Exodus - what was it like

Introductions to the Scripture readings, overview of Exodus using images from The Bible Project.

Proclamation of the Word

This is a pivotal story in the history of the people of Israel. Throughout the Bible, there are passages recalling the time when God brought his people out of Egypt and saved his people.

Over the past few weeks we had stories from the Book of Genesis, and now the Book of Exodus, that focus on new life.

The creation stories

Noah, and how God wanted to start afresh

And then God chooses and calls Abraham and Sarah – one couple who will become a nation

and this week, the Exodus event.

It is like God is continually moving the story along, if the world won’t cooperate, God will work through a nation, and at times individuals within that nation.

With the coming of Jesus, the offer of God is to all people, just as in the beginning.

God is always calling us forward, calling us to obey, to love, to live in fullness of life. 

For a while I want us to focus not on the main actors, but on the ordinary people.

…

Imagine what it would have been like to be a slave in Egypt, or an Egyptian. The discussions between Aaron, Moses and Pharaoh and his officials would not be on the news each night like we have now. Some may have filtered out, but with everyone doing the best they can to stay alive, I suspect it may have just seemed like a crazy time.

The river turning blood red, the plagues of boils, the locusts, what next?

Some of the Hebrew people ask Moses to stop poking his nose in, because Pharaoh is getting angrier and making them work harder.

But I wonder how many saw the big discussions, and how many just slogged through each day, wondering what was coming next.

I wonder if that is how some people feel today.

Flood and drought and bushfire, earthquakes, tsunamis ….

Or people who lose a job, fall ill, one thing after another.

I have a story[i] written about the exodus from the perspective of a Hebrew girl, she looks about 8 years old in the pictures. She remembers that each day she would work spreading mortar onto stones, looking at the birds in the sky flying freely. Wondering if the air was sweeter up there. Then she talks of how life changed, strange things were happening, the river turned red, frogs were everywhere, sick and dying animals, not knowing why those things were happening. She writes of her father killing a lamb, and putting blood on the doorposts, and the screams and cries she heard in the night.
Adults coming into groups, talking about leaving, now. They ran into the night, ran from Egypt, ran to???

And then they saw the sea

And then it parted, ripped in two!

And the story finishes with this girl dancing and singing and smiling.

“How I danced along the shore, never having danced before!

How I shouted by the sea, loud and long and joyfully”

It can be hard to consider what it was like for the people living through this time. We know the end of the story, and the next bit and the next bit.

But for the people going through this experience, I suspect it was quite confusing and daunting and somewhat overwhelming.

The Hebrew people were told to leave, then the army comes after them

When they get to the Red Sea, Moses says stand firm, and God says move forward.

The pillar that led them, moved to behind them.[ii]

Is it any wonder the people of Israel asked Moses: “Wasn’t there enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt anyway? While we were there, didn’t we tell you to leave us alone? We had rather be slaves in Egypt than die in this desert!” [Exodus 14: 11-12 CEV]

We make a change in our lives, and then we second guess ourselves:
should we have moved to a new house?

did I retire at the right time?

When should I consider aged care assistance?

Much of my time is in thinking about the church,
what is God calling us to leave behind?

What is God calling us to?

What if I mess it up?

What if we fail?

In the midst of uncertainty and confusion, looking back at what was, we can forget how bad slavery was.

Looking back, we can see the big Sunday schools and parties, and not see why people stopped being part of the church, the hidden abuse, the judgement. How many of you have children and grandchildren part of a worshipping community?

Like the Hebrew people, we can look back, and gloss over the problems, or we can move forward with God, into whatever future God calls us to.

 “As we walk along the uncertain path of this life, God’s leading can be deeply confusing. Make no mistake, God calls us all to freedom from sin and death, including freedom from structural sin, like the Egyptian slavery. But sometimes the path is confusing, and our act of faithfulness is to stop standing still and crying out and instead to move forward into what the LORD is doing.”[iii]

We can cry out to God about lower attendances, lack of young people, not enough resources; we can complain about decisions made by the Minister or the Church Council or the Assembly. Or we can move forward.

Move forward with God. We can be brave enough to leave where we are and follow on a path we cannot see then end of.

The people of Israel asked why Moses brought them out of Egypt to die.

Israel’s question was answered. Moses didn’t bring them out into the desert to die, but to live.[iv]

And God leads us to new places, so that we might live, and others might also live.

What might help us to move in faith to where God is calling us?

