Ga'Hoole and Covenant Renewal

This past weekend I saw the new movie "Legend of the Guardians," which is based on the kids' fantasy books, "Guardians of Ga'Hoole."  The movie centers around the story of some owls who end up being caught in a battle between a group of evil, Nazi Germany-like owls, and "the Guardians" who live in a land called Ga'Hoole. Although the movie was targeted at kids, there were several themes that I found particularly fascinating.

One of those themes dealt with the power of stories. In the opening scene, some young owls are playing in their tree and imagining themselves as heroes from their father's stories. While one brother firmly believes in the stories (which turn out to be true), the other brother looks on them with scorn and prefers to live in "reality." However, as their father tells them when he returns to the tree, "Stories are tell us who we are--they give us identity."

Being a Communication major and a Biblical Studies major in undergrad, I couldn't help but think of the Biblical story. The stories of the Bible are powerful not just because they can teach a lesson, but really because they give us identity by telling us our history and revealing our nature. A powerful example of this comes whenever Israel goes through the process of covenant renewal. In Joshua 24, Israel goes through such a ceremony. However, before the people can recommit themselves, they must remember their stories. Hence, the beginning of the ceremony in Joshua 24 rehearses the history of Israel up to that point. One's stories and history provide identity so that one is empowered to live in keeping with that identity.

In the movie, the consequences of not holding onto those treasured stories is clearly illustrated. In the end, the brother who believes in the stories goes on to become a hero while the brother who scorned the stories falls to evil and does not find redemption. Likewise, the consequences in Israel's history were equally severe. Just as Joshua predicted in chapter 24, Israel would forget her history and would fall under God's judgment. Thus, both this film and the Biblical story serve as poignant reminders of the importance of remembering and being committed to our stories and history.

Power of Remembering- Joshua 3-4

History is important. One need look no further than church traditions to see that much. So much of what we do is done because somewhere back in the church's history people decided to do it that way. Why are the hymnals blue? Because some of us years ago wanted them that way. Why do we do the announcements before the sermon? Because someone at some point decided it was more effective that way. Yet, examining a church's history is something that many churches today seem to neglect. Many members can't tell you how their church began or how the church's ministry had progressed and changed over its history.

However, taking the time to examine this history can be very informative and inspiring. At the church I attended while in college, when our new pastor began his ministry, we took the time to examine the history of our church on one Sunday evening. It was an excellent time to see issues that had been buried for years and also to see how God had been faithful and at work in the church over the decades. Taking the time to remember and reflect on those successes and on how God had been at work was a helpful exercise in bringing back unity and focus to our church.

In Joshua 3-4, Israel also recognizes the need to remember God's acts in their history. After God's miraculous act of bringing Israel across the Jordan, Joshua orders the people to collect a stone from the Jordan for each tribe. These are then erected into an altar. The purpose: that later generations my know that "Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground" and that "all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty" (4:21-24 NASB). Such a memorial was a way of forcing Israel to remember this great act of God and continue to praise Him for His faithfulness and obey Him. Similar to war memorials today which cause citizens to remember the battles soldiers have fought for their countries, these stones stood to remind Israel of the acts that God was performing for them. In this way, not only does Josh. 3-4 remind us of a mighty act of god in history, but it also reminds us of our duty to remember the acts of God within our own history. Indeed, history is important and has great potential to impact the present.