Walk on by...

Today I was looking at Acts 3:1-10.  This is the story of Peter and John healing a person who could not walk who was sitting near the Beautiful Gate.  What caught my eye is this:  verse 1 says, "One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon."  So Peter and John were walking with a purpose.  The man saw them, and asked them for alms as they passed.

What do we normally do when someone on the street asks for money? Walk on by, I think.  But Peter and John stopped to help the man.

The image that came to mind as I read this was Moses and the burning bush.  Exodus 3:3 says, "Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up." 

To me, in both of these stories, the will of god was done because people stopped and noticed.  They payed attention.  Moses turned aside.  Peter and John heard the man who was asking them for help. 

Do we do that? Do we turn aside to ask why the bush is not being consumed by the fire, or do we walk on by? Do we seek to help the person who asks, or do we walk on by?

The Promised Land

 Read these words from Exodus 34:1-5:

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.

I've always thought this passage was a sad.  Moses has been leading the Israelites, following God, for so many years, and yet he only gets to SEE the promised land - not go there. 

A few other thoughts, though (although I don't offer these as an explanation of why Moses didn't get to go to the Promised Land):

1. Some of us are called for a particular time - "for such a time as this."  Moses certainly was. He led the people through the wilderness to the promise.  What situation have you been called to? What is your "such a time as this?"
2. I've seen churches become dependent on a particular long-time pastor. The church flourishes under the pastor's leadership, but isn't equipped for when the pastor leaves.  Imagine the transition to Joshua in this story. Perhaps this change of situation was the best time to change leaders?
3. The first thought I had about this passage today was that we often are called to plant seeds.  When you plant seeds, sometime you are not there to see the trees grow.  The trees are for another generation - a generation that will rejoice that you planted seeds.  What seeds are you planting? What trees are you grateful someone else planted?

In the Footsteps of Bezalel, Part 1

This post and the ones following are from a sermon I preached last Sunday.

I want to start today by telling you about an experience I have had over the last three years, but in order for it to make sense, I have to share a few things about myself.  I love to teach – I hope it is a skill I have, or maybe even a spiritual gift. When I take a Spiritual Gift Inventory, it always rises high to the top of the list.  I remember as a kid I always loved to pretend I was teaching school. I had a big chalk board at home, and I would teach dolls how to do math.  But – best of all – was when I could go to school with Mom.  She was a school teacher, and I would go with her to her school the week before my school started and the week after I finished – she had those two weeks when she had to be at her school to prepare for or finish the year.  My favorite thing to do was to write on her chalk board.  Teaching – I love it.  Or maybe I just love writing on chalk boards, but I think its teaching.  

I also love to study. I love to take classes; I enjoyed school.  I love learning new things.  I love teaching new things, and watching people understand them.

In late 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, the laity team and the district directors of lay servant ministry in the conference were trying to solve an problem.  There were people in our Conference who wanted to become Certified Lay Ministers, but there wasn’t an organized way to do that in our conference.  It’s a long process that involves general church curriculum, classes, books to read – it’s not a simple thing to offer.  Some districts had had classes – it takes almost a year to go through all of the classes – but most districts didn’t have enough people to form a class, or the staff to teach them.   So, I said that I would organize a Conference CLM Class.

God must have been very annoyed at me when, after agreeing to organize this program, I procrastinated for months.  Months.  Months in which I argued with myself about how much I didn’t want to do it.  I would find someone else to do it. Yes, I love teaching. Yes, I love studying, but I didn’t want to do this.  It would take too much time; it would be too much trouble. How could I do it when people couldn’t meet together?  I lost sleep.  I argued with God.  And God kept nagging.

And then, I had procrastinated long enough that I had to do it myself – it was too late to ask anyone else to do it.  And I wasn’t wrong – it did take a lot of time.  I had to read a bunch of books just to build the curriculum, and then two or three books a month to stay ahead of the class. It meant monthly Zoom meetings, and multiple recordings to post on Portico.  Especially that first year, it was a ton of work.  

Hear these words about a man named Bezalel in Exodus 31: 1-11.  

