Exodus - A Time in the Desert
Delivered on July 17th, 2011 at The United Church of Winchester, NH
Words of Gathering
“Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” - Genesis 28
Good morning to you all, and welcome to this place. I had the pleasure of attending last week's service at the Universalist Heritage Foundation, and the beginning of their service reminded me of a small ritual that I used to enjoy at my old UU church: the lighting of the chalice. So with a nod to the UU members in our congregation, as well as our UU heritage, today I will light this chalice in our sanctuary.
“May the light we now kindle inspire us to use our powers to heal and not harm, to help and not hinder, to bless and not curse, to serve you, Spirit of Freedom.“ (adapted from the Passover Haggadah)
The chalice candle is lit.
Opening Hymn - Come, Come, Whoever You Are Words: Rumi. Music: Lynn Adair Ungar. Sung as a round.
Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving.
Ours is no caravan of despair.
come, yet again come.
Opening Prayer
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be found acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our God. Please join me in reading the responsive opening prayer, found in your bulletins.
Leader: O God of Abraham and Sarah, you have led your people in the past; lead us now.
People: Grant us the courage of Ruth to leave behind the old and familiar, the courage of Noah to risk laughter and scorn, the hope of Jeremiah to invest in the future, and the unselfishness of Esther to take risks on behalf of others.
Leader: O God of Moses and Miriam, you delivered your people and led them through the wilderness, giving them food, protection and guidance.
People: In the words of Miriam, we praise you: “I will sing to the Lord, who has triumphed gloriously!”
Leader: O God of Deborah and Gideon, you have given us leaders to bring us back when we wander from you, and deliverers to lead us against oppression.
People: Give us leaders and deliverers, and grant us the wisdom to follow them.
Leader: From the words of your prophets we have learned justice and mercy.
People: Help us to say, with Isaiah, “Here I am. Send me.”
Leader: O God of James and John and Mary Magdalene, you have called us to follow Jesus.
People: Teach us how to work together in mutual responsibility, side by side, neither lagging behind nor shoving to the front.
Leader: O God of Paul and Priscilla and Aquila, who risked their lives for the sake of spreading your church, fill us with enthusiasm for your church.
People: Use us in the spreading of the church, in the building up of its parts, in the joining together of its various congregations, and in ministry to the whole world.
Leader: O God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself in love for the whole world, teach us so to love.
People: Grant us the spirit of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Genesis 12: 1-9
Matthew 4: 18-22
Sermon: Exodus - A Time in the Desert
I want to share with you a quote from a poem by Dag Hammarskjold:
I am being driven forward
Into an unknown land.
The pass grows steeper
The air colder and sharper
A wind from my unknown goal
Stirs the strings of expectation.
Still the question
Shall I ever get there?
There where life resounds
A clear pure note in the silence.
This passage seems to echo the message that God gave to Abram, to leave his family, his land, everything he held dear, and travel to an unknown place with no guarantees except those given to him by what amounts to an invisible voice in the sky. At first it would have seemed adventurous I'm sure, something new beyond livestock and crops, but how long would that first blush of excitement have lasted? As the 'pass grew steeper and the air colder' did his resolve ever waver? What about later, when God tells Abram that his people will be slaves for 400 years under a ruthless dictator? Do you suppose he thought it was a good idea to leave home right about then?
I have a saying, that every good thing is born out of pain. Children are born amidst pain, even if it is also joyful. Life- and world-changing ideas, too, come along with pain. Maybe that's because something new is also something changed, and changes themselves are painful even when anticipated. I know I don't deal as well with change as I ought to! Change, though, is what we're built for.
If you look at the past, at the sages and prophets of days gone by, you can see that change (and pain) come along with innovation and new life. Abraham, Moses, most (if not all) of the prophets, even Jesus spent time in the arid desert, wandering and fasting. And it isn't just our Christian and Jewish heritage that gives us desert sages, either. Lao Tzu brought the Tao te Ching out of the wilderness of China. Hindu elders, having discharged their duties as young workers and middle aged parents, traditionally went off to spend time in their old age as hermits in order to learn wisdom. Early Egyptian sages, Greek philosophers, Roman wise men, all spent time in the uncivilized places of the world in order to discover the wisdom that they held within them., the wisdom we find when we are quiet enough to truly listen to God.
