Monthly Archives: September 2014

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Redefining God’s Presence

Reading

Exodus 17:1-7

Devotion

Peace be with you!

I am one of those people who get angry when she is “hangry” (“hungry-angry”). There is no reasoning with me when I am hungry. If I start whining over stupid stuff, it is time to feed me, or I will argue over [whatever “it” is] until I have made my pointless view known.

Once again, the Israelites are complaining. Last week they were hungry; this week they are thirsty. Desperate for water, the Israelites have become downright hostile toward the Lord and Moses (Exodus 17:1, 7). The Israelites demand Moses gives them water before they die (Exodus 17:2a, 3). Moses asks, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” (Exodus 17:2b NRSV). However, there is no way to reason with the Israelites when they are thirsty. The Israelites answer Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” (Exodus 17:3b NRSV). Moses cries out to the Lord, “What should I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me” (Exodus 17:4 NRSV; italics added for emphasis). The Israelites are so aggressive to Moses that he fears for his life.

Despite there distrust and anger, the Lord takes Israelites’ complaint seriously. (If only they would have turned to him in the first place.) “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” (Exodus 17:5-6).

The Lord prevails over the Israelites by meeting their demands. The Lord gives the Israelites bread to eat (Exodus 16:12-14) and water to drink (Exodus 17:5-6). Both times the Lord finds a way to meet what seem to be impossible demands. The Lord does not want Israelites to die from starvation or dehydration. The Lord does not lead the Israelites out of Egypt only to abandon them in the wilderness. The Lord hears the Israelites’ complaints, and he takes action to deal with the problem.

The Lord stays present in the Israelites’ lives, even when they are hostile, because he wants to build a relationship with them. When the Lord gives the Israelites bread, he gives them the sustenance to survive in the wilderness. This reminds me of when Jesus says, “Take and eat … Take and drink … This is my body and blood poured out for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, the Lord gives himself to the Israelites by satisfying their hunger. Every day, when the Israelites eat the bread, they are reminded the Lord is with them.

In the same way, the water coming out of the rocks reminds me of baptism and how God the Father makes us new again. The Lord wants to redefine the Israelites as his people. Water has the power to quench our thirst and wash away the dirt. The Lord wants to quench the Israelites’ every need and wash away their fears and worries; he is with them.

It rained all week in Florida, which seems fitting as I mourn the loss of my grandpa. Somehow, the rain washes away my sorrow and makes me feel my grandpa’s presence. God the Father is washing away my sorrow with the rain and is assuring me will he will provide the strength and courage to go on living without my grandpa’ physical presence. My grandpa is not physically in the world anymore, but Holy Spirit makes it feel as though he is wrapping his arms around me to tell me one last time, “It will be all right.”’

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for satisfying our hungrier and quenching out thirst. Help us to feel your presence in the world. Lead us to open our arms to those who need food, drink, and shelter. Thank you for being presence in the world. Amen.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.) You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. How does the Lord satisfy your hunger and quench your thirst?
  2. Next time you are feeling desperate and afraid, what is one way you can turn to God instead of away from Him?

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost: God Provides After all

Reading

Exodus 16:2-15

Devotion

Peace be with you!

For most of us, a day does not go by without us making a complaint to God about something:

“I need [whatever “it” is], because it will make my life easier.”

“Why do I have to be nice to that person? They have not done anything for me.”

“Why does that person have a better job than me? I work harder.”

“Can’t I just catch a break?”

“I am tired.”

We have all thought or said at least one of these statements. We always think the grass is greener on the other side of the street.”The Israelites complained to the Lord about the unjust Pharaoh, and he called Moses to lead them out of Egypt. Now that the Israelites are out of Egypt they are hungry – the wilderness does not have the luscious food of Egypt (Exodus 16:3). The Israelites take their grievances to Moses and Aaron, and they, in turn, bring them to the Lord.

Thankfully the Lord loves the Israelites and understands their needs. The Lord decides to make it rain bread each morning and instructs Moses to have the Israelites gather just what they need for the day. However, on sixth day, they are to collect twice as much in order to have enough for the seventh day, the Sabbath (Exodus 16:4-5).

The Lord is working to build a new relationship with the Israelites. The Lord shows the Israelites he understands their needs by providing bread each morning. He did not take the Israelites out of Egypt in order to starve them to death in the wilderness, but he provides food when they ask. The Lord also wants to gain the Israelites’ trust, because he will be asking of a lot from them in the future. By providing the Israelites with their basic needs, the Lord is expressing his love for them as his chosen people.

The Israelites will shape the Lord’s new community, which will worship on Mount Sinai. The Lord will lead the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years before they get to the Promised Land. The new community will be given the Ten Commandments and other laws in order that the Israelites live according to the Lord’s ways.

