A mantra of the Hebrew Scriptures is “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt…”  It may go on; “out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” Or it may go like this, “I am the Lord your God the God of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Leah and Rachel.”  In this particular case Joshua goes into some great detail about the history of Israel.  In particular Joshua reminds the people that in the land before their ancestors Abraham and Sarah, the people worshipped other gods.  He reminds them that God called them out of that land into another land and that Abraham and Sarah followed by faith.  If you read on, Joshua reminds the people of the years of goodness that followed and then the years of slavery when the people followed the wealth into Egypt.  When they became too powerful in that land and were enslaved, God heard their cry and brought the people out of Egypt, the land of slavery, and back to the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey where everyone had enough.  Joshua then reminds the people of what it took to finally get to that land through the wilderness and to make a home there and he reminds them how what God promised, God provided.  Joshua retells the story of God’s amazing presence with the people through thick and thin, good times and bad.  Joshua remembers with the people as he nears the end of his life so they will choose carefully for the future. 

I heard a story this week about human trafficking… it is a sad commentary on the state of humanity that this kind of injustice can go on.  The official from the US State Department was commenting on the work of a group of women in Japan in the hostess clubs who had traveled into the country from the Philippines to work there and how they are threatened with wage cuts and deportation if they demand any kind of justice in their work environment.   This official went on to comment about how the US has had its own experience with slavery and so has a unique perspective and opportunity to deal with and seek to address the issue throughout the world.  It is this kind of remembering, this kind of reflecting on one’s past, as a person or a nation, that might create the awareness necessary to be a redemptive presence in one’s world, indeed in the world.  Remembering one’s history can inform in unique ways and compel that kind of redemptive action.  A clear look at one’s history may inspire insight into a future that is more hopeful and more in tune with God’s reality than even the brightest past. 

If their scriptures are at all accurate, the Israelites are regularly remembering their past.  They regularly are looking back into their history to recall how they got where they are. They are regularly reflecting on the past remembering that it is God who calls them into a life of faith where the only secure thing is this God who they follow.  They are regularly reminded of the One who empowers them to move into a future that is unknown; the One who promises and provides.  They are regularly refocusing their views and allegiances (because we so easily get side tracked as human beings). 

It is good for God’s people to regularly reflect on their history.  It is good for us to individually reflect on our history.  In the next Circle of Faith meeting the groups will talk about their individual histories.  You know that famous statement “Those who know not their history are destined to repeat it.”  Remembering from where we come is always an opportunity to get a perspective.  Whether it is remembering that we were once a child completely dependent on others; or remembering when we were living in ways that we are not proud of; or remembering a time when things were more difficult; or remembering a time when things were better; it is always an opportunity to see again and anew what is so.  Joshua’s point seems to be ‘remember that God is a life giving God who always provides what is promised’. 

The Israelites are called together before God to do this work of remembering.  Joshua wants to remind them of what is important from their history so he calls them as community; a community who then can share the family story, who can remember together the good times and the bad. When one commiserates, the other can be joyful.  When one is sorrowful, another can console.  When one is cynical, the other can give perspective.  When one has no faith, the whole community can have faith for the one. They do this as a community. 

We have that opportunity to reflect on our history as a community of faith over the next month.  In the Social Hall are the beginnings of a time line of Edgewood Church beginning when we were just a thought in the mind of some folks at People’s Church, thanks to the efforts of JoAnn Hubbard, Dorothy Mc Grady, Jo Kistler and Ann Mc Call.  I invite you to put your memories on the time line; highlights of the times when this place, the people and events and ministries among this community of faith have impacted your life.  

It will be good for those who have only been around for a short time to see the ways that God has worked and been faithful and for us all to see the times when we needed that perspective.  It will be good for some to see that as a community of faith the legacy has continued even among those who are not such long time members.  As a community of faith we have an opportunity to remember the ways that God has been active in our life together and when we have been less aware of God’s desires and intentions for our world to guide our decisions.   We can give thanks for God’s presence and be reminded from where we come and whose we are and how it is that we are here today. 
And then also notice that Joshua reminds the people that this is a choice that they make.  They have other options. The service to God is not mandated or required.  They are not robots programmed to serve this God. They are not like puppets on a string, with no option but to do the bidding of this God.  They are free to choose.  But Joshua makes it very clear that if they choose this God, the one who is the God of their ancestors, the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt, there are consequences.  They must give up the other gods they serve.

There are times in our lives when we might feel like we have no choice, we might feel like the road is clearly laid out for us – and I would remind us that Jesus is called the ‘waymaker, the one who makes straight the crooked road and raises the valleys and lowers the mountains’ that God’s reign might come close.  We may have experiences in our life as a congregation when we feel like cultural forces mitigate against one decision or another, economic or political forces may seem to be impositions on our ability to decide – may I remind us that God is the God of possibilities in the face of no possibility.  We are in the land of freedom.  We have more choices on the shelf of cold medicines than persons of the past had in their whole lives!

And so during this time of transition in the life of Edgewood we have an opportunity to again choose.  We can make good use of the time to together remember and review our past to see what God has done among us and through us in this community.  We can seek to redeem that of which we are embarrassed. We can seek to learn from that which we didn’t do so well.  We can seek to be more the presence of God in the days to come because we have examined our behavior and remembered who and whose we are.  

Joshua reminds the people of the good times and the not so good times, but always how God was faithful.  When God calls, God leads. From the familiar land of the ancestors on a path where the next step is not known, God leads.  When the circumstances undermine survival with famine, resources become available.  When the people get distracted by the powers that be, when the riches of the dominant culture tempt and enslave; God hears the people’s cry and sends hope.  When the way becomes murky and the path is not clear, God provides pillars of light and fire.  When the future seems overwhelming, God is present faithfully promising, it will get better. When there is no bread God provides manna in abundance.  As we review where we’ve been as God’s people, may we see clearly the God who is present and faithful calling us to new endeavors along paths not yet known.

One other reminder… when we remember there may be the experience of grief.  Every change involves some kind of loss or death.  Even good change involves some grief.  We may not have grieved at the time of the loss or death.  We may not have fully experienced the time of our memory in the past as loss or death. We may just now be realizing that what we remember is connected with loss or death that is painful, excruciatingly painful, and needs to be mourned.  I Thessalonians reminds us that we do not grieve as those without hope.  Our God is always present, faithfully calling and guiding.  Our God is present with us crying when there is pain and injustice. Our God will not leave us or forsake us in a time of grief or loss or death.  And like the phoenix, God promises that out of death will come life.  We do not grieve as those who have no hope. Our hope is in the God of history, the God of the past, present and future. Our hope is in the one who is greater than history, in whom we live and move and have our being.  According to Kahlil Gibran, “When you are sorrowful look again in your heart and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”  Weeping for that which has been our delight; a rich past filled with the memories of the presence of God, laying the foundation for a future following God’s call into ministry.