speaker-0: Our first reading today is from Joshua chapter three verses seven to seventeen. And the Lord said to Joshua, Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant, When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river. Joshua said to the Israelites, Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will be. Know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Gergesites, Amorites, and Jebusites. See the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe, and as soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap. So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam in the vicinity vicinity of Xarathan. While the water flowing down to the sea of the Arab, that is the Dead Sea, was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priest who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the cross. Crossing on dry ground. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

speaker-1: Before we read the second one, I would love if we read the second scripture together. Could we do that? I need some teammates. So let's read First Thessalonians two, nine, thirteen as one team. Alright, let's go. Starting in three, two, one. Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship. We worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preach the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses, and so is God of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you.

speaker-0: For you.

speaker-1: For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, and encouraging you to live lives worthy of God, who called you into his kingdom and glory. And we also thank God continually because when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as human word, but as it actually is the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Our loving God, may we hear your voice today. May you hear, may we hear what we you have to say for us, whether it's words of comfort, words of encouragement, words of new knowledge, God, would you be with us and be our guide as we know that you are the one who knows what we need today. Be with us now, the God who goes before us. This we pray. In your name we pray. Amen. Alright, if you were here with us last Sunday, you might remember the question that Pastor Jake asked us. And to be honest with you, this question continues to stick with me even to this day. That question was, what are you afraid of? We then were challenged to write our reformation on a piece of paper and nail it onto the foam door that was found in the Narthex as a way to give it to God for God to then transform. And so Pat perhaps you are like me, still struck by this question: what are you afraid of? Because it forced me to acknowledge how big of a role fear actually plays in my life today. How much space does fear take in your life? Believe it or not, we can and we all are motivated somehow by fear. It seems like a paradox, but we are motivated both by fear and desire depending on how you look at it. So this question is not necessarily meant to convict anybody, but simply an invitation to take inventory on your heart and on the role fear currently plays in your life. In our first scripture reading this morning, we see the people of Israel during a time of change, a time of transition, and a time perhaps of some grief. Their faithful leader, Moses, has died, and they are about to enter the promised land after some time in the wilderness. But at the very last leg of the race, the baton is handed to a new young leader named Joshua. And so much uncertainty lies ahead. Can you relate? To summarize using the words of biblical scholar Brian J. Whitfield, these uncertainties emphasize that the book of Joshua tells the story of transitions, changes of leadership, of geography, of culture, and of vocation. He writes that the Israelites are not yet sure that God will be present with Joshua to the same degree, right? They do not know whether they can claim the land, God promised. It's a generation of desert wanderers fed on man. And they do not know how to build homes or eat from the produce of the land. And more immediately they do not know how they will cross this Jordan, leaving behind old lives for new. End quote. Fear of the unknown is present, perhaps on different levels throughout the people of Israel, and definitely on a different level for Joshua. And perhaps we can even say that there will always be a reason or something to fear. But the presence of fear does not make anyone less of a person, nor does the absence of fear make a person greater than the other. And I say the presence of fear does not make anyone less of a Christian, nor does the absence make a Christian greater than the other. Because fear is a response that protects us from danger. But we must not let fear be the main driver of our lives. So, maybe the question for us today is not necessarily focusing on fear itself. Because I am not here with answers on how to get rid of fear in our lives, nor am I going to tell you to get rid of the fear of your life. More so, I want to shift our focus on this. How do we, as followers of Christ, both as individual members and as one body, live in the midst of the many fears present? How can we regulate ourselves to be present even in the midst of fear? Even in the midst of doubt, of grief, of sadness, etc. And might I suggest that we can ground ourselves simply by making space to behold and remember, to remember and behold. By ritualizing, beholding and remembering to remember and behold. But what does that mean? Well, throughout the Bible we see the words behold and remember. And to remember is not simply to recall a fact, but to remember is to let past events inform the decisions we make today in the present moment. But first and foremost, I want to focus on the word behold, which the dictionary defines as to see, to look upon, or observe something with care and attention. So in other words, to behold is to bear witness. In our second readings today, Paul writes to those in Thessalonica: You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous, and blameless we were among you who believed. But this word witness is a word that I myself tend to shy away from. If you read the midweek minute this week, I alluded to the story of my childhood that I will now share with you all. So growing up, I was not allowed to celebrate Halloween. I grew up in a household where my sister and I were not encouraged to dress up, and this led us to feel a lot of FOMO or fear of missing out with our peers. So yesterday, if you came to Trunk Retreat, I defied my parents and I Dressed up as a farmer. Don't tell them. But every Halloween we would go to my uncle's house. He lived in the good neighborhood where it was known to have some of the good candy, right? We all know the houses with the full-size candy bars. And they invited a bunch of their friends and all the kids who would go trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, and they had a bunch of food laid out for us. But then my sister and I would then be the kids that were left to pass out candy by the door in normal clothes. But one year, when I was in fourth grade, my parents thought they could make it fun. They wanted to up the antics and get a little crazy. So my mom took us to the Christian bookstore and she had us pick out tracks to pass out. For some of you adults in the room, I bet this is your worst nightmare, right? Because we Presbyterians are not known for this type of witnessing or evangelizing. And believe it or not, my late mom's name was Evangeline, which literally means bearer of good news. My mom lived up to her namesake, alright, but not because of the many tracks she had us pass out, or the many tracks she passed out herself, or the various Facebook discussions she took on for the sake of Christ. At my mom's funeral, believe it or not, I keep saying believe it or not, but believe it or not, 11 years ago now, one of her college friends, she went to San Jose State University. She did not go to Christian University. I did, but she did not. One of her college friends shared that she would agree to go out to the disco only if they came to Bible study with her first. True story. But even with that, I'd argue these wouldn't even make the highlight real of her Christian witness. My mom was a witness for Christ in my life because of the way she remembered to behold, and the way she encouraged my sister and I, and everyone around her, to behold and to remember.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: It was the way she took time to notice God in life and the people around her. It was in her gratitude for the little things. It was in the way she woke up each morning with zest, even without a cup of coffee.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: To me, her life was a psalm of praise and worship to God, mostly when she wouldn't even say the name of God. Do you know anyone like this in your life? This morning I want to suggest that to be a good witness for Christ should not be something that we fear, right? To be a good witness for Christ is simply to take notice where God has been in your life then and now, to behold that, and then to share that good news with people. In moments of uncertainty about the future, take time to behold. Where do you see God right now? One of our students this past week took time to behold what God is doing in our church community during our Bible study.

