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Hespeler, May 25, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Sixth Sunday of Easter
Judges 1:12-15, 3:5-11, Psalm 67, John 14:23-29, John 5:1-9
In the opening chapter of the Book of Judges, the children of Israel are facing an enormous crisis. Joshua, who has been giving leadership to the whole nation during their entrance into the Promised Land is dead.
But the problem is not just that they have lost one visionary leader. Joshua had also been the last link to the glorious story of how they came to be there. As the former lieutenant of Moses, he had been there for it all – the confrontations with Pharaoh, the plagues, the Battle of the Sea of Reeds.
The Vision of Joshua
He had been present – and right up there on the mountain at a distance – when the Law had been given in moment of clarity and revelation. Things had since become somewhat muddled as they attempted to live out that vision in a practical world surrounded by strangers and enemies, but, having been there, Joshua had been able to keep that original vision alive.
But now, with Joshua gone, it was truly the end of an era. Lacking that consistent central leadership, it felt as if the whole project might fall apart completely. Rather than looking out for what was good for the entire nation, the people would simply dissolve into tribalism, with each clan or tribe only looking out for what was good for themselves.
A Difficult Transition
It was, to put it in terms that we can relate to, a difficult time of transition. And I think that, in many ways, it is similar to the transition that the church has been dealing with in our own times.
Surely you recognize many of the feelings that the Israelites were having. Once we knew how to make churches work in our world. Success for the church was mostly a matter of ringing a bell at the appropriate time and people – who really didn’t have anything else to do during those hours – would just show up. We knew what programs would attract people and we could count on a large volunteer base to do all of the work that was needed.
But today the church finds itself a strange new land where the old approaches don’t work like they once did. And we haven’t quite figured out what the new approaches should be.
Our Loss of Joshua
What’s more, many congregations are struggling with the loss of a “Joshua.” Clergy, who have long been the keepers of the tradition and who know how things ought to be done, have been getting scarce. Like what happened in Knox Preston, churches have had to figure out how to thrive without that consistent clergy presence.
And I was thinking that, if we are facing some of the same challenges, maybe we can learn something from how they navigated the situation. In particular, how did they find the leadership and vision to enter into the next phase in their life?
Caleb’s Plan
“Then Caleb said, ‘Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and takes it, I will give him my daughter Achsah as wife.’ And Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, took it, and he gave him his daughter Achsah as wife.” That is apparently what they did.
And I know that that doesn’t really sound like much of a visioning or leadership development process, but apparently it turned out to be quite successful. That is why we kept reading into the third chapter of Judges this morning.
Othniel’s Leadership
In the third chapter we discover that Othniel was not just a one-hit wonder who attacked a place to win a bride. He went on to unify and lead the tribes that were falling apart for a period of forty years. He was the guy who laid the foundation for any success that they experienced in the next entire phase of their existence. That is success in leadership development by any measure.
And it all began, apparently, with Caleb offering up his daughter in marriage as a prize to whomever would lead a successful raid against a place called Kiriath-sepher. And I realize that that might seem like an odd way to start something that is going to lead you into a new future but stay with me for a minute here.
Presbytery’s Plan
What if you understand it this way. Caleb, one of the last leftovers of the old authority system, is like the Presbytery in our system. And imagine that the Presbytery says to one of its congregations – one of its children – the following, “I don’t think that you should go it alone anymore.” In fact, it says that if that congregation doesn’t get married off soon, it is not going to be sustained.
Now, does that sound a little bit harsh? Well, when you put it that way, it certainly does to us. But parents did do that kind of thing back then and it wasn’t seen as problematic. As readers, I think we are supposed to give Caleb the benefit of the doubt and assume that he has his daughter Achsah’s interests at heart – that he wants this to lead to good things for her.
Achsah and Othniel Become a Team
At least, let’s give Caleb’s plan a chance. Achsah is put on notice that she is going to get married to someone who can take the settlement of Kiriath-sepher – that is to say, someone who is courageous enough to take on this great challenge that lies before the people of God.
That is where Othniel comes into the story. He is the one who steps forward. And we need to understand that he doesn’t do it because he wants the settlement. He does it because he wants Achsah. He has seen something in her and knows that there is great value in her. He knows that they will make a great team together.
Our Marriage Metaphor
As you all know, throughout our amalgamation process, the one big metaphor that we used to talk about it was marriage. These two congregations coming together to become one. We said it again and again: it was like a marriage. And we have already used the marriages of some biblical heroes to talk about our amalgamation.
