degree. She was not an activist. She had never given a speech in public, and in fact had intentionally skipped school when required to give presentations in class. However, Lois and her husband had settled in Love Canal, New York. They owned a home. Their children attended the local schools. When her son began to suffer health problems, when other children in the area began to suffer health problems, when Lois and other residents discovered that their town was built on the site of a toxic waste dump, she was faced with a choice: stay silent, and watch her family and friends suffer the health and financial consequences, or gather her courage, speak up, and force local and national authorities to take notice and take action. Over thirty years later, we know what choice she made, and the difference that choice made in her family, in her community, and in this nation. In 1978, Lois Gibbs was an ordinary wife and mother, living an ordinary life in her community. In 2011, her name is synonymous with the Love Canal situation, and our world is a better and cleaner place largely because of her activism…and all because when faced with a giant problem, she, who used to tremble at the thought of speaking in public, rose to the challenge and showed great strength and courage.
Sometimes, like Lois Gibbs, we are presented with giants…problems, challenges, obstacles…that seem beyond our ability to conquer. Our human instinct is to quiver in fear, to flee in terror, or to hide our heads in the sand and hope that someone else will take care of it. But that’s not what God calls us to do. God calls us to face our fears…to stand strong…to take action. And God promises that He will be with us, and will give us everything we need.
There’s a story in the Bible about that. It’s found in Joshua 1:1-9. Let me give you a little bit of background. God had rescued the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, and Moses had led them to the edge of the land that God had promised to give them. Through it all, the Israelites complained and whined, and God continued to provide for them, both materially and spiritually. Finally, they arrived at the Promised Land, and God instructed Moses to send in twelve spies to “scope out the place”. Ten of the spies returned and said, “Yeah, it’s great…except there are giants, and fortified cities, and armies…and it’s just impossible. If we try and invade it, we’re toast.” Two of the spies returned and said, “OK, all that is true…but it’s an amazing land, God has given it to us, God will be with us, and with God we can do anything.” Guess which spies the Israelites listened to? The negative ones, of course. As a result, the people of God spent forty years wandering the wilderness, and an entire generation (including Moses) did not get to enter the Promised Land. All because in the moment of truth, they chose to give in to fear rather than step forward in faith and courage.
Fast forward forty years, and a new generation of Israelites are getting ready to enter the Promised Land. Here is what God says to them:
NRS Joshua 1:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, 2 "My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. 4 From the wilderness and the Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, to the Great Sea in the west shall be your territory. 5 No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. 9 I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Be strong and courageous…for I am with you…do not be frightened…obey me…believe in me and in my promises…and you will be successful…I will be with you…be strong and courageous…I am with you. Those are the words that God spoke to the Israelites. This time, with Joshua as their (literally) fearless leader, the Israelites did take over the Promised Land…and were successful. Yes, there were casualties. Yes, there were struggles. Yes, it was not all sunshine and roses. But they claimed what God said was theirs…and they were successful in doing so, because they chose to step forward in faith, in courage, in strength, and in obedience…because they believed in God’s promises rather than their own fear and doubt.
Here in modern-day America, we’re not in the business of conquering land and armies in God’s name. But, we still face situations when God requires us to be strong and courageous, when we are called to obey God’s voice over the voice of others, when we are called to step out boldly in faith rather than shrink back in fear. It’s different for all of us: it may be beginning a new job in a new career, choosing a new treatment for an illness, speaking up against injustice that we see, or moving to a new area and beginning a whole new life.
Here are Oak Grove, one of the greatest challenges we’ve faced has been financial…I’m on the finance committee and church council, so I’ve seen this struggle firsthand over the past ten or so months. We have an incredible vision from God, a pastor, staff, and leadership who are extremely gifted, and as a result we have a church culture that is incredibly unique and innovative, especially among our United Methodist peers. And all of that is paying off…in professions of faith, in worship attendance, in the number of small groups and Sunday school classes we offer…and the amount of people involved in those. Lives are being touched and transformed in a major way here at Oak Grove. My life, and the life of my husband and those of my children, is among those that have been transformed. God is clearly doing amazing things, and could do even more amazing things in the next few years. However, we’re also facing a giant…a giant mortgage, to be exact, and contributions that are not meeting our needs. And when times get tough…when we are struggling financially, when there are fears about our future, when the words “Bank of Hampton Roads” finds us sweating and quivering in our boots (or Nikes, or Danskos, or whatever you wear on your feet)…it’s very tempting to give in to the fear and doubt, to want to give up, to blame God and whoever it is we perceive led us to this point…to stick our heads in the sand, hum a jaunty tune, and hope it all goes away. But none of those responses reflect faith, strength, obedience, or courage. None of them are pleasing to God, and none of them will help Oak Grove continue to fulfill the vision God has given us. Because, my friends, God is still with us. God has called us to be bold, to be courageous, to place our trust and hope and faith in Him and the only way through our current problems and obstacles is through listening for and obeying God’s voice, and pushing aside the voices of fear, and doubt, and despair.
When things seem hardest, when things seems most impossible, it is then that we need to believe in and cling to a vision that is beyond ourselves, and listen to the voice that tells us that vision is possible, and that we are not alone. It’s what Lois Gibbs did; she saw a vision of a safe community, of healthy parents and children, of justice and wrongs made right. She faced her fears of public speaking, of her self-doubts and feelings of inadequacy. She didn’t wait for “someone else” to come along and act…she went into action because the consequences of not acting were too great. She was bold, she was strong, she was courageous, and she helped change her world. It’s what the Israelites did in Promise Land Takeover part 2: they saw God’s vision of the land God would give them, believed in God’s promise to be with them, and faced their fears of the giants, of the armies, of the fortified cities…they knew from experience (of forty years wandering the desert) that the consequences of not following God’s vision were far greater than the possibility of following God and failing.
Be strong and courageous…for I am with you…do not be frightened…obey me…believe in me and in my promises…and you will be successful…I will be with you…be strong and courageous…I am with you. Those are words that God spoke to the Israelites thousands of years ago…and when they listened to God, took those words to heart, and obeyed God’s call on their life, they changed the world. They are also the same sort of words that Lois Gibbs heard thirty years ago, and when she listened to them, took those words to heart, and obeyed God’s call on her life, she changed her world. God has been speaking those words to God’s people for generations, and is still speaking them to our hearts today. The question for us here in this room, for us here at Oak Grove, is two-fold: what is God calling us to do, and what are we going to do about it? Are we going to give in to fears, self-doubts, and give up? Are we going to hum a jaunty tune and hope it goes away? Or are we going to be bold and face our fears, and be courageous and believe that God can make the impossible possible? Are we going to step forward in faith and obediently follow the vision God has given us?
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