I am relieved that the Lord does not turn away from me when I complain and beg. The Lord understands how little we have to give him and is not put off by always giving and hardly receiving, especially when we are still building our relationship with him. All the Lord asks of us is to share the good news and to turn to him in times of need. For me this week has been a time not exactly of complaint, but of deep need for God. My grandfather has been near to death and finally passed away Friday night. As I went through the week and tried to mentally prepare myself to bury my grandfather, I found myself (emotionally) crawling into the Lord’s lap and seeking his comfort. He ministered to me in my worries and in my sorrow. I need Him as much as the Israelites needed manna. As I mentally prepare myself to bury my grandpa, I find myself climbing into the Lord’s lap when I pray to ask for comfort. I understand it is his time to go see the Lord, but could he hang on until he got one last letter from me? The Lord took my grandpa before he could have read it, though in my heart I believe the Lord will get my grandpa my letter.

Thanks be to God! s

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for providing for our every need. Lead us through the wilderness as we face many tribulations in this world. Guide us through the storms in our life, and lead us to your kingdom. Thank you for your love and compassion in the midst of our deep neediness. Amen.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.) You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. What do you complain to the Lord about?
  2. How does the Lord answer your prayers?

Fourteenth Sunday of Pentecost: God’s Protection

Reading

Exodus 14:19-31

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Have you ever done something and then wondered how you did it? I am always amazed when a colleague or a friend introduces me as a disability advocate and a scholar of God’s healing presence in the world. My words seem to have a greater impact than I realize.

God calls Moses as a prophet to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. After ten plagues, the Pharaoh finally honors Moses’ request to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt. On the night of the Israelites’ mass exit, God appears as a pillar of cloud leading them out of Egypt (Exodus 14:19). Then when the Pharaoh changes his mind and has his men go after them (Exodus 14:5), the pillar of cloud goes behind the Israelites (Exodus 14:19). God in the pillar of cloud becomes a barrier between the Pharaoh’s men and the Israelites. God protects the Israelites from being caught by the soldiers and being put back into slavery.

When the Israelites come to the sea, God instructs Moses to stretch out his hands over the waters. When Moses does this, God divides the sea with an east wind (Exodus 14:21). The Israelites cross the sea on dry land (Exodus 14:22) to safety in the wilderness. After the Israelites finish crossing the sea, Moses stretches out his hands again, and the waters go back to normal (Exodus 14:26). God in a pillar of fire and cloud causes the Egyptians’ chariots to get stuck in the mud (Exodus 14:25) and drown in the receding waters (Exodus 14:26). None of the Pharaoh’s men survive (Exodus 14:30).

Surely the Israelites must be disoriented the next few days as they struggle to get their bearings as newly free people. They are happy to no longer be slaves, but they wonder why their freedom was brought about under the cover of night. They wonder what the future holds. The Israelites see the power of God and are learning to fear the Lord as well as believe in him (Exodus 14:31). God provides them with a new future.

God works in mysterious ways to lead us to where we need to be, even if we do not understand why. There are times when we are disoriented as we consider how an event happened or how we got somewhere. We do not always understand why or what we are supposed to be doing, but God calls us to do his work in the world.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Protect us from Satan’s power. Be presence in our lives and lead us to do your work in the world. Thank you for your mysterious ways in the world. Amen.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.) You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. Where and how has God lead you to do his work in the world?
  2. When have you felt God’s presence?

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Sharing a Meal

Reading

Exodus 12:1-14

Devotion

Peace be with you!

I love gathering around a meal with friends. Every January, I brave the cold to go to Convocation at Luther Seminary in St. Paul where I see many of my friends and colleagues. Each night, we pick a restaurant and gather as many people as possible. Our dinners usually last two or three hours as we catch up on the last year. We debate, cry, discuss, and laugh together. These dinners bring together friends and colleagues who do not get a chance to see each other during the year and give us a chance to be reenergized and refreshed.

The Lord instructs Moses to have the Israelites gather and roast a lamb together for the Passover. Each household is to take an unblemished, one-year-old male lamb (Exodus 12:5). Once the Israelites have the Passover, they are not turning back. The Passover begins the transition between being slaves in Egypt and being free in the Promised Land. The Lord has heard the Israelites’ cries and is ready to set them free. Now the Israelites have to commit themselves to the Lord and be his people.

The family is told to put some of the lamb’s blood on the doorposts (Exodus 12:7) and roast it over a fire with its head, legs, and organs (Exodus 12:9). The doorposts provide protection from the outsiders – those who do not follow the Lord. The doorposts also symbolize the Israelites’ exit as they prepare to leave Egypt. The lamb is to be roasted over a fire to remind the Israelites of the Lord’s presence in the world. The Lord spoke to Moses in a fiery brush (Exodus 3:2) to call him as the first prophet. As a pillar of fire, the Lord will lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Fire symbolizes the presence of the Lord.

