It's About Loss, But Fear Not

Here is my message for Sunday. The text was Joshua 1:1-9:

There are some stories that I would love to have been a fly on the wall to observe them, and this story we heard this morning from Joshua would certainly be one of them as the Israelites prepare to cross the Jordan into the promised land, and I would love to be there for several reasons. I would really love to know what Joshua is thinking in this moment and how he responds to God, especially to God’s instruction for him to “be strong and courageous.” Which Joshua gets told not just once, but three times, just so that he is very clear on God’s message, if only God would sometimes be as direct with us, and then to add to it God tells Joshua “do not be frightened or dismayed.” But then I really, really want to know how Joshua deals with the Israelites, because very quick recap, as they are wandering in the wilderness the people turn on Moses and tell him to take them back to Egypt. That they would be better off as slaves then to die in the desert. And then they have to end up traveling for 40 years because they refuse to trust that God will deliver the land to them, and so the first generation have to die off before the land is delivered. But, I can’t imagine that things had actually changed all that much.

I can imagine that the people now, because they’ve been wandering so long, are worried and scared about crossing over. They don’t want to settle down, they don’t want to cross the river because everything looks just fine where they are, why do they have to do anything any different? I can’t believe that there weren’t calls for committees to study it, and to take a vote, and who gets to vote is it just the leaders or should everyone have a say? And who elevated Joshua leader anyways? Why do we have to change, Joshua? Why can’t we just keep doing the same thing we’ve been doing for 40 years? Why can’t we just keep on keeping on? Everything seems to be fine as it is, and besides, we’re not strong, we’re not courageous, and quite honestly, we are frightened and dismayed. So, let’s just stay here. You cross over if you are so interested, but we’ll just stay right where we are and just keep on wandering. Or at least that’s what I imagine them saying if I was that fly on the wall to hear it.

And I imagine that not just because of how we know the people reacted while in the wilderness, but also because of how we still act towards change. Change is hard. Or we really should say that some change is hard, because it depends on what it is and how it impacts on whether the change is hard or not. Do we look forward to the change or not? So, for example, when we lost the heat in the sanctuary for a Sunday a few months ago, I decided that I really wanted to have a sweater available that I could wear to be able to stay warm in the sanctuary when the heat is out, as that is not the first time that’s happened. And so, I started wearing sweater vests. It was a change, but I don’t think any of you cared about it, or at least not enough to complain. The weather is starting to get warmer; it’s a change, and perhaps we might care or not, although we know this change is cyclical. Baseball season starts in less than two weeks, which I look forward to, but others in the family not so much because it means there is a change in TV viewing because the Yankees game will now be on almost every day. And so, it depends upon the change, why and the ramifications of the change. Moving can be very hard, which is what the Israelites are really doing, because there are not only lots of changes and all the things that need to be learned, but also the things that are left behind, and that is really the key point about change.

In studies about why people are resistant to change, one of the key discoveries is that why people are most resistant is because of the what they think will be lost. There is certainly the fear of the unknown, which we’ll come back to, but it’s more about what’s left behind. And some of that is simply where we are comfortable. It’s our normal routines, and our normal habits, and normal customs and normal practices, it’s the simple normality of things. But when there is change, those are upset and we have to, heaven forbid, do new things. But what’s true about normality is that it’s comfortable. And we like to be comfortable, because in comfort there is safety and security, and we as humans thrive on that. That’s why we choose the image of the cocoon for today’s message. We had discussed having the bird, which we used for last week, since caterpillars should be afraid of birds, but several of us argued that the cocoon provides safety and comfort, protection and security, as well as maybe being warm and cozy and perhaps the caterpillars would actually rather stay there, rather than coming out, because that change is not only hard, but it’s dangerous because when butterflies first come out they can’t fly. They have to let their wings dry and so not only is there a dramatic change happening, but they are maybe at the greatest risk of their whole lives. So, wouldn’t it just be easier and better to stay in the cocoon? That’s what we want often want to do too when we are resisting change. Of saying, I’m comfortable, and safe, and relaxed right here, and I’d just like to stay right here thank you very much. And let me say that’s okay to feel it, but what we have to do is actually name it as such, because otherwise it becomes this giant that we want to try and ignore. We see that too in a story from the book of Numbers of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness that also involves Joshua, and Christine and Brent have that story for us this morning….

