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Two Men on The Way to Someplace Else
Exodus 3:1-12
Luke 18:31-34
Do yo=
u ever
feel like just taking off and going someplace – perhaps no place in
particular; just run like mad and go?! Take a plane, a train or even a
Greyhound bus, but go! Quit the streets and the battering traffic noises. S=
top
trying to do what others do, and leave the coughing, choking, car-sick crow=
ds.
Yes, leave the streets and go! Forget the drone of driven, daily routine; t=
he
whispered voices of the rumor mill, the idle chatter over bridge and cockta=
ils.
Quit the complaining and whimpering people who always have excuses for not
giving of themselves; for not appearing at their places of responsibility. =
Just
get away for awhile and go!
Well,=
you
could take a desert track, to the sands, to the haze of the wilderness, to =
the
cracked and wrinkled hills of Sinai, where hot and hairy shepherds wince
beneath a snarling sun. You might encounter a dead tree glistening in the
sunlight, and beyond the stunted tree there is Moses, waiting alone for a c=
all.
No cell phone in his ear, he stares into the thick haze and the fading trai=
l of
dust left by some black goats. His mind wanders and his thoughts stumble. Is
God a dream of death and humans the only dawn? Or is God the one who really=
acts?
Is God more than a hoax we cherish? And Moses’ heart fails. It is true
that what humans cannot prove, humans cannot know? What Moses would know, M=
oses
cannot prove, is God trapped within that glowing tree?
The d=
ry tree
glows and the flickering motion of its branches lures Moses’ imaginat=
ion
and hypnotizes him. Or is there more? - a dream - a vision - a voice? Screams from an angel, or the soun=
ds of
God? Yes, voices old and new. Moses, don’t come near. Remove your sho=
es.
This earth is holy ground. I am your ancestors’ God. I have seen my
people suffer. I hear my people cry. Leave the herding of the sheep, and be=
on
your way to someplace else! Go to Pharaoh, Egypt’s king, and bring my
people out!
How m=
uch we
are like Moses! “Who am I to think God calls me? I didn’t even =
know
God’s name until this call came through and the name showed up on my =
on
my caller ID. Hey, before you hang up, God, what shall I say to your
people?” “Say =
216;I
Am’ has sent you; the Almighty of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebeka=
h, Jacob
and Rachel. My name is “I AM” because I keep my promises and I =
am
with you to the end. I will clean up this dirty mess and set my people
free.”
In th=
e cold
dusk Moses stumbles home again; past the pits, the obnoxious mud pits, to t=
he
tattered tents and hovels that grace the slums of slaves. And somewhere in =
the
night, his brother Aaron asks: “What’s new?” And with a r=
usty
cough Moses answers back, “God’s name is new. That name that all
shall hear. Yahweh calls for me and you to be on our way to someplace
else.” And the journey begins toward the promise of God, and it lasts=
for
over 40 years.
Anoth=
er man,
another journey, many generations later; this Jesus of Nazareth was always =
on
his way to someplace else. He often made his way with a few followers, thro=
ugh
rolling hills of the Galilee; hills covered with limestone and the hateful
black volcanic rock. And the Judean hills into which he would move rise high
and craggy and desolate. The journey required strength, energy and physical
prowess. But for Jesus, going someplace else was not just a matter of
geography. It wasn’t a sight seeing tour! He journeyed toward his he
destiny, into obedience to God. He said: “Where I am going you cannot
come.” Indeed, we cannot. He is to be handed over to his enemies, mocked=
and
assaulted. They will kill him but on third day he will be raised from the d=
ead.
Jesus’ peace was not in the absence of conflict and tension. His peace
was in the assurance of this movement, this change, that took him into the =
very
heart of God. That “someplace else” for Jesus, Jerusalem, was o=
nly
a symbol for something much more important. It was the place that fit his
calling and his gifts. It is the place that fits his intellect and his fait=
h,
and the longings of his soul. It is the place of his ultimate faithfulness =
to
the Father.
But f=
or both
Moses and Jesus, the destination was only the beginning of a journey to
someplace else, again! We have been on this unusually long journey of
transition. Many things have occurred and we are someplace other than where=
we
expected to be. And now it may be that the journey is just to get through t=
his
period of transition to when the “real” pastor will arrive! But
when the “real” pastor does arrive and becomes oriented and
functioning you will quickly discover that yet another unknown destination
looms before you, out there, someplace. For that is why the “realR=
21;
pastor is here; so that you may fulfill a new vision that will bring new
vitality, life and growth to this congregation. The new pastor does not com=
e to
take you back to some comfortable past. You will be on the way to someplace=
else!
Perha=
ps you
have heard the story of the minister who had just arrived in the city and he
approached a small boy and asked the way to the nearest post office. After =
the
boy had given him directions the pastor thanked him by saying: “You c=
ome
to church next Sunday and I’ll show you the way to heaven.” The=
boy
thought about it and then shook his head dubiously and responded: “I
don’t think so mister. How can you show me the way to heaven when you
don’t know the way to the post office?”
Well,=
we need
to be more humble! What is important is not getting the tree or the bush bu=
rned
up and putting out the fire and cleaning up the ashes! It is to continue the
journey into God’s unknown. It is about again going to someplace else.
What do we learn from Moses and Jesus about the next leg of the journey?
For M=
oses it
was a very long journey, primarily because the people of Israel had to find=
the
faith that allowed them to rely on God; accept God’s guidance. There =
was
a lot of trial and error and backtracking through the wilderness, and along
with it an inordinate amount of whimpering and complaining about how long t=
he
journey was taking them. They learned to listen to God in their worship of =
God.
They developed forms of worship that put them into the presence of God and =
that
helped them gain strength, wisdom and insight to enter the Promised Land as
God’s own people.
From =
Jesus we
learn to give up our own ideas of where we are going. Jesus gave up all tho=
ught
of control. His enemies did their worst, but the Father did his best! And it
provided a whole new story for the people of God emerging out of the people=
of
Israel. We need to keep our focus on the Spirit to discover the places where
God would have us be. Two journeys - Moses and Jesus. They arrived where they were meant=
to
be! Where Jesus went we cannot go; we are not Jesus. But we can go to him,
where we are liberated from our fears about the future, and healed from our
hurts accumulated on the journey. Amen.