Meditation for 14 July 2010
From The Rev. Peter A. Munson
Joshua 3:14-4:8
14 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. 15Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing towards the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua: 2‘Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, 3and command them, “Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests’ feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.” ’ 4Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. 5Joshua said to them, ‘Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, 6so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, “What do those stones mean to you?” 7then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial for ever.’
8 The Israelites did as Joshua commanded. They took up twelve stones out of the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord told Joshua, carried them over with them to the place where they camped, and laid them down there.
Memorials and Memories and Crossing Over
The Lord God wanted them to remember this particular day – the day the Israelites, after being in slavery in Egypt, after being led out of Egypt and through the Red Sea on dry land, after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, after camping on the east side of the Jordan River, after following the Levitical priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant (which held the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments) into the Jordan River, after witnessing the Lord holding back the waters of the Jordan in the same way that He had earlier held back the waters of the Red Sea, and after crossing over into the land of Canaan – they were to remember.
A man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel was to remove a stone from the middle of the Jordan River, and carry it over to the other side of the Jordan, to the long-promised land which would become their homeland. There were to make a rock pile – a cairn – at the place where they camped at Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho (Joshua 4:20)
“So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial for ever.” (Joshua 4:8)
Why did the Lord want the Israelites to mark this spot by building a simple memorial out of twelve stones? Listen:
“Those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal, saying to the Israelites, “When your children ask their parents in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel crossed over the Jordan here on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you crossed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we crossed over, so that all the people of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, and so that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (Joshua 4:20-24)
Mankind has been building memorials– many of them way more impressive and beautiful and expensive than this one in Gilgal of twelve river rocks – ever since. But whether the initiative was inspired by God or by a group of people or an individual who just thought it was a good idea, the basic concept has been the same. “Let us remember this day or this event or this person or these people. Let us not forget. And we won’t forget if we build a memorial, or set aside the day.”
And so we have Memorial Day and the 4th of July and the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument and the Vietnam Memorial and the World War II Memorial and the September 11 Memorial and the Columbine Memorial. And, of course, we do other things to help ourselves remember. We take pictures and put them in albums. We have yearbooks and wedding albums and family albums and of course now we have web sites and Facebook and pictures on our digital cameras and cell phones. We keep journals of various kinds – I just recently started my sixth hiking journal. (I began my first one in 1979.)
Or we hold onto various mementos, which can be of great monetary value or of no monetary value, but the point is still the same: we want to remember. (I have a monogrammed neckerchief of my dad’s that he used to wear when hiking; his initials – “HWM” – are stitched in red on the navy blue design. Now I hike with it. When I use it, I remember by father and mother and also many of the hikes that my parents and I did together.)
Sometimes we are given a simple gift or token to commemorate a special anniversary or an act of selfless service or bravery or an important turning point in our lives. We receive a diploma or a medal or a certificate of appreciation. We help couples celebrate their silver and golden anniversaries, and we help our family members and friends celebrate their birthdays. Those in recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous receive a “chip” that marks their sobriety – every month during the first year, then each year after that. These chips often represent a life turned completely around, and gratitude for God’s grace.
We have memorials in the Church, too. The most common one would be the cross that hangs in our churches and around our necks and on the cover of our prayer books. It’s always interesting to stop for a moment and think about how an instrument of shameful death has become our most powerful symbol. There is the Bible. What an amazing memorial it is us for us. How different our lives might have turned out if there was no Bible to pass on the story of God’s mighty acts and the coming of Jesus! There is, of course, the sacrament of Holy Communion, and the familiar words of Jesus: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
How have you made “memorials” in your own life? What mementos are most important to you, when it comes to holding on to memories of special people, places, and turning points in your life? What have been the key transition moments in your life – those times of “crossing over” – and how have you marked them?

It is important that we have these memorials. And it is important that we remember that “the hand of the Lord is mighty”, that God has – throughout our lives – been powerful and faithful and loving. And it is important that we continue to find ways to commemorate what God has done for us. How do you most often do that? That’s a good thing to think about. And when you are saying prayers of gratitude, don’t forget to thank God for the memories… and for the memorials that help keep your faith alive.