“Between the Beginning and the End” – Oct 23, 2011 Sermon
Oct 23, 2011
Scripture: Deuteronomy 34: 1-12
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.
Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses. Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Sermon: Between the Beginning and the End
by Rev. Doreen Oughton
Let me tell you about Gloria. I met her over 10 years ago when she came to the driver alcohol education group I ran for people on probation for DUI. She was in her 40s, but dressed and acted like a college-aged party girl. It was quickly evident to me that her arrest was not the result a one-time mistake, but a symptom of a significant drinking problem, which she could not see. Her probation officer insisted that she receive individual counseling in addition to the group. She was charming and personable, but not as much as she thought she was, and so tough to work with. She acknowledged her drinking had caused problems in her life, but she wanted to figure out how to drink safely, and lied about it when things kept escalating – more job losses, hospitalization for pancreatitis, rifts with her family when she got caught drinking while babysitting her nieces. And then there were the men. Oh my goodness. She dressed very provocatively, and threw herself at men with their own substance abuse and legal and employment issues. Sometimes they were physically abusive, sometimes they kept it to verbal and emotional abuse, but it was always a disaster. She came to see me for a few years, and finally, after her 2nd DUI arrest, I told Gloria I couldn’t work with her. She needed more help than I could give her, and so she went off to inpatient rehab and more intensive outpatient follow up.
I didn’t hear from her for quite some time, but then she returned. She looked good, and had been sober over a year. She was involved in AA and wanted to work with me on some of the issues we identified before. She was ready now that her sobriety was stable. It was an amazing journey. She absolutely blossomed in the supportive fellowship of AA, and was eager to look at some of the deeper issues that were wrapped up in her drinking and her relationship issues. She dressed more and more appropriately as time went on. She struggled through dating as a sober person, and eased off from using her physical charms to attract men who weren’t interested in anything else. She came to accept how much more she brought to a relationship, went stretches of time without dating at all, and then met a really nice, really good guy. I worked with her as she figured out how to be in a stable relationship without creating drama. I was uplifted almost every time I saw her or even thought about our work together. Gloria was incredibly brave and open and inspiring. Towards the end of our time together she got engaged. She wanted to stay in counseling, knowing she would benefit from support around this new level of commitment and the changes marriage would bring. But I was changing careers and I had this call to a great church in Leicester. And so I had to refer her to one of my colleagues.
It was hard. I so wanted to be the one sitting with her to hear about how she handled the stress of wedding planning, to help her figure out the tools she had for negotiating with the future mother-in-law, to hear about what she was learning about herself and relationship in the containment of marriage. What a blessing that would have been.
I think about Moses on that mountain top with God, looking out at the vast land that lay in front of him, the promised land that he had been moving the Israelites toward for forty years. It was right in front of him – so beautiful – and they were almost there. And God says yes, look at this, this beautiful land. See how I have kept my promise to my people? But Moses, you can’t go with them. They will cross over without you. How did Moses feel? I wonder. Maybe he felt a yearning similar to that which I felt with Gloria. He had traveled so far and so long with these people, watched them and supported them as they lived into their status as God’s chosen people. They appreciated him, respected him, loved him. How could he not be there on the next leg of the journey? How could he not be there as they figured out how to be a people set apart within the containment of a settled land? I suspect he did yearn, and I suspect it was a sweet longing, again like the one I felt for Gloria. The yearning couldn’t possibly overshadow the joy of seeing promises fulfilled, could not have diminished in any way the sense of satisfaction that comes with knowing the garden you tended would most certainly yield good fruit.
Some read this scripture and say that God is being unnecessarily cruel to Moses. Others search the Torah for evidence of wrongdoing by Moses, a reason for God to punish him by keeping him from crossing over into the Promised Land. But I disagree. This story is not about a cruel God or a man who was punished for some wrongdoing. I think this is a story about how life is, and how to understand our place in it. The scripture doesn’t tell us what Moses said or how he felt in that moment, but we can make a good guess based on what has been revealed about his character throughout four books of the bible, from Exodus to Deuteronomy.
Moses’ whole life has been about serving God’s people, his people. He gave up a position of privilege as foster grandson of Pharaoh by avenging a persecuted Jew. He answered God’s call to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt despite his own fear and insecurities, and the resistance of the people and of Pharoah. He intervened with God on behalf of the people he led, and intervened with the people on behalf of God. It was always, always about serving – serving God and God’s people. God didn’t speak to Moses from the burning bush to say “get yourself and your family out of here to a land I promised your ancestors… and if you want you can take others.” It was not the individual, Moses, that God wanted to free, it was all God’s people. Moses remembered this even when God forgot it. God equipped Moses to lead and to serve, not to win for himself acclaim and glory. Moses’ journey was never about him personally reaching the promised land. And he walked in faith that his life’s purpose would be fulfilled. I think he was okay with passing on the torch, and letting another leader finish the journey. He’d been mentoring Joshua after all. He trusted God to work creatively in his successor. He let go.
All around us these days we see decisions being made by individuals, by corporate bodies, by governmental bodies, that are short sighted, that are weighed by self-interest, immediate results, by the question of what’s in it for me right now. Will we just pass down to future generations an unsustainable economy, a massive debt, an unsustainable planet? Will we keep polluting our air and water and bodies out of convenience or pleasure or greed, regardless of the health consequences to our children? Will we push our way, climb over others, step over others, to make sure that we personally get to our version of the promised land we think should be abundant with prosperity and comfort and ease, regardless of the cost to others now and in the future?
We have a chance to practice being like Moses in small ways all the time. We baptize babies into the faith, trusting that God will be in their life, trusting that our prayers and care somehow effect them even if they rebel against religion as they grow and never step foot in a church again. We have children, knowing we will always long for more time with them – to be there as they grow and go through various life stages, have their own children and grandchildren, knowing that at some point we won’t be there. We retire or change careers or step down from a committee, trusting that God will work creatively in those who come after us. We have a chance every day to remind ourselves that our purpose in life is not about me, but about them, or us, and about God. The vision God has for her people is so vast, so beautiful, so breathtaking that we can’t possibly take it in by wondering only about what’s in it for me right now. We can be grateful for whatever ways we have heard and responded to God’s call to serve, to walk a ways in trial and in joy, and we can let go when it is time to do so, knowing that God always has a place for us, that Go will always come and carry us home. May it be so.