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[i] The Longest Night: A Passover Story

[ii] http://johndobbs.com/israels-question/

[iii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3775

[iv] http://johndobbs.com/israels-question/

Transactional God - a few words

this is early in the service tomorrow,

 in my reading this week – I read about an interview with a woman who left the church, along with her husband. They had been pastors at a big church in the USA, he now describes himself as an atheist, she doesn’t say, but they no longer are part of a church. They were both pastors and Christian musicians. 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-nE-zrIhKc] 

In her story of leaving the church, she used a term I had not heard before - a transactional God.

If I pray and go to church, or even better work for the church, God will bless me with a good life, and children, and a wonderful partner, and …..

The idea that if I do something for God, God will do something for me.

That image of God, the one that said if I just prayed harder, or was more godly, then I could have whatever I wanted – broke down for me. It doesn’t always happen that we get what we pray for.  Most of you will already know that it doesn’t work like that - if you just prayed more, you would be healed, relationship restored, get a job, have a child, …. is wrong and hurtful.

The person in the story left church, one reason I did not leave the church was because a minister gave me a different image of God, an image of a God who sat with me in my confusion, who held me as a grieved.

I had not heard the term transactional God before, but it fits with some of my experience, and I can understand why people would leave the church, and God, is that is the only image they have of God.

I was fortunate. Not everyone is.

God is love, God loves us before we know it; and what ever we do, is in response to God graciousness to us.

I no longer see God rewarding me for praying or being a Minister or being a ‘good’ person.   

I know now that God loves me, and in response I obey God as best I can, I pray to develop a closer relationship, to live more deeply in union with Christ.

I pray that you also know you are loved by God.

Call and Blessing

One thing that stayed in my mind from reading about this passage this week, is this: “God doesn’t accept resumes, instead God calls people”[i]

Can you imagine running a business or organisation that way?

Well we aim to in the Church.

In the UCA, and many other denominations, our processes are about responding to God’s call, and often, having that call affirmed [or not] by those around us. This is not only for people in ordained ministry. This is also how it is planned for our committees and councils to operate. Disciples who are aware of the prompting of God in their lives, who acknowledge that prompting, test it out, and say yes to God.

Sometimes the call of God will be in line with our gifts and skills, but not always.

About 20 years ago, I felt God calling me to work with young families, I was in a congregation with lots of Baptisms. I had no experience, other than talking with families about baptism. I thought the best way to engage with these families was to offer some kind of worship aimed at families with little children. Worship I knew about, children I did not.

When I spoke with the Ministers in the congregation, they were encouraging, but suggested I ask some of the families what would interest them. And that is how I started a playgroup, even though I had never been to one.

All through the Bible we hear stories of people being called by God, of people responding to God’s call in their lives.
we see it here with Abram,
with Moses and the burning bush,
Elijah and the still small voice.
We see it in the disciples obeying the words of Jesus to follow.

And there are other examples of people being obedient to God’s call.

What is God’s call like?

That isn’t an easy question to answer, it is different for each person and each situation.

This morning we look at the call of Abram.

We know very little about the first 75 years of Abram’s life. After his father died, God told him to up and move.

On Friday evening we talked about moving and how you have to take everything with you. I am guessing Abram and Sarai did not have a lot of furniture, but there was at least a tent, and animals and slaves; and as one child told me, they didn’t have cars and trucks in those days. We imagine Abram with a herd of camels, but camels aren’t mentioned until Abram is given camels by the king of Egypt.

If God said to you, pack up and move, would you?
Pack up and move to a place without knowing where that will be?

Abram obeyed. While Abraham is remembered as a person of strong faith, there are times when he tried to take matters into his own hands. Remember Hagar and Ishmael. Ad following God’s call does not give you a perfect family, remember Jacob and Esau.

But also notice, that in the small section we heard this morning, Abram twice builds an altar and worships the Lord. Maybe that is one of the keys of being able to hear and follow God’s call, being people who worship wherever we are.

Where does this call lead?

A modern paraphrase:

Genesis 12:1-3 The Message (MSG)

God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you.

I’ll make you a great nation
        and bless you.
    I’ll make you famous;
        you’ll be a blessing.
    I’ll bless those who bless you;
        those who curse you I’ll curse.
    All the families of the Earth
        will be blessed through you.”[ii]

Where does this call lead?

Not only a new place to live and a new name, and a family; but blessing.

God will bless Abram,
and those who bless Abram
and all the families of the earth.