The LORD spoke to Moses,  “See, I have called by name Bezalel son of Uri son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with a divine spirit,[a] with ability, intelligence, and knowledge, and every kind of skill, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every kind of craft. Moreover, I have appointed with him Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, and I have given skill to all the skillful, so that they may make all that I have commanded you:  the tent of meeting, and the ark of the covenant, and the cover that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin with its stand, and the finely worked vestments, the holy vestments for the priest Aaron and the vestments of his sons, for their service as priests,  and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the holy place. They shall do just as I have commanded you.”

Think about what Bezalel and those who worked with him did.  They built the tabernacle – or the tent of the congregation – a portable construction that was the place where Yahweh met with the Israelites.  This is where the people were closest to God.  The builders created the ark that housed the tablets on which were carved what we call the 10 Commandments and the altar upon which sacrifices were made.  The passage tells us that God said, “I have filled him with a divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge, and every kind of skill, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every kind of craft.”

God prepared Bezalel with knowledge and skills, and then called him to do this work.  The result is that God and God’s people were brought closer together – as close as could be managed. Bezalel built one of those thin spaces we talk about, where we experience God’s presence in a way that the distance between us is made small and the walls between us are carved away.  Bezalel and his co-workers used their gifts to do God’s work, and the people knew God better. I wonder how that made Bezalel feel?  How his faith was strengthened by it.

I know what happened to me.  I taught the Conference CLM Class, and I continue to teach it. We’re on our third cohort of students.  It has been a lot of work, but my faith has been strengthened by the devotion and faith of my students.  I have learned so much from them.  I am so blessed to know them and to see them do the work they are called to do – in churches, in senior centers, in prisons, with children and the elderly. God has called them, equipped them, and they have gone forth and done God’s work - with a lot less procrastination than me.  I’m so grateful that God nagged me into doing this, because it has been, and continues to be a blessing.

Manna and God, part 2

Continued from yesterday

For the Israelites, God made his presence obvious. Hear verses 16-18

16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Collect as much of it as each of you can eat, one omer (o-mer – about 2 quarts) per person. You may collect for the number of people in your household.’” 17 The Israelites did as Moses said, some collecting more, some less. 18 But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat.

They were told to only collect what they could eat in that one day.  When they tried to keep the leftovers until the next day, the manna would be spoiled by worms.  On the day before the Sabbath, they were told to collect enough for two days so that they could rest on the seventh day.

My study Bible says that manna is a pun.  When the Israelites say it, they said, "What is it?" -- Man (What) hu (is it)?  Man hu  You can hear the name of the food.

How often do we look at God's providence - God's manna -- and say, "What is it?"  I think there are times we don't even recognize it.  I would propose another level to the pun -- Man says huh?

Manna was to teach the Israelites to rely on God – to trust that God was with them.  To see the world with eyes of abundance instead of scarcity.  Even the command to collect double on the day before the Sabbath and to "rest" on the Sabbath, is another way to teach them to trust God.  God is in the room – open your eyes so that you can see.

I wonder if the disciples looked at the baskets of leftovers after feeding 5000 men, and more women, and more children, from 2 loaves and 5 fish, if they said Huh?  

God is with us.  Manna will come. We can feed more than we even imagined and there will be leftovers.   Let’s not say "Huh?" but instead, remember that God is in the room, and trust and obey.

I know that we come this morning with worries and problems on our minds. Let’s begin the day together in prayer.  I’m going to start a prayer, and then give you an opportunity to silently lift to God what weighs on your heart – the room in your mind that you might not have invited God into yet.  I’ll give you a full minute – I know it will feel like a day, but just pray, and remember that God is here.

Please pray with me…

O God of manna and bread, God of fish and quail, God of Moses, Peter, and us, Open our eyes to see you with us. Remind us that you are in the room, in our lives, in the very midst of our problems.

Hear our prayers today as we lift them to you from our hearts.  (wait one minute)

Loving God, forgive us when we don’t see you, don’t remember you, don’t seek you. Change our thoughts of scarcity into the reality of abundance so that we may serve you more, and become your stewards of the gifts you provide. In your son’s name we pray, Amen.

