Imagine if before the baseball season started, the Cubs promised the city of Chicago that they would win the World Series that season and not only that but they even took a victory lap though downtown to celebrate the upcoming championship. It would be ridiculous. You have to actually play the games. Who cares about their promise? Without the actual victory in hand, it would look like they were just foolishly wandering through the streets of Chicago.
The Hebrews knew a quite a bit about restless wandering. They had spent 40 years wandering in the desert. Now in our text for today, God has led them into the promised land to the city of Jericho. God told Joshua, “See! I have delivered the city into your hands.” God then instructed the people to march in a circle around the city, a victory lap before the battle was even fought. Joshua and the people trusted this promise of God and they trusted that God was really present with them in the ark of the coventant as they paraded around the city. What is the difference between wandering aimlessly and a taking a victory lap?– God’s Promise and His Presence.
From the outside the Hebrews may look a lot like the Cubs walking through Chicago. If you did not believe that God was present with the Hebrews or if you did not have faith that God would keep His promises, then the circles around the city would seem foolish. But God’s promise connected to His presence turns walking around in circles into a victory lap.
Sometimes we can feel like we are foolish, like we are just wandering through our Christian life. The junk of life weighs us down. We wake up, wander around the house, and right then, early in the morning, all those thoughts stream in ‘I’ve got to write this, read this, go here, remember that.” Then there’s all the other stuff: finances, family, friends, regrets, guilt, shame. We think, “What am I going to do? How am I going to get through all this” “Exactly, what battle has been won? I have lots of debt, an unknown and uncertain future. I am in no mood for a victory lap.” We end up wandering though life, we just try to keep those feet moving, putting one foot after the other. While we indeed have many legitimate problems and concerns, our focus usually turns to ourself rather than God. The Hebrews did not defeat Jericho by their magnificent execution of walking in circles. It was God’s grace alone. His presence and his promise secured the victory.
God has assured you of final victory through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Sin, death and the devil have been defeated. Your sins are forgiven. You will live forever with Christ. God promises us, like Joshua, “Look! The enemy is conquered!” We have God’s presence even more than the Hebrews did. We eat the body of our Lord and drink his blood for the forgiveness of sins. He is really present. He gives us his Holy Spirit, to guard and keep us. The battle is won.
It’s easy to wander from the path God has given us. We can think, “God did amazing things in the bible but what about now?” Is not the battle won every time God’s snatches a baby from the clutches of Satan though Holy Baptism. Are not sins conquered through Christ who truly with us in the Lord’s Supper? As Joshua and the Hebrews clung to God’s promise in faith, we too cling to these promises pf God in faith. The promise that he will rescue us from sin, death and the devil. The promose that God is present with us and fights for us. We get out of out pew, go up to the rail, kneel, receive the body and blood, then go back to our pew. This is our victory lap. The battle has been won, for US through Christ.
This victory does not make sense. It doesn’t seem like a victory. We want to give ourselves a bigger role in the battle plan. But, the battle is done. It is finished. It is all over. God has won. Christ’s death on the cross dealt the decisive blow. There is nothing we can add to supplement the death of God. Maybe it doesn’t make sense, but God is out to shame the wisdom of the world. It has nothing to do with our intellect. The victory springs from the promise of God. He gives us faith to trust his promises. So we keep on moving through life, we put one foot after the other. We just keep on walking. Not because we are wandering aimlessly, but because we have been promised victory through Christ’s death on the cross. What is the difference between wandering aimlessly and a taking a victory lap?– Christ’s Presence and His Promise for you. The victory is certain.
Amen.
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