From the Pastor |
Have you ever wondered…? Where is God? If God is with us why would he allow such terrible things to happen? … Is God really with us?
From the time that the people of Israel marched out of Egypt… a strange pattern began to unfold. A 3 step pattern that we see over and over again: 1. The Israelites face some threat or crisis Ex: Egypt’s army pursues them… water is bitter and undrinkable… they are unable to locate food in the desert… 2. The people become distressed and afraid. They complain to Moses and accuse him of simply leading them to their deaths. 3. God hears their complaints and provides a solution: Safe passage through the sea… God tells Moses how to ‘fix’ the water… meat and bread is provided daily. Today’s reading is another example of this pattern. This large mass of people, livestock and belongings is slowly moving across the desert, and we find them setting up camp in Rephadim. Unfortunately there seems to be no water in the area. The people need water to survive but they cannot find any. So they go to Moses and DEMAND that he give them water. “Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”” In other words “What do you expect me to do? You are talking to the wrong guy… and by the way… haven’t you seen enough evidence to trust God yet? But the people are thirsty… this is a dire situation and they are so agitated that Moses actually fears for his own life. He cries out to God “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” So, the Lord tells Moses to take some of the elders as witnesses… and go to a specific place… and using his staff, he is to strike a specific rock. It sounds strange, but by now Moses is used to strange requests coming from God… so he does as he is told and sure enough… water pours forth from the rock. The Lord has once again provided what the people need. Now… for those of us looking back at this story… thousands of years in the future… it seems pretty strange that this same pattern is repeated time and time again. I have to wonder… What don’t these people get? How come it seems they never learn? Well…let’s think about that for a moment. These are God’s Chosen People… they share a common ancestry and heritage. They have undoubtedly heard the stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… they have heard about Joseph and how they came to be in Egypt… however, slavery in Egypt was all they knew. These people were born as slaves in Egypt. It is very likely that they knew more about the Egyptian gods than they knew about their own. After all, Moses was told to inform the Israelites that the one who sent him was NOT “Your God!” but rather “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”… You see… They DID NOT really know God. God revealed himself to Moses… Moses in turn came to Egypt and announced that the God of their ancestors has heard their cry and sent Moses to lead them to freedom. Signs of great power were displayed… freedom was achieved… And the people of Israel left everything they knew… all that was oppressive YET familiar and followed a man they barely knew into the wilderness… all on the promise that they would be led to the land promised generations ago to their ancestors… a land they had never seen. They were skeptical. After all… the gods were known to be fickle so whenever threats or hardships arose… as their fears set in…They had to be wondering… How long? How long would this great and powerful God stay with them? It’s easy to look back and criticize the Ancient Israelites for their lack of faith and trust… But truthfully… we have a great advantage over them… we have the benefit of the hind-sight that comes from studying their history and stories… And we are able to KNOW God in ways they could not have fathomed. After all … it was about 2000 years ago that God truly revealed himself to us in a way we could understand and relate to… coming into our world in the man we call Jesus… “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory… full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14] “and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” [Matthew 1:23] Perhaps some of the frustration we feel for Ancient Israel is that it has been thousands of years and yet things have not changed very much. “Is the Lord with us or not?” is still a very common question today. In his book The Great Mysteries, Father Andrew Greeley puts it like this: “Life is filled with so many senseless events. Mindless tragedies fill our newspapers every day--airplane crashes, the murder of innocent children, insane terrorism, natural disasters. And much in our own lives seems without purpose or meaning--… a handicapped child, the early death of a parent or spouse, a broken marriage, a car that won't start in the morning, a wrong number in the middle of the night, the treason of friends and envy of neighbors. We are often left to wonder why such things happen. Is there any point and purpose behind them? … Is the Lord with us or not?” As I was preparing this week, it occurred to me that we are currently in a similar situation… our nation is in turmoil… wandering in the dark wilderness… between the current coronavirus pandemic… the protests and riots over racial injustice… the current political scene… Fear and anger reign, and we hear little mention of God. People are looking to science and politics to solve our crises, and because human efforts do not seem to be solving the situation quickly enough, people are grumbling about and quarreling with our leaders, on both sides of the aisle, in both science and politics. “Why did Trump do this? Why didn’t the Democrats do that?” Even Christians have joined in this chorus of negativity… arguing and blaming others AND even one another… instead of calling out to God… instead of putting their trust and faith in God. Like the Israelites, we don't want to stop long enough to consider all that God has done in the past. We fail to notice the evidence that surrounds us of God's current, and very active presence. So… in fear… we cry out “Is God with us or not?” We need to realize and trust in the fact that God never leaves us alone… nor does God attempt to solve all our problems for us… what God does is join us in the darkness. We need to have faith. You see… Faith does not shut its eyes in fear, but watches for the miracles of grace that bring light and hope into the darkness. And it is in the darkness that we can truly find God's glorious light… evidence of God’s presence that leads to a deeper joy and peace. It is where we see glimpses of pure grace that shine in the darkness. Christ came to reveal God to us… revealing God’s love, mercy, compassion and grace… assuring us that we are not alone. When we hold onto our faith, and put our trust in God… we will know and recognize God’s presence with us… Through Christ, God’s love is poured out into the hearts of those who believe, and produces a hope that can lift us up and guide us even in the darkest of times… Because of this… the presence of God should be evident in us as well. When someone feeds those who are hungry… gives water to the thirsty… wears a mask to protect others around them… when someone offers a loving hand to another in need. When members of a community work together to provide for those who are vulnerable and alone… God’s presence is made known. When we love… when we are not only the recipients and also the vehicles of grace… when we reach out a helping hand to anyone who is in need… when we put aside our political differences and work together to secure health, justice and compassion for all our citizens… God’s presence is made known… Is the Lord with us or not? The answer is, of course, a resounding yes. Each and every day… God is with us… we are not alone. As we wander through the wilderness of these dark times… if we will keep our eyes open and not shut them in fear and dread… then we will see wondrous the signs of God in our midst. And then may we pray that the world see God’s presence through us as well. Amen.
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Yeon Shin
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