Be strong and courageous God tells Joshua as he prepares to take the people across the river into the promised land. Be strong and courageous and I think God says it because God knows what Joshua will face, because Joshua and Caleb had told the people to trust God, that God would deliver them and bring defeat to their enemies. But fear overcame the people. Why fight and possibly lose when they could just stay where they are? Safety over victory, comfort over change, and so those who resisted never got to see the promised land. Be strong and courageous. Trust in the Lord, for the Lord will deliver, is the message that the people receive through Joshua, and be prepared to leave behind what was in order to gain not only what might be, but to claim the promises of God. Because there is this amazing thing that happens when we step outside of our comfort zones, outside of our safety, not only is it the only way we can get better, but it’s also where we open ourselves up to see the amazing power of God. God’s miracles don’t happen where we feel comfortable, God’s miracles happen once we are ready to step out and cross the river, to be able to open ourselves up to new things and new ways, and that takes that leap of faith.

And what it also takes is risking failing at things. In the cards that people submitted last week, and thank you for all those who did, it was the smallest number we have received, which is what I had expected, because not only was it a hard question, what are we afraid of, it took some courage and honesty to be able to name that, let alone put it on a card for others to see. But one of the most given answers was not wanting to fail. And I definitely get that. What happens if we come out of our cocoon and we try to fly and our wings don’t work and we simply plummet to the ground? We would have been much better off simply staying where we were right? Why risk everything we have for something we don’t know anything about? We want to hold onto this because we know it and we trust it. But what if what we are holding onto is the thing that’s keeping us back from succeeding? Maybe it’s holding onto the past that is keeping us from being successful because we’re trying to do both things at once?  Because if failure isn’t an option then success is never an option because we are never trying anything new, and we will always be capped, or stopped, by what we currently can do, or what we can’t do, and we will never get better at anything.

As I said already, the major league baseball season starts in less than two weeks. If you go to watch a little league game, what do the players do before the game? They practice fielding, and throwing and hitting. If you go to a major league game, the highest level of the sport, what do the players do before the game? They practice fielding and hitting and throwing. Exactly the same thing, except at a much higher level. And how did the major leaguers get to where they are? By pushing themselves well outside of their comfort zones at every step of the way, because if they didn’t they first still wouldn’t be major leaguers, they would not have fulfilled their dream, or second, they would still be facing little league pitching, because the pitchers wouldn’t have improved either. And if you pay attention in pregame, you will often see players still doing that because they will be fielding the ball out of their normal positions, so they can get better, they’ll be asking the batting practice coach to put the ball in a specific spot where they are struggling, or working on hitting the ball to a specific spot, again often where they are struggling. And they also understand that failing is just part of the game, which is why baseball is so much more like life. The best batters in the world will fail 7 out of every ten times they come to bat. And so if failing is not an option then succeeding is also not an option, because they only way you can succeed is by taking a risk of failing, and as you’ve heard me say before, no one takes a leap of safety, we take leaps of faith, trusting in God and being ready to do miraculous things, working where God works which is way outside of our comfort zones, of seeking God to open our eyes to see new things so we can do new things so we can fulfill God’s call on our lives.

Without change, we wouldn’t be here today. Without people taking a risk, we wouldn’t be here today because we would still be a part of the United Church down the street. We are here today because those who came before us took risks, with the possibility of failing, but they also took risks because they believed and trusted in God and where God was calling them. They took risks because they chose to listen to God and to be strong and courageous. A few weeks ago, we heard another passage from the book of Joshua, only that time it was from the last chapter in which Joshua says we have to choose who we will follow this day, and he says, as for me and my household we will follow the Lord. And I said that was the start, the foundation, of seeking God’s vision for us as individuals and as a people. But to follow the Lord, means we have to be willing to take that leap of faith, knowing that perhaps we may not succeed, but also knowing that we cannot succeed without trying. We cannot move into the future without being willing to change, of being able to name the things we fear, to name the things we might lose, but to also name the things that we can gain, which is making new disciples of Jesus Christ, of making a church that can continue to reach out, hopefully, for generations yet to come by being strong and courageous in this current moment and stepping beyond the unknown into the realm where great things can happen, to the places where we can slay giants and produce the miracles of God. I pray that it will be so my brothers and sisters. Amen.