The word and idea of ‘Blessing is pervasive in Genesis. It is a gift of God, usually mediated through creaturely agents, which empowers recipients, both elect and non-elect, to experience and bring forth life, goodness, and well-being.’[iii]

So, in plain English…

A blessing is a gift of God.

When we think of our blessings, I suspect we think of friends, family, food and shelter.

But I think that blessing goes further than that.
We are blessed because we are in relationship with God through the life and death of Jesus.

We are blessed because we are offered forgiveness and grace

We are blessed because God asks us to be partners in bringing blessings into the world.

“Blessings were never meant to be kept for ourselves. God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. Sharing and a generous lifestyle are marks of God’s people. It started with Abram and has been that way ever since.”[iv]

 “Along with Abram, we are also “blessed to be a blessing.” God has given us good gifts (including a loving relationship with God) so that we can share these gifts with others. God blesses us (through others), and God blesses others (through us).” [v]

Abraham was blessed to be a blessing.

He and Sarai travelled to unknown places, doubted God’s promise, saw God’s promise fulfilled and God changed their names.

Following God’s call is not always easy, but we are called to be faithful.

Where has obeying God’s call taken you?
.. a new place, a new name, a new ministry area?
Has following the prompting of the spirit in your life always been easy?

How might we be faithful in our lives?
How might we be blessings to the world God loves?

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[i] http://www.integrity-authenticity-love.com/call-abraham/

[ii] The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

[iii] http://www.enterthebible.org/oldtestament.aspx?rid=20

[iv] http://www.integrity-authenticity-love.com/call-abraham/

[v] https://spiritandtruthpublishing.com/blog/the-blessing-of-abram-september-16-2018/

Noah

Noah’s Ark, a story that even people with limited church background know.

You can get Noah’s Ark toys, wall stickers and baby mobiles – and you don’t need to get to a Christian shop to buy them. You would think this was a delightful story of a fun sailing adventure one afternoon.

But it isn’t a delightful story. It is a story full of death and destruction.

Someone asked me a little while ago if the Bible is true. To me that always seems like a trick question. The expected answer is yes; but does that mean everything in the Bible happened exactly how it is written about.  For me, every detail is not necessarily true. The parables of the Gospels are unlikely to have actually happened. They are stories to teach a truth.

Is the story of the flood true – I don’t know

Does it contain truth – yes, I believe it does.

So, did this flood happen, quite possibly. Many cultures have ancient flood stories.

The whole world flooded – more likely the whole known world. Without TV and Radio and telephone, people’s awareness of the world was much more limited.

A more important question for me is not did this happen, but what is the point. What does this story tell us about God and about people?

In one of the commentaries I read this week:

the biblical text uses the same root word (sh-kh-t) for the “corruption” that human beings bring on the earth before the Flood (Genesis 6:11-12 [3x]) and the “destruction” that the Flood itself brings (Genesis 6:13).¹ In other words, the destruction of the earth is the direct result of the violence and corruption of human beings, the violence and corruption that fill the earth long before the flood waters cover it.[i]

Basically, we reap what we sow.

Reading this passage, and looking at the first 11 chapters of Genesis, we have this ongoing sense of people making bad choices.

We see it with Adam and Eve in the garden, we see it when Cain kills his brother, then the ongoing violence, and not just violence, but pride in being violent.

Then after the story of the flood, there is the Tower of Babel. People had the technology to make bricks, and decide to build a great city, with a tower that reaches the heavens.

And God saw this as a haven for evil. And dispersed people.

Why does evil flourish, or why does God allow evil to flourish?

But what if evil does not exist??

For example:

Cold does not exist, cold is the absence of heat.

Darkness does not exist, darkness is the absence of light.

Maybe evil is the absence of God’s love in the heart of people.[ii]

What happens when people stop loving as God loves?

Selfishness

Violence

Greed

Pride

Amongst other sins.

“This is a story that teaches us that God takes sin seriously, their sin and our sin. This story challenges us to look within ourselves and our communities for the “wickedness” that causes God’s heart to hurt.”[iii]

Where do we see the consequences of our lack of love – love for people and love for creation?

·         Climate scientists are telling us, and have been for many years now, that our use of fossil fuels is causing harm to the earth.

·         Scientists who study waterways have been telling us that plastic waste is killing fish and birds.

·         we see news reports of what happens when people get impatient and selfish on our roads

·         and we know what happens when violence is used to try and solve problems.

·         Our lack of love and concern for humans means some people lack food and medicine and basic education, some don’t have anywhere to live.