speaker-0: Yeah.

speaker-1: She said that we welcome everyone and all just as they are. And believe it or not, folks, we as church, we as a church have good news to share. And I wonder if we are proclaiming it as much as we should. Right here at Trinity Presbyterian Church, and as Presbyterians and as Christians, we worship a God who welcomes the stranger, the immigrant, no matter their citizenship status. That is good news worthy to be shared. We worship a God who celebrates all genders and orientations, all races and nationals. Nationalities, that is good news that we must proclaim. And believe it or not, again I say it again, my friends, there are people around us in this neighborhood who still have not heard that news about a God who welcomes all. They are people in this neighborhood who believe in a God whose abundant grace and unending love does not extend to those people groups, but rather condemns them. There are people in the surrounding community who believe that following Christ means that we cannot advocate for the rights of others in our community, such as our Muslim neighbors, our Jewish neighbors. But my friends, behold, see what God is doing here at this church in our community. and in our world, behold the love that is so present. And this love cannot and should not be contained. We must go out and share this good news. And no, I'm not talking about tracks at the door on Halloween. I'm talking about beholding out loud, sharing what we've seen God do, and living a life of remembrance. Because to behold is to simply bear witness to what God is doing in the world around you. To but go back to our story from the Old Testament, after God exalts Joshua, Joshua then instructs the people of Israel on how they will do the impossible task of crossing the Jordan River. The same river which God helps the people of Israel to cross is the same river where John the Baptist and Jesus are baptized. Behold and remember God's message. But if you continue reading to chapter four, the Lord then instructs Joshua to pick twelve men, one from each tribe, and tells them, Take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you, and put them down at the place where you stay tonight. And why should they do this? Well, God tells them in verses six to seven that these stones are to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children asks you, What do these stones mean? Tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. Behold and remember. When across the Jordan the waters of the Jordan were cut off, these stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever. Behold and remember. God is a God who reminds us through the extr the ordinary things of life, such as water and stones, to behold and remember the extraordinary things God has done in the midst of our fear and our uncertainty. So, what physical things or stories or people are reminders of God's presence in your life today? What are the things that remind you to behold and to remember? On the night before the death of Jesus, Jesus knew a time of change and uncertainty was approaching. He anticipated that we would need stones for today, so he gave us the bread and the cup. Jesus gave us a ritual for us to embody, beholding and remembering in the midst of the possible fear to come. Communion is a ritual of our faith tradition that reminds us to behold and remember. But for those who witnessed Jesus' life firsthand, it meant something even more. The late and great Christian witness Rachel Held Evans wrote that the focus of early communion services was not on Jesus' death, but rather on his friendship, the presence made palpable among his followers by the tastes, sounds, and smells he loved. Communion was a way for those who knew and loved Jesus to grieve together, to honor his memory, to behold and to remember. And in Acts chapter 2, we are told that this the tit the The disciples then devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayer. At that moment, at that table, I'd like to think beliefs and theology were not at the center of conversation. Male and female, Jew and Gentile, all were welcomed around the table. And I'd like to think what was at the center of those conversations were stories to remember Jesus' life. Male and female, Jew and Gentile, all sharing the impact Jesus made, all sharing how loved and seen and known they felt by Jesus' witness. In the midst of their sadness, their grief, their fear of the unknown, the disciples just did what Jesus told them to do to break bread, to drink from the cup, and to remember. So my friends, in life there will always be something to fear. But the way that I read Bible stories now is that we worship a God who remains present amidst our fear. The fear of uncertainty, the fear of powerlessness or fear of loss of control, fear of failure, fear of neighbor, and even fear of ourselves. Hear the good news that we worship a God who remains present amidst our fears and brings us together to behold and remember. And hear the good news that God, who knows us so well, gave us his son to teach us how to behold and remember through rituals such as breaking the bread and the sharing of the cup. So may we bear witness to even the most ordinary things in our lives, like stones and streams, and behold God drawing out the extraordinary. This I give to you in the name of our risen Lord. Amen.