July 30, 2023
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
Lakeland, Florida
Psalm 118:1-9
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Good morning, I am Rev. Judy Kahler-Jalbert. I work as a chaplain at LRMC and as an adjunct professor at Saint Leo University. But some of you may know me best as the person who brings mangoes to church, which is true today. I’m also someone who has encountered Rahab many times. Let me share a bit about what I know about her and how we met.
History and genealogy have always been an important characteristic of the Hebrew culture. It is to this day. So, let’s put Rahab’s story in its historical context. The Hebrew people, who were previously enslaved in Egypt, have been set free by God, and lead to victory over the Egyptian army by Moses. God’s plan was to bring them to the land of Canaan, a land which God had promised to Father Abraham 600 years earlier. Unfortunately, when Moses sent people to spy out the land, 10 of the 12 spies came back saying that there was no way they could defeat the inhabitants of the land, people who were known for their the worship of demonic idols, taboo sexual acts, and even the sacrifice of children to the Canaanite gods. But two of the spies – Joshua and Caleb – encouraged them that if God had promised them the land, then He would surely make a way for them to enter it. Unfortunately, the negative report of the 10 spies caused fear to spread throughout the camp. As a result of their fear and disobedience, God caused his people to wander in the wilderness for 40 years until that entire generation, except for Joshua and Caleb, would die out.
In the beginning of the book of Joshua, the 40 years has passed, Moses has died, and they are once again on the border of the promised land. Because we know the year that King Solomon built his temple, we can quit accurately back date this story to the year 1406 BC. The story picks up with Joshua sending two more spies into the city of Jericho to see what the odds were for bringing down this lawless city and laying claim to the promised land.
The first city they encounter in Canaan is Jericho, a large walled city. As Pastor Pam reiterated, the two spies enter the city and stay at the home of a harlot named Rahab, whose house is actually in the outer wall of the city, not necessarily a safe place, especially during battle when the inhabitants of the houses would be in the middle of the fray. For spies, however, it was a good place to hide out – not only does the city wall allow for easy entrance and exit, but many people would come and go, including travelers, bringing the latest news, gossip and reports from throughout the land. Unfortunately, however, the spies have not gone undetected, and so when the king hears about them, he sends men to find them.
But that night Joshua and Caleb, two men who were different than any of the men that Rahab had encountered, spoke to her about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and of the great destiny that He had planned for the people of God. And miracle of miracles, Rahab, whether you call her a harlot, a prostitute, a lady of the night, a whore or the owner of an Air B&B on the wrong side of town -- Rahab found her heart set on fire for the God that these men served.
And with her new perspective, Rahab realized that the Kingdom of God was near her and she wanted that more than she had ever wanted anything. And so, she hides the spies and sends the king’s men on a wild goose chase.
Then a dangerous plan for the survival of Rahab and her family was devised. And when the army of Israel arrived they passed over her house leaving it untouched because they recognized the signal she left outside of her window -- a scarlet cord, an image that reminds us of the blood on the doorposts of the houses of the Hebrew people who decades earlier were passed over by the Angel of Death.
That scarlet cord is a symbol that’s often used when speaking of how Christ is hidden in the Old Testament, woven into the familiar stories, hinted at in symbols, images and literary foreshadowing.
So, one might ask Rahab, why is a woman like you making such a dangerous decision for God?
Because, like the woman in our Gospel reading Rahab the Harlot, in her new-found faith recognized that the Kingdom of Heaven was near, so she leavened all that she had to become one of the chosen people of God.
Because, like the man who found a pearl of great value and was willing to risk all that he had, Rahab risked all that she had, her home, her family and her community to draw near to the Kingdom of Heaven.
Because like the man Jesus describes who found a treasure in a field and sold all that he had to buy the field, Rahab invested all that she owned, risking her life and the lives of those she loved to draw near to what she sensed was something priceless
And Rahab’s faith, when she made the decision to follow the God of Caleb and Joshua was like the mustard seed that Jesus describes in the parable, the smallest of seeds growing into a mighty tree, her decision for God inserting her name forever into the history of the Hebrew people and the family tree of Jesus Christ.
So how did a woman like Rahab find a place in the genealogy of Jesus Christ?
Tradition has it that after the fall of the City of Jericho, Rahab married Solomon, perhaps one of the two spies whose life she saved. Their son was a man named Boaz, the powerful Kinsman Redeemer who married Ruth, both of them becoming the grandparents of David and Solomon. And so the family line spans the generations until it comes to Joseph and Mary, the parents of Jesus.
So, how you might ask, did I meet and get to know Rahab?
I’ve met her because Rahab’s sisters live among us today. Most of you know me as chaplain or as the woman who sings in the choir. What you might be surprised to know about me is that for years I worked with the homeless, many of whom are prostitutes.
I first time I met one of Rahab’s sisters it was in the summer of 1989. Carl had taken our teenage sons to visit friends in San Francisco. When we arrived, I was shocked at all of the homeless people camped out on sidewalks and in alleyways, people with obvious signs of mental illness, people living with no roof over their heads and no idea of where their next meal came from. Many of them were victims of sex trafficking living in rundown hotels where their children played in the parking lots. I was shocked and troubled by what I witnessed.
When I returned to Florida, I found out that more than 1,000 children were homeless right here in Polk County. Many of them attended school but lived in their mothers’ cars. Many of the mothers turned to prostitution to keep their families fed. The numbers are even more gruesome today. And so, with the help of a friend and the inspiration of the spirit we started Tabitha Fellowship, a nonprofit named after the charitable work of the woman by the same name in the Book of Acts. We teamed up with an amazing family of women known as the Crawford Sisters, three generations of Gospel singers who traveled with us as we raised money for daycare scholarships, so that homeless women in our area did not have to resort to selling themselves to pay for their children’s basic needs. I’m happy to report that after ten years of working with Rahab and her sisters, when I stepped down as president, this story came full circle, and the very first mother we had on the program, a destitute mother of two toddlers and an infant, became the next president of Tabitha Fellowship.
Then I met Rahab’s sisters again when I answered the call to ordained ministry, I met Rahab while serving as a transitional deacon at a small inner-city church in one of the roughest parts of Tampa. Each Sunday morning of my ten-month internship, the little sanctuary was filled with street people, homeless men and women with children, prostitutes and drug addicts. And I remember the day that one of the street walkers arrived early as we were vesting for the morning mass. She came straight to the priest and asked if she could have her children baptized. The priest ,who knew that this opportunity would not wait for another time, didn't miss a beat. He stopped vesting and directed us all, me included, to the Baptismal Font at the back of the sanctuary. And that morning, two of Rahab’s children were brought into the Kingdom of God at the request of their mother who did what she could to keep a roof over her kids’ heads.
During the rest of the service, I assisted with the liturgy while two small children sat underneath the altar waving and smiling at everyone in the sanctuary. I learned so much from those who called the inner-city home.
The story of Rahab teaches us about the grace of God and how long before we are aware of it, in a thousand different ways, His Spirit moves in our lives as it did in the life of Rahab. Because that is who God is — one who pursues us, even when we are unaware that we are being sought and draws us into relationship. As a result, a prostitute is listed in the great company of the exemplars of faith — Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Noah.
This harlot of lowly birth made a decision for the kingdom of heaven because she sensed it was more valuable than any pearl of great value or any treasure in a field. Her story teaches us that when the Kingdom of Heaven is near, social standing is shattered, and all of us, including Rahab and her sisters, can be used powerfully to change our own lives and the course of history.
Amen.