I think that this ritual of spending time away from people, and away from the comforts of normal life, gives the mind time to ponder over the mysteries of the universe, and the mysteries of God. As a friend of mine once said, it gives you time to "unscrew the inscrutable." There is time to think, time to mull over ideas, time to nurture the thoughts that might otherwise get buried under concerns that the coffee pot was left on or whether you remembered to feed the dog before you left for the day.
So... you might be asking where I'm going with this. I've been thinking a lot about our church, our congregation, and our community. Being at the parsonage has given me a bit of "desert time" to think and contemplate, and to meditate. It seems to me that as a congregation we're entering a time of walking through the desert. Our beloved sanctuary is about to be closed to us, for several months most likely. We're unsure about when things will happen, or HOW they will happen, nor do we know the timeline that will bring our renovations and additions to a close. We're already feeling ousted and not a single bit of dirt has been moved!
I know how I am feeling right now. I'm feeling frustrated that nothing has been done yet. I'm feeling angry that we're not seeing bulldozers or back hoes or whatever it is that's supposed to be out there on the side lawn, dragging down our emergency exit. I'm sad that there's no specific start date, and worried that our end date might drag on into the cold, winter days. I want to complain about the wait, and want other people to stop complaining! It's all very contradictory and messy. And that's just me!
Each one of you has your own emotions and feelings in regards to this. So the question is, what can we do about it? We can't make the builders hurry up and get moving. Complaining, while giving us a short-term feeling of relief, really doesn't do much for us. So where do we go from here? Are we, as a people, ready to walk into the desert? Let me ask you... What things do you think we can learn while we are not on schedule here at our own sanctuary?
Maybe we can grow in ways we didn't think we could! As the UCC so frequently says, God is still speaking, and we need to listen. God has spoken to this congregation about expanding for years, and now we're finally doing it! We've waited how long...? Ten years? More? Let's listen even closer, to hear what God has to say to us, to each of us, as we carry out this covenant to build and expand and renovate.
Pastor Alison talked a lot about butterflies when she was with us, because they cocoon up and then transform into something beautiful and free. Well, we've spent our time in the cocoon, haven't we? Now we're almost there... not quite... but trying to break free of the confining walls that surround us. It will happen, but it won't happen on OUR timeline. It will take patience, and a bit of dependence upon God. We have to trust in our Higher Power, and in our leaders.
I'm sure there were moments when Abraham and Moses looked up into the sky and asked, “When exactly is all this supposed to happen, again, Lord?” And I'm equally as sure that the answer came on God's timeline, not theirs. It's scary, yes! Don't you think it was more frightening for Abram's people to follow him off into the wild blue yonder? After all, there was no "long standing tradition" at that time for the Jews. He was really the first, the father of the tradition as we know it today. Their trials were so much more than ours.
Then again, it's easy to say, "Well, they lived in a different time," or that the early Jews didn't know any better. I know I've spent time thinking that myself. The problem is that each one of us experiences hardship in a different way. It's easy to say that one person has it easier than another, because they have more money or had both parents living at home, or because they have a big house instead of a mobile home. It's not true, though. Everything is subjective, and this means that the trials I have gone through are just as tough for me as the trials you have gone through are tough for you. Every moment of difficulty is a singular moment, something unique to the one person experiencing it right then. Let's not make light of the problems held by one another - each one is important and real, and worthy of our attentions and our help.
The comfort of the familiar is often perceived as better than the potential discomfort of the new and strange. Yet if we didn't move forward, didn't accept the challenges put in front of us by God, our family, our peers... where would we be? Would we be sitting here, today?
Let us take up this challenge. Let us help one another by listening to each other when we're frustrated or upset. At the same time, though, understand that what you're listening to is not about YOU... anymore than the complaining of the Jews at the base of Mt. Sinai was about Moses or God. It's internal, it's real, and sometimes the best thing you can do is LISTEN. "I am being driven forward into an unknown land." We're in uncharted territory. The last people to do major renovations on this church building are no longer with us. The ways and means they used are not our ways and means.
Unknown doesn't mean BAD though.
