“Telling the Story”

Rev. Nancy Dunn

June 13, 2010
Joshua 4:1-9, 20-24

Do you remember the pet rocks that were such a fad in the 1970s? Gary Dahl, a California advertising executive, came up with the idea to sell rocks as pets. His marketing campaign was so successful that he became a multi-millionaire and had his 15 minutes of fame on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. You see Dahl had grown tired of the work it took to take care of “real” pets like dogs and cats. So, he simply took a rock and boxed it in a simple cardboard container designed to look like a pet carrier. He wrote a “Training Manual” to go along with it and sold it all for less than $4. And, the pet rock was born! 

If you Google “pet rock” you might be amazed at all of the hits that you will get. Pet rocks are still pretty popular. And, there are tons of stories about them. Michele, a child of the 70s writes. “My Grandparents gave me a pet rock for Christmas when I was a kid (probably 7-8 yrs old). I called my rock "Granite" I remember "training" the rock and playing with it...swinging it on a swing one time and it fell off and I thought it was hurt. That was the spring my parents told me the rock "wasn't real" and I cried. I still have Granite and am happy I do...as I really believe she is real. :)"

This is only one of many stories on the web about Pet Rocks. Oh, there are many, many people out there with great, wonderful, very meaningful stories about pet rocks. But really, what’s so significant about a rock?

It really is amazing the sentiments and stories we’ll attach to just about anything. Sometimes the symbols in our lives are important and expensive objects like wedding rings while other times it’s something worthless like a chunk of rock. It all depends on the story that goes with the object.

Like the story of wandering around in a desert for 40 years with food like manna to live on. Knowing the importance of stories and sharing those stories with others, God instructs Joshua to take 12 stones from the Jordan river to commemorate this special day – the day their wandering had ceased and the 12 tribes of Israel entered the Promised Land! These rocks were more than pet rocks. These rocks were a memorial to all that had happened to the Israelites during those 40 years: the flight from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the giving of the 10 commandments and so much more. These rocks became a monument to those who had died, like Moses. These rocks were a way to remember and remind the Israelites that God was with them in Egypt, God was with them in the desert, and God would be with them in the Promised Land.

And, what I really like about this scripture, is that God uses these rocks as a teaching tool. “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 forever.”

“When your children ask!” Have you ever noticed how many questions children ask? It seems like one of the first things they learn to do is to ask questions? Hannah & Caroline are always asking questions, especially Hannah. If you spend any time around her, she’ll ask you at least a dozen questions. “What’s that?” “How does that work?” “Why?” “Why do we do that?” and “What does that mean?”

Questions!! That’s how kids learn. Admittedly, too many questions can sometimes be annoying. But, overall, questions are a good thing. And, this scripture reminds us, that questions can be a God thing. God uses the natural curiosity of kids as a teaching tool – a teachable moment. These rocks become a tool for parents to tell the story of the Israelites escape from Egypt and journey to the Promised Land.

These rocks are a reminder of the power of God who saved the people from Pharaoh’s army as the Red Sea was parted, how God brought them through the wilderness, how God gave them the 10 commandments and instructed them to build an ark of the covenant and how God brought them to the Promised Land

The rocks are a reminder of God’s presence with the people in times of trial and tribulation. In today’s story, the river Jordan was at flood stage. It took great faith on the part of the priests carrying the ark to step into the swollen river. Have you ever seen a river at flood stage? Rivers move fast and furious – we don’t know if the priests hesitated, but as soon as they walked in to the river, it dried up. As the people crossed on dry land, the ark was literally with them in the dark and scary place of the river bed reminding them of God’s presence with them.

I can only begin to imagine the stories the Israelites told their children when they came upon this rock shrine in Gilgal. Yet, thankfully, I do know something about those stories because some of those stories are the ones that ended up in this book – the Bible! You see, God knew then and God knows now, the way we pass on our faith is by sharing the story – the story of the living God. The living God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt. The living God who saved Daniel from the Lions. The living God who spoke through the prophets and who sent an angel to a young girl named Mary. The living God who came to us through Jesus Christ. Who, as Jesus, lived and walked among us, sharing bread with his disciples, healing the sick, and telling the world about God’s amazing love.

The way we pass on our faith to others is through our stories, the way the living God continues to work in our lives today. As we share the stories of how God walks with us through our own dark valleys, of how God surrounds us with others who support us during our troubled times, those who don’t know God begin to witness our faith. As we share how God is with us in our joys as well as our sorrows we show others the joy of the living God that is all around us.

A mother noted the power of signs and symbols on the life of her daughter. With some level of frustration, the mother, Sarah, observed that when she visited her mother’s home with her daughter, the daughter (who was normally rather disruptive), acted quite differently. In Grandma’s house, she acted like a “little angel.” Sarah asked her daughter why it was that she was so well behaved at Grandma’s house. The little girl looked at her mother rather incredulously and said, “Well, what else can I do. God is in every room.” Sarah laughed with delight. As she thought about her mother’s home, she could easily visualize the walls of the various rooms. In nearly every room of Grandma’s house hung pictures of Jesus or a cross.[1]

Sarah’s daughter knows a part of the story. The crosses and pictures of Jesus on the walls were more than just mere decoration. Someone had told this child about God. She’s beginning to learn the story of God and who God is.

In her book, Parents and Grandparents as Spiritual Guides, Betty Cloyd writes that “one of the greatest things that we can do for our grandchildren is to share our family stories with them.” And, that we should relate our stories, the stories of our families to “The Story” God’s story, sharing how God has been with us on our life’s journey.

When I look back through my life thus far, there are so many people who have shared and connected their personal faith stories with me. Without hearing some of those stories, I don’t know where I’d be today. Those stories, those friendships have shaped me first as a believer and also as a minister. And, that’s really what I see as my call in ministry: to share my story and the ways it connects with the Story. By telling the story to others, we share God’s love with them.

One person whose life and faith story has greatly impacted mine someone I’ll simply call “Ms. Mary.” You see, down in the south, we’re taught to call most adults by their title and last name. But, those adults we’re really close to, like our Sunday school teachers and other church leaders, children are taught to call them by the first name with the title Mr. and Ms. And, Ms. Mary was one of the great church leaders. She was an elder and the church treasurer. And, while she and her husband never had their own children, she believed every child in the church was hers in some way. She believed it was and still is a part of her Christian responsibility to help raise us right. That included getting to know us while volunteering at VBS, or being a baptismal mentor, or talking with us over donuts during the coffee hour. She would share with us her story and the values she thought was important. And, these always related back to The Story, God’s story. But, what I think most of us remember is the relationship she developed with us. And, the time she took to listen to us and answer our questions about life, faith, and God.

That’s what God calls us to do. To be listeners.   God calls us to tell our stories and to relate our stories to God’s story. 20Those twelve stones, which they had taken out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal, 21saying to the Israelites, “When your children ask their parents in time to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ You shall tell them the story of Israel 24so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty.

Amen.

[1] paraphrased from Frogs without Legs Can’t Hear by David Anderson and Paul Hill