It was a strange experience. I have forded narrow streams where, on a low-water crossing, my wheels were in the wet for a few seconds. But until we decided to spend a week at the Laity Lodge Family Camp in Leakey, Texas, I had never driven through a river to reach a destination.
It felt so strange to see the road dip into the river knowing we would be in there for a while, that it wouldn’t be just an in & out kind of thing. Granted, the Frio River is shallow most of the year, and it was only for about half a mile, but still ...
Greek philosopher Heraclitus famously advised us: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.” But what if the man is crossing the river? What is the effect of delaying that first step into the waters?
I'm sure a lot of things happened in 49 BC. But one thing in particular had a lasting impact on the history of the world. That was the year a fellow named Julius decided to add Caesar to his name. In that year, Julius led his army to the edge of a small river named Rubicon. As long as they stayed on the northeast side of the river, all would be well ... but nothing would change. Alternately, should they decide to cross the Rubicon, leave their province and ride into Italy proper, civil war would break out. The penalty for just crossing that river would be death, not only for Julius, but for every member of his army as well.
It was, truly, the point of no return.
Today, when we read or hear the phrase "cross the Rubicon," we understand there is no actual river involved. People say that when they mean a decision is in the offing that cannot be taken back. Once made, we will have to face the consequences of the decision. But don't be fooled: not making the decision is also a decision. And the consequences for not choosing may be just as costly, or more so.
That is the situation in this week's Joshua selection. At the end of his very long life, Joshua called together all the leaders of Israel, reminded them of all God had done for them: Egypt, exodus, patience in the wilderness, the gift of a land God had promised their ancestors.
Then ... he invited them to "cross the Rubicon.”
"And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15 NKJV)
God wants each of us to make our choice. Will we commit to God or will we choose another path? Or will we attempt to avoid the decision, just stand there on the banks of the Rubicon? It is a choice we must make of our own free will. But it is not a quid pro quo decision; God does not wait to bless us; does not, as some would have you believe, withhold his blessings until we choose. Just as with the Israelites, God fulfills His promises. The rain falls on us all.
That leaves only the choice: do we yield our hearts as the Israelites were asked to do; or do we, by action or inaction, decide to do something else? Each of us must come to it: the time to cross the Rubicon.
And it just won’t do to amble along in the middle of the river ... we have to commit to one side or the other.
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Portions of this reflection appeared in 2014 as “Crossing the Rubicon.”
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 27 (32) (November 12, 2017)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
Psalm 78:1-7
Amos 5:18-24
Psalm 70
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Matthew 25:1-13
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Can you join us Friday morning for Lectionary Breakfast? All of you are invited. We start at 8:00 and wrap things up around 9:00. We continue to meet at the Waco “Egg and I” restaurant (in their function room: entrance is around the side, at the back). It’s an hour of food, scripture, discussion, and laughter ... Where do you find that at breakfast-time?
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