The blood on the doorposts is a sign to the Lord to spare the household’s first-born child (Exodus 12:12). When Pharaoh refuses to let the Israelites go, the Lord promises to kill the firstborn of the Egyptians who forced the Israelites into slavery. The blood on the doorposts symbolizes freedom for the Israelites, while the lack of blood on the Egyptians doorposts symbolizes judgment.

By celebrating the Passover, Jews are reminded how the Lord freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. In the same way, Christians celebrate communion to remember how Jesus Christ walked, suffered, and died on earth to ensure our freedom from our past transgressions. In Jesus’ crucifixion, death, and resurrection, we receive forgiveness of our sins through his grace and love. We gather around the Lord’s Table to remember we are forgiven by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Help us to feel your presence as we go out into the world. Lead us to comfort those who are lost. Use us to share the good news with them. Thank you for forgiving us of our sins through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. How are you slaves to the world, sin, or the devil?
  2. When and how has the Lord freed you from [whatever “it” is] that kept you from knowing him?

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost: Raise Your Hands to Volunteer as a Prophet

Reading

Exodus 3:1-15

Devotion

Peace be with you!

Your identity is your own; it is what makes you you. When you are adopted, your identity is something with which you struggle. I was adopted and while my appearance and talents are different from my parents, I act and think like my adoptive family (I have a German temper!). It took me thirty years to become comfortable answering the questions about my heritage; now I claim to be German, like my adoptive mother.

As an individual who was adopted as an infant, I understand Moses’ confusion between his Hebrew birth family and his Egyptian adoptive family. On Working Preacher, Amy Merrill Willis describes Moses as “the lost soul.” Moses is a stranger to his own people and to the people among whom he lives. Born in a time when Pharaoh was attempting genocide on all male Hebrew babies, Moses’ only hope of survival comes when his birth mother sends him floating down the Nile River and into God’s hands. The Pharaoh’s daughter finds and adopts him, allowing his birth mother to care for him until he is weaned (Exodus 2:9-10). But Moses is forced to flee Egypt when he kills an Egyptian to protect a fellow Hebrew man from being beaten (Exodus 2:12). The Hebrews reject Moses, and the Pharaoh ordered him to be killed (Exodus 2:13-15a). Now Moses resides in the land of Midian where he calls himself “an alien residing in a foreign land” (Exodus 2:22).

God finds Moses in the land of Midian, tending to his sheep by the mountain of God (Exodus 3:1). God comes to Moses in a blazing bush that is not consumed by the fire (Exodus 3:2). Moses is intrigued by the phenomenon and goes to the bush to investigate. Suddenly God calls out, “Moses, Moses!” and he answers, “Here I am” (Exodus 3:4). God says, “Do not come any closer, and take off his sandals” (Exodus 3:5). Anathea Portier-Young, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School explains that this mountain is a holy place where Moses will lead his people to worship and where he will receive instructions for the tabernacle. Portier-Young explains God’s request to Moses to remove his sandals to “Draw away the covering that has protected you. Clear away the barrier between yourself and the earth so that your bare feet may touch and sink and take root in this holy ground. Let this living soil coat your skin.” The presence of God is experienced by all five senses. God wants Moses to wrap himself in his presence, because he has an important task for him as the first prophet.

God hears the cries of the Hebrews who are slaves in Egypt (Exodus 2:23) and comes to Moses with a plan to free his people (Exodus 3:9-10). However, Moses is not so sure of this plan and asks, “Who am I to do this?” (Exodus 3:11). Every prophet and called person asks this very question of God. Who am I to lead your people? Who am I to preach the good news? Who am I to tell others to repent when I am a sinner? Who am I? Prophets have a tough job description: tell God’s people he is not happy with them and lead them to repent. Who really wants to volunteer for that job?  [no hands go up]

Yet God says, “Calm down, Moses. I am not sending you alone. I am going with you to bring my people out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:12). Sometimes when it is overwhelming, we forget God is with us, surrounding us with his love, peace, and grace when we are hopeless. God goes with us wherever he sends us, because he is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of Moses, and the God of us. God the Father is our God who is with all with us.

Thanks be to God!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for calling Moses to be a prophet and to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. Lead us to show others your love, peace, and grace. Be with us as we go out into world to share your good news. Thank you for your love, peace, and grace. Amen.

Reflective Questions

Please answer the following reflective questions in the comments below. Please agree to disagree and be respectful to each other. (If you have not already done so, please also take a moment, to sign the behavior covenant by commenting on it.)  You can answer as many questions as you would like.

  1. When and where do you feel God’s presence?
  2. How has God called you to be a prophet?