The capture of Jericho

On Wednesday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to reflect on a Scripture passage from the book of Joshua (3:1-17; 4:14-19; 5:10-12), entitled "The people cross the Jordan and celebrate the Passover". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily by Origen, priest. Origen of Alexandria was a second century priest also known as Origen Adamitius. He was an early Christian scholar, aesthetic, and theologian. He was also a prolific writer who wrote roughly 2000 treaties in multiple branches of theology and spirituality. He is one of the most influential and controversial figures in early Christian theology, apologetics, and aestheticism (a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and the nature of art). He has been described as "the greatest genius the early Church ever produced". The Book of Joshua presents a narrative of the way Israel took possession of the land of Canaan, making it the land of Israel. This process is swift and inexorable, and is followed by an orderly division and disposition of the land among the twelve tribes, with a concluding ceremony of covenant renewal. The theological message of the book is unmistakable. God has been faithful to the promise of the land. If Israel relies totally on the Lord for victory; if Israel is united as a people; if the law of herem is kept and no one grows rich from victory in war—then and only then will Israel possess the land. The Israelites are led by Joshua, the successor of Moses, and the book is at pains to show not only how Joshua carries on the work of Moses but how the "conquest" of Canaan is continuous with the exodus from Egypt. This is seen in the repeated insistence that, as the Lord was with Moses, so he is with Joshua; and, especially, in the crossing of the Jordan River, which is patterned after the crossing of the Red Sea.