"The pass grows steeper, the air colder and sharper." It's not going to be easy. Nothing truly worthwhile ever is. God places those challenges in our way to show us just how important and wonderful are those things we are receiving. In more mundane language, you get what you pay for. The price for this addition is steep, moreso in emotions than in dollars, and therefore will be a rich and meaningful addition to our church building and to us, the congregation.
"A wind from my unknown goal stirs the strings of expectation." As the UCC is fond of saying, God is still speaking. Let's listen and hear what comes to us on the wind. Let's strain to catch the messages being sent to us. Let's hold tight to our faith, with the true and unshaken knowledge that God IS still speaking, and he's speaking to US.
"Still the question - Shall I ever get there?" Yes... there will be questions along the way. Aren't there always? Will the renovations be good? When is this whole thing going to start? When is it going to be finished? Will it be worth everything we've put into it? Can we really do this, or is it a pipe dream? So many questions, some based on reality and some based on fears, but all REAL questions with REAL answers.
"There where life resounds; A clear pure note in the silence." That clear pure note is the strong, able song of God's creation being made manifest among us. Whether you listen for the single bell or the rising harmony of a full choir doesn't matter. What matters is that we listen. What matters is that we stick together, hold one another's hands as necessary, and forgive each other for those moments of doubt and fear that lead us to snap or question or falter in our steps. Let's trust in one another, knowing that when we do falter, a hand will be there to hold us up. No matter who holds out that hand, it is the true hand of God, ready to hold and help and guide each of us., just as he guided Abraham and Sarah, and Moses, and Jesus.
Please join me in prayer:
Our hope is in God, who gives help. Let us call upon Him, and say: Look kindly on Your children, Lord. Lord, our God, You made an eternal covenant with Your people, keep us ever mindful of Your mighty deeds. Let Your ministers grow toward perfect love, and preserve Your faithful people in unity by the bond of peace. Be with us in our work of building the earthly city, that in building we may not labor in vain. Send workers into Your vineyard, and glorify Your name among the nations. AMEN.
Prayer of Dedication
Today we have received gifts of body and spirit. Gladly we bring these small offerings to the altar of God – giving as we have received. Let this offering sustain each of us, our church and its renovation, our community, and even our world. In Jesus' name, AMEN.
Words of Gathering
“Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it. How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” - Genesis 28
Good morning to you all, and welcome to this place. I had the pleasure of attending last week's service at the Universalist Heritage Foundation, and the beginning of their service reminded me of a small ritual that I used to enjoy at my old UU church: the lighting of the chalice. So with a nod to the UU members in our congregation, as well as our UU heritage, today I will light this chalice in our sanctuary.
“May the light we now kindle inspire us to use our powers to heal and not harm, to help and not hinder, to bless and not curse, to serve you, Spirit of Freedom.“ (adapted from the Passover Haggadah)
The chalice candle is lit.
Opening Hymn - Come, Come, Whoever You Are Words: Rumi. Music: Lynn Adair Ungar. Sung as a round.
Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving.
Ours is no caravan of despair.
come, yet again come.
Opening Prayer
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be found acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our God. Please join me in reading the responsive opening prayer, found in your bulletins.
Leader: O God of Abraham and Sarah, you have led your people in the past; lead us now.
People: Grant us the courage of Ruth to leave behind the old and familiar, the courage of Noah to risk laughter and scorn, the hope of Jeremiah to invest in the future, and the unselfishness of Esther to take risks on behalf of others.
Leader: O God of Moses and Miriam, you delivered your people and led them through the wilderness, giving them food, protection and guidance.
People: In the words of Miriam, we praise you: “I will sing to the Lord, who has triumphed gloriously!”
Leader: O God of Deborah and Gideon, you have given us leaders to bring us back when we wander from you, and deliverers to lead us against oppression.
People: Give us leaders and deliverers, and grant us the wisdom to follow them.
Leader: From the words of your prophets we have learned justice and mercy.
People: Help us to say, with Isaiah, “Here I am. Send me.”
Leader: O God of James and John and Mary Magdalene, you have called us to follow Jesus.
People: Teach us how to work together in mutual responsibility, side by side, neither lagging behind nor shoving to the front.
Leader: O God of Paul and Priscilla and Aquila, who risked their lives for the sake of spreading your church, fill us with enthusiasm for your church.