Manna and God, part 1

The following two posts are a devotion I wrote for our Foundation's Academy of Faith and Generosity  

The Walk to Emmaus is a leadership development program that begins with a three-day retreat experience. For me, that three-day retreat was in the fall of 2006.  After that, I continued to participate in the community – helping with other walks, and eventually becoming part of the leadership team.   During one of the meetings of that team, we spent a lot of time talking about mattresses.  The walks our community sponsors are held in a United Methodist Church, and because the three-day walks involve three nights at the Church, the community owns mattresses. They are stored in the church’s attic, and when a walk is about to happen, we have a mattress party, pull the mattresses out of the attic, and prepare the sleeping rooms for the walk.

We were spending a lot of time during this one particular meeting talking about mattresses, because an un-related ministry had asked our community if they could borrow our mattresses for one of their events.  I can’t tell you how long we debated this question.  I can’t tell you because I’ve blocked it out.  It seemed to go on forever.  Until one of the pastors who was providing spiritual direction for the community said, “Jesus would want you to let them use the mattresses.”

Well, if you want to bring Jesus into the discussion.

It was an uncomfortable truth that we didn’t want to hear. We hadn’t even considered the radical question of being a faithful disciples to Christ in our discussion.  Maybe we were enjoying the power of owning the mattresses too much.  Maybe we were too lazy to think about pulling all of those mattresses out of the attic in service to someone else.  Maybe we just didn’t get it at all.

Have you ever been to a church meeting like that? Where you go on and on about a question or a problem, but no one ever even imagines that God might be in the room?

Yesterday, Jeff talked about the Feeding of the 5000.  The disciples came to Jesus and suggested he send the people away so that they could eat. Did the disciples ever consider that God was in the room?

Our scripture this morning is from Exodus 16. Verses 1-3 say:   

The whole Israelite community set out from Elim (ee-luhm) and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai (si-ni) . They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt. ² The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³ The Israelites said to them, “Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.”

It doesn’t sound to me like the Israelite ever considered that God was in the room.  We talk about having eyes that see abundance instead of scarcity, but I want us to hear today that when we forget that God is with us, that when God calls us to a particular work, that God will be part of what we are doing – when we forget that, we are seeing our world with eyes of scarcity. 

Continued on Wednesday...

Moses' Call: No Excuses

Let's look next at the call of Moses - Exodus 3:1-4:7.  I imagine you know this story.  Moses is walking and sees a bush that is burning but is not being consumed.  

First of all, look at verse 3:3 - "Then Moses said, 'I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.'"  That tell us something about call.  To hear God's call, we have to be willing to turn aside from what we are doing and look.  Listen.  Participate.  One might say that Moses couldn't help but see a bush on fire that wasn't burning up, but think about how much attention you have to pay to something that is burning to notice that it is burning, but not being consumed.  This requires some attention.  It might not be obvious.  And, I daresay, our calls are not nearly as dramatic as a burning bush, most of the time.  To hear God's call, we have to turn aside, and pay attention.

So once Moses approaches, and listens, he is not as eager as Abram was.  Moses offers many excuses:

• 3:11 ButMoses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and  bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
• 3:13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The  God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his  name?’ what shall I say to them?”
• 4:1 Then Moses answered, “But suppose they do not believe me or listen to  me, but say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you
• 4:10 But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent,  neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I  am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”
• 4:13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.”

After each of these questions and excuses, God answers.  God participates in this conversation.  God does not blow out the burning bush and abandon Moses to his questions and doubts.  He answers them.  

I love Moses last, probably exasperated, comment.  "O my Lord, please send someone else."  The answer to that plea was no.  God sent Moses.

I think this tells us that call is sent in relationship.  A call is not usually a plunking down of an assignment with no interaction with God.  If you have doubts and questions, God wants to hear them, and God wants to respond.  Your doubts do not disqualify you.  

And no matter how much we want God to find someone else, we each have a call.  Even if we say no, we still have a call. Maybe it changes with circumstances, but God will not leave us alone.  We have a call to answer.  

Lectionary Challenge: Exodus 17:1-7

Exodus 17:1-7
From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink.  The people quarreled with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?"   But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?"   So Moses cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me."   The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.   I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel.   He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

My challenge for myself this week is to consider four lectionary readings and write about them for the blog. Before reading any of the scriptures for the week, I selected the week I would do this, so that I didn't choose "easy" scriptures on purpose. These are the lectionary readings for the week I chose.  Each day I will post the scripture with the thoughts I have, so I hope you will take the time to read the passage.

