2020.10.25 | Passing the Baton
“Passing the Baton”
Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring
Most people are surprised to learn that I lettered in track all four years in high school, including my junior year when I had major surgery in both knees. For those who haven’t figured out how I managed to do that, I’ll explain that I never entered one race. I just competed in field events.
Despite my poor qualifications as a runner, one day our coach made every member of our team try out for the relay races. These tryouts included a demonstration of and practice in passing the baton from one runner to the next.
I was not asked to join any of the relay teams, but those baton lessons made a big impression on me. They helped me appreciate how important a proper handoff of the baton between athletes is to the outcome of a relay race. It doesn’t matter how fast any of the athletes run. What counts is getting the athlete running the final leg of the race across the finish line first with baton in hand.
Today’s scripture reading describes the last moments of Moses’ life and his death in the land of Moab. Just prior to this scene, Moses had passed the baton of leadership to his protégé, Joshua, and charged him with the responsibility to lead the Hebrew people from the plains of Moab into the Promised Land.
II
The setting for today’s passage is a mountain range in Moab, northeast of the Dead Sea in the Jordan Valley, opposite of the City of Jericho.
The mountain range included Mount Nebo and Mount Pisgah. Joshua led the invasion of Canaan from Moab (around 1200 BC) and conquered the City of Jericho.
The Jordan Valley, where Jericho was situated, was very fertile, and it was a strategic entrance to the highlands of Judah. The tropical climate and vegetation inspired its nickname, “The City of Palm Trees.”
It’s interesting to note that the view described from the mountain top was metaphorical rather than literal. There is no physical location in Moab where such a view is possible. Today’s story serves as a narrative bridge, rather than a geographical description in that it links the book of Deuteronomy to Joshua, the Hebrew people’s Wilderness experience to their entry into the Promised Land, and the leadership of Moses to the leadership of Joshua.
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The times that we are currently living in are somewhat like the scene from today’s scripture reading. We are living in a time between times.
We are on a precipice between the old and the new, between the time before COVID-19 and what we hope will be the time after COVID-19, and we are trying to gain a glimpse of the future without forgetting where we came from or who has led us to this place and time.
Thirty-two hundred years ago when Moses commissioned Joshua to lead the Hebrew people into Canaan, and Israel was on the cusp of radical change in terms of its social, economic, and political structure.
Moses was the only prophet whom the Lord knew “face to face” (Deut. 34:10; Deut. 33:11). He was the only prophet who had a direct relationship with God. The historian in Deuteronomy illustrates that Moses was uniquely faithful to the Law, and that made him morally superior over his predecessors and his successor, Joshua.
Moses mentored and commissioned Joshua, but the two were cut from very different cloth. Moses led the Israelites like an 18th century wagon train leader on the American frontier, while Joshua led the Hebrew people into Canaan like a 15th century Spanish conquistador landing on the shores of a continent they colonized. Moses was a nomadic shepherd. Joshua was a charismatic military leader.
Both prophets had to unite and inspire their people, and both faced a myriad of unanticipated challenges. But the challenges that each faced were very different. Moses led indentured slaves through the wilds of the Wilderness, while Joshua had to turn a band of shepherds into soldiers to conquer Cana. Both leaders were successful in their roles, because their respective gifts and graces for leadership were well matched for times in which they were called to serve.
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The success of these men’s work, then, wasn’t due to the similarity in their gifts and graces, but rather in their differences and particularly in Moses’ sense of timing. Moses not only knew how to hand off the baton without dropping it. He knew WHEN to pass off the baton to Joshua.
We don’t know for sure how Moses came to the conclusion about when to hand off the batton. Perhaps it was daunted by the challenges of having to cross the Jordan, go into battle, or outfit an army--particularly in his old age. Perhaps he discerned that the leadership needs of the Hebrew people, going forward, were very different than what was needed in the past. And, perhaps he realized that Joshua was a better fit for the future needs, so he graciously passed the baton to his protégé and stepped off the track, so to speak.
Imagining this impressive hand off, this grace-filled passing of the baton, causes me to ponder this question for myself and for all of us: how and when will we know the right time to pass the baton to someone else?
How and when will we know the right time to pass the car keys, and our health care and financial decisions to a loved one?
How and when will we know the right time to invite someone else to take over our role in running the family business, or succeed us in our respective vocational role?
How will we know? What will be the signs? And, can we hand off that baton with grace, like Moses did?
These are the questions that today’s scripture reading poses. I wonder how we will answer them. Amen.