People: Use us in the spreading of the church, in the building up of its parts, in the joining together of its various congregations, and in ministry to the whole world.
Leader: O God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself in love for the whole world, teach us so to love.
People: Grant us the spirit of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Genesis 12: 1-9
Matthew 4: 18-22
Sermon: Exodus - A Time in the Desert
I want to share with you a quote from a poem by Dag Hammarskjold:
I am being driven forward
Into an unknown land.
The pass grows steeper
The air colder and sharper
A wind from my unknown goal
Stirs the strings of expectation.
Still the question
Shall I ever get there?
There where life resounds
A clear pure note in the silence.
This passage seems to echo the message that God gave to Abram, to leave his family, his land, everything he held dear, and travel to an unknown place with no guarantees except those given to him by what amounts to an invisible voice in the sky. At first it would have seemed adventurous I'm sure, something new beyond livestock and crops, but how long would that first blush of excitement have lasted? As the 'pass grew steeper and the air colder' did his resolve ever waver? What about later, when God tells Abram that his people will be slaves for 400 years under a ruthless dictator? Do you suppose he thought it was a good idea to leave home right about then?
I have a saying, that every good thing is born out of pain. Children are born amidst pain, even if it is also joyful. Life- and world-changing ideas, too, come along with pain. Maybe that's because something new is also something changed, and changes themselves are painful even when anticipated. I know I don't deal as well with change as I ought to! Change, though, is what we're built for.
If you look at the past, at the sages and prophets of days gone by, you can see that change (and pain) come along with innovation and new life. Abraham, Moses, most (if not all) of the prophets, even Jesus spent time in the arid desert, wandering and fasting. And it isn't just our Christian and Jewish heritage that gives us desert sages, either. Lao Tzu brought the Tao te Ching out of the wilderness of China. Hindu elders, having discharged their duties as young workers and middle aged parents, traditionally went off to spend time in their old age as hermits in order to learn wisdom. Early Egyptian sages, Greek philosophers, Roman wise men, all spent time in the uncivilized places of the world in order to discover the wisdom that they held within them., the wisdom we find when we are quiet enough to truly listen to God.
I think that this ritual of spending time away from people, and away from the comforts of normal life, gives the mind time to ponder over the mysteries of the universe, and the mysteries of God. As a friend of mine once said, it gives you time to "unscrew the inscrutable." There is time to think, time to mull over ideas, time to nurture the thoughts that might otherwise get buried under concerns that the coffee pot was left on or whether you remembered to feed the dog before you left for the day.
So... you might be asking where I'm going with this. I've been thinking a lot about our church, our congregation, and our community. Being at the parsonage has given me a bit of "desert time" to think and contemplate, and to meditate. It seems to me that as a congregation we're entering a time of walking through the desert. Our beloved sanctuary is about to be closed to us, for several months most likely. We're unsure about when things will happen, or HOW they will happen, nor do we know the timeline that will bring our renovations and additions to a close. We're already feeling ousted and not a single bit of dirt has been moved!
I know how I am feeling right now. I'm feeling frustrated that nothing has been done yet. I'm feeling angry that we're not seeing bulldozers or back hoes or whatever it is that's supposed to be out there on the side lawn, dragging down our emergency exit. I'm sad that there's no specific start date, and worried that our end date might drag on into the cold, winter days. I want to complain about the wait, and want other people to stop complaining! It's all very contradictory and messy. And that's just me!
Each one of you has your own emotions and feelings in regards to this. So the question is, what can we do about it? We can't make the builders hurry up and get moving. Complaining, while giving us a short-term feeling of relief, really doesn't do much for us. So where do we go from here? Are we, as a people, ready to walk into the desert? Let me ask you... What things do you think we can learn while we are not on schedule here at our own sanctuary?
- New ways to do things
- explore our UU and UM heritage
- learning to accept from our community as much as we give
Maybe we can grow in ways we didn't think we could! As the UCC so frequently says, God is still speaking, and we need to listen. God has spoken to this congregation about expanding for years, and now we're finally doing it! We've waited how long...? Ten years? More? Let's listen even closer, to hear what God has to say to us, to each of us, as we carry out this covenant to build and expand and renovate.