As I read the story, I wondered who I related too the most. Which character am I most like?

Am I like Moses? Imagine for a moment, the frustration that he must have felt. This is certainly not the first time that the people have complained. They saw God part the Red Sea, lead them in the wilderness, and yet they still complain.  You may be involved in church work - as a volunteer, perhaps, or as a staff member. Do you get frustrated with the people around you? People who complain all the time, no matter what?  He brings his frustration to God, and God answers him, with a solution (pardon the pun). There could be a lesson in that for us.

Am I like the people who are complaining? Am I so blind to the work of God that I miss what God is doing? Why am I like that? Do I get so focused on the details that I forget to notice the presence of God? Do I get impatient with God's timing? Why do I give up on God so easily? How often do I say, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

Am I like the elders? Do I ever stand in the presence of one anointed by God, and watch the work of God? Do I learn anything? Do you think that is why God told Moses to take elders with him? Is it so that they will be witnesses to God at work? What do they do next? What do they learn? What do I learn from those whom God has appointed?

My favorite take away lesson from this passage is that God was there. God did not abandon his frustrated, complaining children. God answers. God provides. I pray I may be like the one who remembers that.

Jethro's Advice

This morning I read Exodus 18.  In this passage, Jethro, the father of Moses' wife, meets Moses as he and the Israelites are traveling through.  Jethro watches Moses' leadership style and then gives him advice regarding how he can delegate the heavy responsibility he is under.

"What you are doing is not good.  You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you.  For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.  Now listen to me.  I will give you counsel, and God be with you!  You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; teach them the statues and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do.  You should also look for able men among all the people, men who fear God, are trustworthy and hate dishonest gain; set such men over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.  Let them sit as judges for the people at all times, let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves.  So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.  If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace."

Moses follows Jethro's advice.  I wonder if we follow Jethro's advice; if not, why not.  What might have been Moses' alternative answers?

• "That sounds great Jethro, but I'm the only one who can do this.  I must keep control of this."
• "Great, except I don't want to do that.  I like what I'm doing - I find joy in all of this responsibility, and I don't want to give it up."
• "No, thanks, Jethro.  No one else knows how to do this the right way except me."
• "I would love to do that, Jethro, except this is a responsibility that God has laid on my shoulders.  It is my duty."
• "Jethro, great idea, except no one would do it.  They are too busy, and if I asked them, they would say 'no.'"
• "Jethro, who has time to do that?  I don't have time to recruit volunteers, determine their worthiness, train them correctly.  It's just easier if I do it."

The Lord's Name

Have you ever been in a Sunday school class that was examining the Ten Commandments?  What happens when you get to Exodus 20:7?  "You shall not take the Lord's name in vain."

For me, in classes in which I have participated and that I have taught, the discussion often degrades to a judgmental rant about "kids today" who swear.  Or "media today" that is full of cursing.  Is that what the Commandment is really about?  And should the study of this word of God bring us to judgmentalism?

I read this the other day in a blog called Out of Ur:

If the opportunity doesn’t work, we throw God under the bus and say, “It wasn’t God’s will.” And God says, “I didn’t have anything to do with that. I told you to volunteer or work at Starbucks before you mortgaged your house and started a coffee shop of your own. Don’t associate me with that horrible idea. Don’t put faith flavor on that.”

Please don't misunderstand me.  I'm not advocating the use of the Lord's name in anger.  I just think the commandment is much bigger than that, and we are missing the most important parts.  I think this commandment comes into play when:

1. ...we do what we want and say it is what God wants us to do.  When we look at someone else, and make a judgment, or act righteous, or condemn them, in the name of God, we are taking the Lord's name in vain.
   
2. ...we use the Bible to support our own opinion without placing the scripture in context, or admitting that sometimes our own interpretation of God's Word is colored by our own history, viewpoint, or teaching.  We can act so very certain that we are right, and as if we speak for God.  When we do that, we are taking the Lord's name in vain.
3. ...we fail to follow through on what God has called us to do, and the enterprise fails, we are apt to fall back on the handy excuse that "it is God's will."    Sometimes it is just that we didn't do what we were supposed to do, or called to do, or able to do.  

