Happy 4th of July weekend everybody! I know that for a lot of you this weekend is filled with time on the lake. Seeing friends, eating hotdogs. Blowing stuff up with fireworks. Everyone is on pins and needles to see if Georgia’s own Gravy Brown from Newnan will be able to bring home the championship in tomorrow’s hot dog eating contest on Coney Island.
America can be great.
Lately you hear a lot about our founding fathers. Whenever you hear some politician refer to them, usually incorrectly, to gain some kind of historical traction for whatever agenda they are trying to pursue.
Founding Fathers are the new buzz words used.
But I’ve told you before that I love and respect history. Especially our own country’s history. I am the son of a preacher and a librarian, and my grandfathers both fought in World War II. And my family has deep roots in the South.
But it is my grandmother on my dad’s side that instilled my love of history. Going to her house in Decatur, GA growing up we would play with plastic army men. Not surprising, but at grandmama’s house our army men wore blue and grey, and she would set up and re-create Civil War battles for us. It was pretty incredible.
We would spend all afternoon learning and fighting civil war battles. And we would go to sleep hearing tales of Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris, where we heard the stories and learned the lessons of the old South.
I say this because knowing your history is important. It is not a political football to be kicked around as some have recently used it. Knowing how it happened, when it happened, and why it happened is powerful knowledge. It is he story of how our country became what it is. It is why we talk the way we do. It is why our prejudices are so deeply rooted. It is why we are America, named after a map-maker.
And it is said, that those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it, and I think that is true.
Knowing the history is important. And there are too many people who don’t know. Who don’t know how we came to be a country. Who hear words and names and have no association for them.
Names like Daniel Boone and Nathaniel Greene. Whose dedication helped win the American Revolution. Or people hear words and don’t put them in the right place. Words like, I have a dream, Ask not what your country can do for you, or bring me your huddled masses. We hear those words and know the nobility that is possible in our country. It is possible, but sometimes we mess it up.
In the preamble to the constitution it states that the purpose of our country is to form a more perfect union.
I like that.
Because America isn’t perfect. But we are on our way. We can wake up every day and know that we are a work in progress. And patriotism should never get in the way of our faith.
We are forming a more perfect union.
We need to remember that, and we need to remember our history.
But part of our history, that is very often overlooked is the book of Exodus. It is the history of the chosen people’s relationship with their Creator and Redeemer. We learn about how they escaped from Egypt, and were delivered to the Promised Land…only to find that someone was already there.
So while we hear words about our “founding fathers” like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson tomorrow…we should remember our founding fathers of Moses and Aaron. What they did for the people of Israel, and God’s involvement in all of it.
We hear the story this morning of a dark moment in Israel’s history. It is a sad thing that the Israelites turned their back on God. They melted down their gold jewelry to worship a god who would make the desert in which they were living a place to live. They wanted to trade the promised land, a land of freedom, and a land flowing with milk and honey; for the land they already had, the desert.
They became impatient. Forming a more perfect union was taking too long, so they decided they were just find where they were.
Being who God called them to be when he rescued them from Egypt was taking too long, so they decided that they would just sit and do nothing.
Wanting things fast and wanting them, NOW, you see, is nothing new. And if we don’t know our history, we are doomed to repeat it.
How many times in our own lives have we sacrificed what could have been for what is comfortable. For the thing that won’t make us work as hard?
Why else do you think the lottery is so popular? Instead of working, and doing good solid work in their life, people spend all their money on lottery tickets, to instantly become rich. Gambling to strike it big all at once.
That is what the Israelites are doing…and it is what we do too! Gambling with our lives. Putting things off until tomorrow what could be done today. Taking God out of the equation and putting ourselves in control.
Every so often, when I am getting swamped with everything that is going on in my life, I say a prayer that might help you too. God, get me out of my way. Because I am traveling on God’s way, not my own. And my trust in God needs to outweigh my trust in money, my trust in systems, and even my trust in power.
God, get me out of my way.
The church has tremendous potential for ministry. That is our promised land. It isn’t expanded territory, with more money and prestige, but our promised land is that we will become servants of one another. And if God is calling us to do something, why put it off because of time, and resources, and all of the other limitations that we can think of…to settle and stay right where we already are?
VBS is coming up in one week. There are ways you can help with it. There is no such thing as, “I have already put in my time there, let someone else do it for a change.” And there is no such thing as, “let the parents of the kids who are benefiting from the program do all the work.” And there is no such thing as, “that just isn’t the part of the church work in which I’m interested.”
Vacation Bible School is a perfect opportunity to share the love of Christ not only with kids, but with their parents too. And maybe, the kids will have such a good time here that they tell their mom and dad that they want to come back on Sunday. And maybe, those parents will come, and they will meet Jesus, too. And maybe, their lives will be completely changed by the love of Christ.
God has put this in our path. And it is going to take time, effort, and money to do it. And some people see that and wonder, is it really worth the effort? I can just let others handle it, since its not really my thing, and stay at home.
That is us turning from God’s way, onto our own way. Sacrificing promises for permanence.
Now, the other thing that is interesting about this scripture is the conversation God has with Moses. So many people say that God never changes. And when it comes to how much God loves us, and provides for us, and calls us to be the wonderful creation we are supposed to be, I would say that is true.
But you see here that God gets angry with the Israelites!
They have turned from me, so I’m going to turn from them! They want another god that doesn’t exist? They want to stay in the desert? Fine…let them.
And Moses reminds God of his promises. To Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He reminds him of the Covenant that has just been written into stone with the finger of God. And God changes his mind.
Essentially Moses says…see who we are without you? We each follow our own path that will lead to our own destruction. We end up as slaves in Egypt. We act with violence toward one another. We are vulnerable to evil things.
You promised to be with us. And God remembers his promise, and guides them back to the right path. God changed his mind.
Exasperation is something we all feel. Powerless to do anything about something we encounter. Poverty is one example. Family relationships can be another. No matter what we tell people or what we try to do, or what we sacrifice and give…it still just seems like a drop in the bucket with the overwhelming odds that are stacked against us. A child is always going to do things their way, no matter the advice and experience of the parents. A sibling won’t listen. People will do nothing to help themselves.
And it is tempting to throw up your hands and say, I’m done!
It is the temptation God is facing right here, but it is Moses who says…remember what you promised.
Remember your history. And turn back to the right path.
We are sharing this meal together. To remember. We celebrate the fourth of July to remember that we are forming a more perfect union, that should not be at the expense of others, but constantly striving for perfection.
But we share this meal to remember that God keeps his promises. And will continue to keep his promises. And that if we could get out of our way, and onto God’s way…then we will be delivered to what has been promised. Life eternal, for all of God’s creation.
Take your time this morning to remember those who were put in your path that helped you hear God’s claim on your life. Remember those times you were called to ministry, but ignored it. And pray, “God, get us all out of our way.”
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