After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, “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. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses. 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. 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. Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. 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. 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. 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.”
That Moses didn't make it into the promised land has always been a cautionary tale for me.
Cautionary in that I need to remember that God's mission - God's plan - isn't entirely dependent on me. That no matter how big a job I feel like I have to do, I may not, and most likely will not, be the person to see it through to the end.
That God's mission - God's kingdom - has been unfolding long before I came onto the scene, and will continue long after I've stepped off the stage.
This is especially helpful to remember when working in a church, whether on staff, or part of lay church leadership. We set visions. We set goals. We are people who like to get things accomplished. But sometimes the fruits of our labor won't completely unfold on our watch. Sometimes, it is someone else who will finish what we started. And we might not be around to see it.
Joshua leading the Israelites into the promised land takes nothing away from what Moses provided under his leadership. And the fact that we may not be the ones to finish what we started does not make us failures. We can and should get the sense of accomplishment our human natures need simply by taking part in this wonderful, ongoing story of God saving the world. Whether we see the fruits of our labor or whether we don't, the mission of God's kingdom continues and the parts we play have their place. We've got to get into the game even if we worry that we won't get to see it through to the end.
"Be strong and courageous," God tells Joshua. Courage to me is seeing something through even when the outcome seems fuzzy and even when we are scared we might not get it right or be able to see it through to the end. It takes courage to jump into service: to serve a meal to a homeless person, when we know there are hundreds more that will still be hungry; to write a letter to a politician asking for justice for those who need it most, even when we know we may not be heard; to lead a fundraiser for something important, even when there are those who don't buy into it; to lead a Bible Study when only a few attend.
To live a life of faith in humility in a world where accomplishment, prestige, power, and winning are the standards.
Moses played his part. Without him, Joshua would not have been able to play his.
What part is God calling you to play?
Holy God, your kingdom come. And help me to play my part. Amen.
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