I think these times that we use to the Lord's name in vain are much more detrimental to God's purposes than the use of a curse word.   Looking at this list, do we really have the firm ground to stand on in judgment of others?

Manna

Yesterday I was reading Exodus 16.  In this passage, the Israelites, traveling through the wilderness, are fed by God by collecting manna.  They were told to only collect what they could eat in that one day.  When they collected too much, the leftovers, on the next day, would be spoiled by worms.  On the day before the Sabbath, they were told to collect enough for two days so that they could rest on the seventh day.

My study Bible says that manna is a pun.  When the Israelites say it, they said, "What is it?" -- Man (What) hu (is it)?  Man hu  This can also be translated as It is manna -- and thus it became the name of the food.

How often do we look at God's providence - God's manna -- and say, "What is it?"  I think there are times we don't even recognize it.  I would propose another level to the pun -- Man says huh?

Manna was to teach the Israelites to rely on God -- God was providing what they needed.  God would provide manna -- everything they needed -- every day.  They didn't have to worry about tomorrow.  God would provide for today and for tomorrow.  Don't collect extra.  Don't worry about tomorrow.

And when God says, "rest" on the Sabbath, he provides to them on that day as well.  To rest on the Sabbath is another way to trust God.  It is a way to give up control for a day and do nothing. 

God will provide.  Manna will come.  Let us not say "Huh?" but instead, trust and obey.

(The image is of a bluebird in our backyard sitting next to our backyard bluebird.  The real bird sat there for a very long time.  I think they became friends.)

God of Power

Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians.  So the people feared the Lord ad believed in the Lord and his servant Moses.  Exodus 14:31

This verse in the 14th chapter of Exodus is right after God parts the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass and then destroys the Egyptian Army by closing the sea.  I imagine, as the Israelites watched as dead Egyptians washed ashore, they absolutely did see the work of the Lord, and they were afraid.

There is a word play in this verse that one only sees in the Hebrew.  The words "to see" (ra'ah) and "to fear" (yare) sound very similar.  To see and to fear, leading to belief....

Does it remind anyone of Thomas, who had to see in order to believe?

My study Bible mentions that part of what the Israelites witnessed was God's power not just over the Egyptians, but over nature. God is more powerful than the sea (or the frogs or the flies, etc.) God is more powerful than chaos.

The Israelites aren't the only ones who have witnessed the power of God.  Do we see God at work?  Does it move us to fear (reverence) and belief?  What do we do about it? Does belief change our actions?

Remember

Remember.

How many times in the Bible are we told to remember? 

I was reading Exodus 13 today, and I was struck by how necessary it was to God (is to God) that the Israelites remember God's action.  The feast of unleavened bread lasts for 7 days, and it was a teaching tool for adults to pass on the story to their children.

Communion, among its many purposes, is a tool of remembrance.  Eat, drink and remember me.

How well God knows us that he would institute tools of remembrance.  We are certainly prone to forget.

Remember that you are loved.  Remember that I am here.  Remember, and it will make a difference.

Thoughts on Exodus 12

I'm reading my way through Exodus and read Exodus 12 this morning.  What I'm about to write about is nothing new, but it struck me today because we are so close to Good Friday.

It's interesting to read about the Passover observations in light of the Crucifixion.

1. The lamb for passover shall be without blemish.
2. Hyssop shall be dipped in the lamb's blood and used to mark the door for protection.
3. No bones of the lamb shall be broken.

Christ was without blemish. Remember the hyssop, dipped in vinegar?  Remember after his death, when they broke the bones of the other two with him, but did not break Christ's bones?

As I said, it's nothing new, but just struck me this morning.

What kind of act of faith was it for people who had been slaves for 400 years to dress themselves for travel?  Do we have that kind of faith?

And then, a question that makes me uncomfortable -- what does the killing of the first born in Egypt reveal to us about the nature of God?

And then a bit of trivia from the study notes in my Bible -- the Israelites were in Egypt for 430 years. The first temple in Jerusalem stood for 430 years.