Pastor Alison talked a lot about butterflies when she was with us, because they cocoon up and then transform into something beautiful and free. Well, we've spent our time in the cocoon, haven't we? Now we're almost there... not quite... but trying to break free of the confining walls that surround us. It will happen, but it won't happen on OUR timeline. It will take patience, and a bit of dependence upon God. We have to trust in our Higher Power, and in our leaders.
I'm sure there were moments when Abraham and Moses looked up into the sky and asked, “When exactly is all this supposed to happen, again, Lord?” And I'm equally as sure that the answer came on God's timeline, not theirs. It's scary, yes! Don't you think it was more frightening for Abram's people to follow him off into the wild blue yonder? After all, there was no "long standing tradition" at that time for the Jews. He was really the first, the father of the tradition as we know it today. Their trials were so much more than ours.
Then again, it's easy to say, "Well, they lived in a different time," or that the early Jews didn't know any better. I know I've spent time thinking that myself. The problem is that each one of us experiences hardship in a different way. It's easy to say that one person has it easier than another, because they have more money or had both parents living at home, or because they have a big house instead of a mobile home. It's not true, though. Everything is subjective, and this means that the trials I have gone through are just as tough for me as the trials you have gone through are tough for you. Every moment of difficulty is a singular moment, something unique to the one person experiencing it right then. Let's not make light of the problems held by one another - each one is important and real, and worthy of our attentions and our help.
The comfort of the familiar is often perceived as better than the potential discomfort of the new and strange. Yet if we didn't move forward, didn't accept the challenges put in front of us by God, our family, our peers... where would we be? Would we be sitting here, today?
Let us take up this challenge. Let us help one another by listening to each other when we're frustrated or upset. At the same time, though, understand that what you're listening to is not about YOU... anymore than the complaining of the Jews at the base of Mt. Sinai was about Moses or God. It's internal, it's real, and sometimes the best thing you can do is LISTEN. "I am being driven forward into an unknown land." We're in uncharted territory. The last people to do major renovations on this church building are no longer with us. The ways and means they used are not our ways and means.
Unknown doesn't mean BAD though.
"The pass grows steeper, the air colder and sharper." It's not going to be easy. Nothing truly worthwhile ever is. God places those challenges in our way to show us just how important and wonderful are those things we are receiving. In more mundane language, you get what you pay for. The price for this addition is steep, moreso in emotions than in dollars, and therefore will be a rich and meaningful addition to our church building and to us, the congregation.
"A wind from my unknown goal stirs the strings of expectation." As the UCC is fond of saying, God is still speaking. Let's listen and hear what comes to us on the wind. Let's strain to catch the messages being sent to us. Let's hold tight to our faith, with the true and unshaken knowledge that God IS still speaking, and he's speaking to US.
"Still the question - Shall I ever get there?" Yes... there will be questions along the way. Aren't there always? Will the renovations be good? When is this whole thing going to start? When is it going to be finished? Will it be worth everything we've put into it? Can we really do this, or is it a pipe dream? So many questions, some based on reality and some based on fears, but all REAL questions with REAL answers.
"There where life resounds; A clear pure note in the silence." That clear pure note is the strong, able song of God's creation being made manifest among us. Whether you listen for the single bell or the rising harmony of a full choir doesn't matter. What matters is that we listen. What matters is that we stick together, hold one another's hands as necessary, and forgive each other for those moments of doubt and fear that lead us to snap or question or falter in our steps. Let's trust in one another, knowing that when we do falter, a hand will be there to hold us up. No matter who holds out that hand, it is the true hand of God, ready to hold and help and guide each of us., just as he guided Abraham and Sarah, and Moses, and Jesus.
Please join me in prayer:
Our hope is in God, who gives help. Let us call upon Him, and say: Look kindly on Your children, Lord. Lord, our God, You made an eternal covenant with Your people, keep us ever mindful of Your mighty deeds. Let Your ministers grow toward perfect love, and preserve Your faithful people in unity by the bond of peace. Be with us in our work of building the earthly city, that in building we may not labor in vain. Send workers into Your vineyard, and glorify Your name among the nations. AMEN.
Prayer of Dedication
Today we have received gifts of body and spirit. Gladly we bring these small offerings to the altar of God – giving as we have received. Let this offering sustain each of us, our church and its renovation, our community, and even our world. In Jesus' name, AMEN.
