Crossing the Road
a sermon based on Joshua 3:7-17
by Rev. Tom Hall

 

One of America’s most beloved genre that many of us cut our humor teeth on was the why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road question. Remember that hackneyed Q and A? Over the years we’ve been able to fit almost any current figure into the lines to bring us smiles and smirks.

Here’s a few current responses to the question, why the chicken did cross the road . . . .

• Scully . . . it was a simple bio-mechanical reflex that is commonly found in chickens.
• Jerry Seinfeld . . . Why does anyone cross a road? I mean, why doesn’t anyone ever think to ask, "What the heck was this chicken doing walking around all over the place anyway?"
• Dr. Seuss . . . Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes! The chicken crossed the road but why it crossed I’ve not been told!
• The Bible . . . And God came down from the heavens, and He saith unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road, and there was much rejoicing.
• Pat Buchanan . . . To steal a job from a decent, hard-working American.
• Bob Dylan . . . How many roads must one chicken cross?
• Bill Gates . . . I have just released the new Chicken 2000, which will both cross roads AND balance your checkbook
• Grandpa . . . In my day, we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Someone told us that the chicken had crossed the road, and that was good enough for us.
• L.A. Police Department . . . Give me ten minutes with the chicken and I'll find out.
• Mr. Scott . . . ‘Cos ma wee transporter beam was na functioning properly. Ah canna work miracles, Captain!
• Colonel Sanders . . . I missed one?

Our bent toward chicken crossings is not so far removed from our lesson in Joshua 3. The wandering Israelites have finally bumped up against the water’s edge. That’s the road they’ve got to cross. It’s during the rainy season and the dark swirling, swelling waters make crossing dangerous. So there they are all bunched up at water’s edge, wondering what to do next. Their problem is our problem: how will we cross the Jordan, cross the road into God’s promise for our future?

Joshua arranges the community into ranks, has the people prepare themselves spiritually, and then orchestrates the crossing. This is opening night for Joshua, his first assignment as the new leader of Israel. So Joshua orders this box called the Covenant Box of the Lord, to be placed front and center of everyone. This is not just any box. Not just a jewelry box that contains God’s Presence. Inside this box is the living promise from God that says, "where I go you can go. What I own, you can own. What I empower you to do you can do." That box of holy presence and promise binds God to the people and the people to God as they go into a very uncertain future. That is what is standing in front of everyone at water’s edge.

So, in a sense, God goes into the water via the box ahead of the people. And wherever God goes the unusual becomes usual. The waters part and a path is created for the rest of the Israelite folks to pass by on. One thing for sure, the writer wants us to know that Israel did not sneak into the Promised Land by the back door! So this box—the symbol of the living, guiding presence of God literally and figuratively stands in the middle of this miracle. God stands in the middle of the river bed—the road to be crossed—like a traffic officer stopping all traffic until Israel gets done crossing the road. The great event—crossing the Jordan—would from this point on become a symbol to the Israelites and later generations as the moment of transition, the moment of entering into a new future.

And what about us? How do we go about crossing the road from our past into our future? Maybe you’re sitting down on the curb afraid of the future. Maybe it will require just too many changes. There’s a lot of negativism out there about the future of our world and communities. Will Saddam Hussein’s defiance irk our military leaders enough to go after him, committing thousands of our men and women to the Iraqi landscape and the potential dangers there? Who’s going to help us cross the road peacefully?

And what about our immediate uncertainty? Some of us are at this moment crossing through the murky impasse of divorce or separation. And we wonder if we will make it. Who will help us through? Some of us are high school seniors, seniors at a party. Lots of drinking and substances available. We wonder inside if we can cross over the road that leads down the wrong way. Who will help us? Every transition—jobs, marriage partners, leavings and returnings, upturns, downturns—puts us back at water’s edge. We’ll always need to cross the Jordans of our lives. How will we do it? Who will help us?

Our lesson suggests three simple rules to guide our own crossings.

Rule #1: Prepare

Joshua had al the Israelites prepare first to make the crossing by sanctifying themselves. That means that they underwent a ritual cleansing. They stopped and took spiritual inventory. Maybe that’s not such a bad idea for us to do. Take a spiritual inventory. Questions that we might want to ask ourselves as we look to the future include: Have I experienced spiritual growth over the past year? Over the past decade? In what ways have I personally tried to live out my faith? How can I improve in my our spiritual journey? What holds me back from greater trust with God and commitment to my faith community? Prepare to cross the street by taking a spiritual inventory of your life.

Rule #2: Don’t sit on the curb.

The Israelites would still be bunched up at water’s edge if they refused to take the first step. The high priests had to let the water touch the tips of their sandals before God’s miracle could take place. Break inertia. Decide today to cross the road toward the future and toward God’s best for you. What keeps you on the sidelines? Too busy? Too dangerous? Too much inconvenience? Too costly? Too much commitment? Too much change? There are enough excuses around to keep all of us on the sidelines and out of God’s best for us. But we can decide to be different and to make a difference in this church and in this community. Take the first step toward the wonderful future that God promises you.

Rule #3: Take someone’s hand and bring them along!

The Israelites went together in family clans—in large groupings, but then in increasingly smaller units of extended families and immediate families. Fact is, no little one was left behind. Who can you bring with you into the future that God promises us? Who can you invite to the community of faith? Who can you become a "little Christ" to? Don’t follow the chicken who crosses the road. Don’t go it alone! Take someone else’s hand and walk together.

Thirteen of us spent a recent Saturday morning in Philadelphia helping people to cross the road. Passed out 75 lunches and lots of blankets and warm clothes. In a sense, we were helping some new friends to cross the street. Met Marge in front of the huge free library—probably fifty something and a veteran of street life. Her hair was matted and she wore layers of clothes. She was thankful to our offer to a lunch and blanket. So was Gary next to her. And down the street to James who lived on a park bench in front of St. Peter and St. James Church. But it was Crocodile who caught my attention. He’s a squatter-owner of a park bench near Love Park. Can’t miss him! He sported this pointy hat that looked like a small teepee on his head. Bright colors too! He had a blue tarp over the bench and a cardboard box behind it to store his belongings. Crocodile walked with us for awhile then showed us where some of his friends might be loitering. Last I saw of him was in the distance. This huge guy with the dreadlocks was trying on his bright orange blanket which he had draped around his body. Looked fine—like some ancient Indian chieftain from a different age and place. Helping others to cross the street was a terrific moment for me.

Recently I read about a daycare center located along Main Street in a large town in upstate New York. Every day at noon, it happens. The traffic is snarled and tempers short. Amidst the screeching brakes and sirens they come out of the daycare—about fourteen children all holding each other’s hand. When the light turns green they all follow their teacher in tow, weaving around bumpers and huge trucks like little ducks following their mother. Right in the middle of the busiest intersection at noon 14 children cross the street laughing, singing, pushing, and hugging. Little ducks waddling across the street. When they finish once again the traffic resumes and the children go off on their way to the library.

That’s so us! We’re all standing on the edge of the curb of a very dangerous and busy intersection. We’re all holding on to each other’s hands waiting to cross the street. We’re all following the leader, knowing that our leader will safely get us across to the other side. In the meantime we laugh, sing, praise, jostle, and have the grandest time on this journey.

Supply your own answer as to why the chicken crossed the road. But when it comes to your personal life crossings, remember this story of Joshua and the Israelites and step away from the curb and walk hand in hand with God and community toward God’s best future for us. Amen.