TEXT: Numbers 20:1-13
Nobody said they had an easy time of it. Nobody said we have always had an easy time of it.
Nobody promised it would be easy. In fact, the only promise made was that q would deliver them/us from bondage. That promise had been enough for them to grab the plunder and run. It had been enough for them cry out to God for help when it seemed that the Egyptians were about to catch and crush them between iron and the sea. But then, as they lived into their freedom, the trust and gratitude of their deliverance began to erode to the murmuring, complaining, even whining about the difficulty of living in this world w/o being in control of it. The mercy, grace, and blessings dimmed in the glare of their frustration, worry, and fear. It was no longer enough to be free. They also wanted to be comfortable. They wanted to be in control of the power that delivered them from Egypt. They wanted more.
We may not be comfortable admitting it, but we understand this part of the story. It’s not ancient history. We may thank God in our meal time and bed time prayers for all our blessings and the bounty q has sent our way…and then wonder why the neighbor has a fancier car – and boat – and RV – and takes cooler vacations – eats out more often - has a pool or hot tub in the back yard – or has the yard work and landscaping hired out. We didn’t think they made that much more than we do. What am I doing wrong? Out comes the credit card, the second mortgage, or the stop at the ATM machine. Without even thinking about it, our priorities ever so slightly shift. Our lives tilt ever so slightly from an expression of gratitude to an attitude of deserving more. We have less time for service. We have less tolerance for people’s need and shortcomings. We give less and spend more – not to survive, but to be comfortable and entertained. After all, we earned it. Shouldn’t we enjoy it?
Step back with me to the Wilderness of Zin. What happened that day in the first month? Besides their grief at Miriam’s death, the people realized that following q out of bondage into life was not a pleasure cruise. It was going to be work. The power of God was doing wondrous things, to be sure. But they discovered they were going to be co-workers in this venture. They also discovered that hard and faithful effort on their part did not result in instant reward and gratification. Their surprise, dismay, and fear began to dim and confuse their memory of who was in control. They didn’t turn to God for reassurance or help. They turned to; they turned on Moses. As if he could turn on and off God’s grace. But wasn’t it him that sent the plagues on Egypt? Wasn’t it him that told them how to avoid the angel of death on the Passover? Wasn’t it him that held out the staff that parted the waters of the Reed Sea? Wasn’t it him that taught them about manna and how to collect it? They were becoming confused about where their blessings, where their freedom had come from. And now that they wanted more: they wanted comfort in this current hardship. So, Moses, cough it up. And they obviously meant it. Nothing new in that. We still struggle with trusting God rather than the things and people we can control. Just bring up the topic of a tithe and the first discussion is whether it is 10% of the gross or the net. There’s rarely comment made about the source and extent of our blessings. Just fierce opinions of what and to whom we owe for the price of them.
Moses believed the sincerity of the
people’s demand. He had not forgotten where their deliverance came from and
where the gift of life currently was coming. He and Aaron took the plight of
their situation to God. True to form, God granted deliverance. It wasn’t what
anyone expected. Directions to a hidden oasis they could have managed. The
shortest route to an undiscovered or little known stream or river would have
brought shouts of joy. Those would have been like the original OnStar:
“Turn right at the rock and proceed for 500 feet.” Instead he was told hold
out his staff and command water to come out of a rock. About this time I would
have been convinced that Moses had spent one hour too many in the desert sun. It
may be time to have a general election to choose a new leader to get us out of
the wilderness. Does anybody know how to call a special Charge Conference of
the Sinai parish? Yes, q can work
miracles, but we are looking at you, Moses. What can your hands do; what can
our hands do to cause the wondrous to happen? What makes you believe you can
make the seemingly impossible happen? What makes you believe we can? What
makes us believe we can do anything other than what we have, what we are doing?
Can we change lives? Can we change Belle Plaine? Can we change ourselves?
I guess that depends. If you are looking for comfort and the ease of privilege in being God’s people, you had better work on accepting things as they are and that the best days are already behind you. If you are looking for the adventure of God’s grace and the privilege of serving God’s kingdom as living examples of God’s love and mercy…If you are willing to make the sacrifices needed to make clear this is q’s power at work and not ours…then the most exciting, the most wondrous, the most challenging, the very best days are yet ahead of us; waiting for us grow into them…to follow God through the present wilderness until we cross over to them. If that is what you believe…we can quit whining about where we will be dining. We can stop focusing on what we don’t have and refocus on what q has given us – blessed us with – to make the journey.
We can expect there to be those to will reach out to stop us. Those who don’t want to go on and also don’t want to be left behind. There will be those who won’t be comfortable until we conform to the standards of their frustrations. Jesus warned that Gospel living will not be conflict free. The Israelites remind us that living in fear and distrust is not conflict free. If we are willing to step out in faith: If we are willing to put our trust in God rather than ourselves or what we can control; If we are willing to step out in the direction God would lead us instead of placing our feet in the footprints we have already laid down walking a circle and going nowhere…we will travel to a new and wondrous place of grace and mercy. We will be changed. This community will be changed. Lives will be changed. And I dare say, the world will be changed because the power of God will be loose in our lives.
That would be a pie-in-the-sky promise if it included or even implied a life free of pain and struggle or challenge. It doesn’t. There will be times we will be unsure which turn to take. There will be times that we will spend clustered in prayer to discern which direction God would have us take…and then we will have to step out more in faith than absolute certainty. There will be times we will not be sure we can afford what this journey will cost us. We will gather in uneasy groups to calculate and recalculate the cost; and then we will have to step out more in faith than absolute certainty that our resources can cover it all. There will be times we will want to amend the road we are traveling to include friends, family, and loved ones. We will gather in great pain not wanting to break or even bend those relationships. And then we will have to step out in faith that God’s love is greater than our own, great enough to care for those we cannot.
That day in the Wilderness of Zin was one of those days. The people had gathered in all their uncertainty, fear, and pain. They had done the math - and it looked like they were not going to make it. Moses went before God in prayer along with his own worries and fears. God laid out before them a way of grace. Water, life, from a rock. But even in that moment of deliverance, Moses, the great Moses, gave in to his frustration. Instead of trusting God’s word and holding out his staff and command the water to come forth…He took that staff and released his frustration by striking the rock – twice – until the water came. [strike the watermelon[1]] The people had what they wanted – but at the price of now having to find their way from the place they had taken themselves to where God was waiting to lead them.
This morning we stand before a world that is protesting its need, fear, worry, and pain. We have gathered before god to raise all of that along with our own. God is speaking to us, laying out a way of grace, laying out the blessing of life. We can trust that gift and by our own steps show the way to life. We can take the blessings God has given us and share them with the world crying out before us. Or we can follow our frustrations, our worries, our doubts about whether God can and will do what God has said. Before we choose to rely upon ourselves, our abilities, our resources instead of God’s grace; we should perhaps take the time to read and recall just how long it takes to make your way back from that place to the place where God is waiting to lead us. For all his 120 years, Moses did not live long enough to make it to that Promised Land. Our choice will not affect whether God’s will unfolds. It may well affect whether we get to see it or not; whether we will be part of that unfolding. Gather your questions, your worries, and your faith together in prayer. Take them all together before God. Trust God to sort them out. Be prepared for faith to be what God chooses to keep for you as the light for your path. Follow that light bravely.
As a reminder of all our blessings and q’s give of life to us in the midst of the wilderness(es) we journey in, there is watermelon available for everyone following the service. Enjoy the treat and the fellowship – it is part of the gift of life.
[1] A watermelon was hollowed out and connected to a garden hose so that when struck, the water would flow.