But today I want to tell you that our amalgamation is specifically like the marriage of a biblical couple that you have probably never heard of before: Achsah and Othniel.
Part of that is that their marriage may not seem ideal by our modern standards. It is arranged by other people and is very rushed. And, yes, our amalgamation kind of went like that.
The Guarantee of a Good Marriage
But here is the thing. I have never encountered a marriage that had a perfect start. We sometimes think that if we get the start of a marriage right – if the couple meets in the perfect way, if they wait the perfect amount of time before marrying and if they have a perfect wedding – they are virtually guaranteed to have a perfect marriage together.
But it really doesn’t work that way. The only guarantee of a good marriage is not how it starts but how it functions in the long-term. And if the couple can learn to respect and value and lift each other up in a relationship of mutual support, that is the primary predictor of a successful marriage.
An Incredible Team
So, it had a strange beginning, but I think it is clear that Achsah and Othniel’s marriage was extraordinarily successful. If Othniel went on to be the first great leader of the people of Israel in a new era, he didn’t do that alone. He did it because she was at his side.
Othniel is obviously a strong person at the beginning of this story – leading a successful raid – but there is clear strength in Achsah as well. We see her boldly stepping forth and demanding from the Presby… from her father the resources that they are going to need to thrive in their marriage.
That is why I suggest to you today that the secret of their extraordinary success was that they recognized the strength in each other and they worked together to build each other up. They discovered that they were stronger, wiser and better equipped together, than either of these very strong people could ever have been separately.
Two Becoming One
The congregations of Knox Preston and St. Andrew’s Hespeler came together very quickly and in what seemed like a bit of an arranged marriage kind of way. Nevertheless, we seem to have had a good beginning. But the ultimate test of a good amalgamation is not how it begins; it is how we work together as one in the long term.
We were two separate things; we were two independent congregations. But we have now become one new thing together. And if we are going to be as successful at shaping a new future for the church in this region as Othniel and Achsah were in shaping the future of the people of Israel in a new era, I think we need to follow their example. We begin by learning to appreciate the incredible strengths that we find in each other and combine them in new ways because we embrace a new identity.
Our New Identity
Today we are beginning that intentional process of finding that new identity. Of course, we have already begun in many ways. We have started to get to know one another. But truly embracing a new identity is a process of letting go of what used to be in order to fully embrace something new. And that doesn’t just happen all on its own.
Change is always a difficult process of letting go of old things and old ways of doing things. Even if you are going through that transition for the best of reasons and are excited about moving into the future, it is always hard to say goodbye to what was.
The Uncertainty of Transition
And it is made all the harder because, if you really embracing change, you do not know what that future is going to look like. So, transitions bring with them a great deal of uncertainty. You fumble around for a while not quite sure of how things are going to work or what you are supposed to do. It is exciting, because you are heading for a new future, but it can also be a bit daunting.
Well, that is where we are right now. We have all left behind the two separate congregations we used to be. They are, and always will be, a part of our revered and valued past. But they are not actually who we are anymore.
Because we are in this murky transition period, we will sometimes slip into old ways of thinking and old ways of seeing ourselves. That is only natural. But never forget that God is calling us to be something new together and is encouraging us to think of ourselves in those new terms. That is exciting, but it is not going to happen without us working at it.
A Power Couple
Who are we now? I can’t answer that for you. We can only find the answer to that question together over time. But let me let offer this identity to you.
We are Achsah and Othniel, not two individuals, no, but Ancient Israel’s first power couple. We are two congregations who came together to become. It happened quickly and in unexpected ways, but I have no doubt that this was a marriage that was arranged, not by Caleb, not by Presbytery, but by God because God wants us to play a key role in laying out new approaches to living and thriving as a church in this strange new landscape where we find ourselves.
Power Couple Names
You know, sometimes they give nicknames to power couples. You know like when, for a while, they called Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Brangelina, and when people referred to Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez as Bennifer. I’m not going to suggest that our new identity should be “Achsothniel, and not just because nobody would ever be able to spell it.
A name – a new name – can be a helpful way to cement a new identity – at least if everyone can spell and pronounce it – but the point is not actually to find a name. It is about discovering our identity – learning who God is calling us to be and what story God is telling to us. That is our task and we are starting it today.
And whatever identity we fully embrace, I hope you will carry this sense of calling with you into it. We are not just a random couple of congregations thrown together by circumstance and maybe desperation. God arranged this marriage because God has a plan for the future of the church around here and this particular power couple is essential to that plan. Carry that truth with you as you move forward.