·         What other things might cause God’s heart to break?

o   Behaviour of some businesses

o   Treatment of asylum seekers

o   Domestic and family violence

What do we allow to happen?

Sin is not only about what we do, about the times we disobey God, the times we live as less than God calls us to be. Sure, sin is when we are unkind, or gossip. But sin also allowing the creation to be damaged,

Allowing people to be treated as less than human.

What do we allow to happen, in our relationships and our community and the world?

Often the consequences for living in the fullness of God’s love,

the consequences for living in a way that shows the fullness of God’s love, is that we will have to give up something –

maybe pride, or selfishness, or greed,

maybe acting like you don’t need God

maybe treating God’s good creation as expendable

What if “We are punished not so much for our sins as by our sins.”[iv]

Maybe we get the society that reflects our choices or reflects our hearts?

After God despairs of the people, comes the flood, then comes a rainbow. A rainbow looks like the bow of a bow and arrow.  It has been likened to God hanging up the instruments of violence.  The rainbow is a sign of the promise of God to never wipe out the world by flood. But notice it isn’t only a reminder to us, but also to God.

I have heard parents talk of how they like looking at their child when he or she is asleep, because it reminds them of how much they love their child, especially on those days when their child is testing every limit.

I wonder if that is why God also needs to see the rainbow, to remember that even though people continue to sin, God will not wipe us all out.  

We are a lot further ahead in the story than when Genesis was written.

God has tried giving messages to the prophets, with limited success; and finally, Jesus came to earth, to show us the way to live,

the way to live in love,

the way to share and

the way to bless

I think this story invites us to look past the pretty pictures of animals in the ark and rainbows, to see the consequences of sin, and the way God will keep seeking us out, prodding us and challenging us to live in the fullness of love, love that drives out hate and apathy.

What are you hearing anew about this story?

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[i] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3780

[ii] http://www.integrity-authenticity-love.com/genesis-6-16-22-9-8-15-noah-and-the-flood/

[iii] https://spiritandtruthpublishing.com/blog/noahs-ark-september-9-2018/

[iv] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3780

Creation, Community and Care

When I think of the creation story in the Bible I tend to think of Genesis one, the six days, and then the day of rest, but with Genesis 2 version of the creation of man and woman. A combination of two stories, that are separate accounts. Just as in the 2 gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus, we weave them together, which is not always helpful.

Notice how, in this account, God made man, which may be translated as man or human or the name Adam; then a garden for the man, then animals and birds, which the man named. Then God made woman.

The man naming the animals, puts the man as a co-creator with God[i]

This creation story is much more person focussed. In Genesis one, God made the world, and people were part of that. Here God makes man, then a place for him to live and animals and another person to keep him company.

This creation story is much more fun, God is playing in the dirt, making the man, then seeing what else is needed; not like the Genesis one story, which seems very organised orderly.

There are two sections I want to mention this morning.

The second is, verse 18: The Lord God said, “It isn’t good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him.” 

Partner is sometimes translated as helper – neither is accurate in the sense of the Hebrew. It is partner but not in the business or marriage sense. The same word is used when God is described as a helper.

It is a recognition that people rarely do well in isolation,

we need people around us,  

        people who care about us

people who treat us with respect

Remember the Emmaus road story, people walking together trying to figure out what had happened the past few days – we need relationships like that, people we can reflect and mull over what is happening around us and within us.

       

There are people in this community who are lonely,

o   I hear it from the mothers of young children

o   And people whose spouse has died

o   I hear of loneliness from people who struggle to get out due reduced physical ability

o   And people whose mental health makes it hard to leave the house

In some cases, social media, Facebook, email etc helps, but in other cases it makes the loneliness deeper.

Frontier Service Patrol Ministers offer a listening ear,

a friendly face and

a link to the church and the world

for people who live in isolated areas

What can we do, in this local area, to build community that allows people to connect in healthy and life-giving ways?

Firstly verse 15: The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. 

Man was to care for the earth.  Where Genesis One has the idea of humans having domination over the earth, this version of creation has man responsible for the care of the earth.

I wonder what it means to care for the earth?

In the midst of drought, how do we care for the earth?

With the political discussion around pricing of electricity and gas,

With claims and counter claims about climate change and what to do about it

It is easy to forget that people were given the task of caring for the earth.

People are made to live in community, and to have something meaningful and useful to do with their lives.

What can we do to build community that allows people to connect in healthy and life-giving ways?

What can we do to care for the earth?

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[i] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=400