Wait: Waiting in Exile
June 9, 2024
Wait: Waiting in Exile
Lighting the Christ Candle
Welcome and Announcements
Call to Worship
Come take off your shoes
For where we stand is holy ground
Come wait on God
For where we stand is holy ground
Come and listen for God
For where we stand is holy ground
Love all that God gave us, for we are all standing on holy ground
Hymn: 440 For all the love
Online For All Who Love Him
Prayer of Adoration
We stand before you this day O God; thanking you for the many
ways you seek us and speak to us. Today in a burning bush,
tomorrow on the mountain, even from within the storms in our
lives.
We recognize how deeply we are blessed, and we give to you the
praise and the glory. You are the Lord of our lives.
We thank you that you have sealed our salvation in the risen
Christ—our Savior and Redeemer—the one who is with us in our
daily tasks, whispering peace, giving us strength, showing us a
new way.
We recognize how deeply we are blessed, and we give to you the
praise and the glory. You are the Lord of our lives.
We praise you for the holy Spirit who gives us your power. Who
speaks to us in the rushing wind and tongues of fire. His
guidance always directing our footsteps as we walk with you day
by day.
We recognize how deeply we are blessed, and we give to you the
praise and the glory. You are the Lord of our lives.
Even now in this time …in this place, we have seen your
greatness and we sing your praises.
We sing your praises, and are reminded that we have failed you.
Hear this day also our confession as we say together….
Prayer of Confession:
The Pharaoh decrees death to the foreigner. The power of
fear and hate rage surround us. In the face of evil, forgive us
our complacency.
The burning bush flickers beside us. The presence of God
invites us. In the presence of the holy, forgive us our lack of
notice.
The Red Sea waters stand at attention. The threshold of
grace is breath-taking. In the company of grace, forgive us
our reticence to embrace, not only you, but also one another.
Amen
Assurance of Pardon
The Loving Lord, offers his forgiveness and brings to us again
and again the invitation to know his love. As we hear his voice,
we find our source of peace and comfort and we find our place
within his creation. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. AMEN.
Passing the Peace
Hymn: 414 God reveal your presence
Scripture:
Exodus 1: 15-22 p 88
Exodus 2: 1-12 p 89
Exodus 3: 1-12 p 90
Sermon: Moses, waiting in exile
Following the death of Joseph, who he was and the good that he
had done in Egypt, was quickly forgotten by the Egyptian people
and the new Pharoah. Over the generations the Hebrew people
grew many in number and the Egyptians began to oppress the
Hebrews.
They enslaved them. They gave them increasingly demanding
tasks. Ultimately, Pharoah decreed that every Hebrew boy, be
put to death at birth. The midwives, however feared God, and let
the baby boys live. They lied to Pharoah to cover up their
disregard of his orders. Yet, the Hebrew people continued to
prosper, despite all the oppression brought by Pharoah.
Finally, Pharoah decreed that anyone who encountered a male
Hebrew child was to put him to death. When Moses was born, his
mother cared for him as long as she could, and then put him in a
basket, in the river near where Pharoah’s daughter was bathing.
Pharoah’s daughter took pity on the baby and hired his mother to
care for him on her behalf, and planned to adopt him and raise
him as her own. When he had been weaned, Moses went to live
in the palace to be raised as a royal son.
How difficult that must have been, to have a foot in both worlds
and not really be a part of either. He despised the way his own
people were treated, and even went so far as to kill an Egyptian
soldier to protect a man who was being beaten. He thought no one knew; but one day he intervened in a fight
between two Hebrews and was challenged…”will you kill us as
well,” Moses realized that all was known.
Knowing that what he had done was common knowledge, Moses
became afraid. When Pharoah heard of what Moses had done,
he tried to kill him. Fearing for his life, Moses retreated to Midian,
where he sat down beside a well.
What was he hoping for? Would this be a safe place for him?
Did he regret his impulsive actions in defending his people? How
could he help his people from life in exile?
No matter how many questions he had, there were things that he
needed to do. This was not the time or place in which to regret
the path his life had taken. This was not the time to question
where God was in the unfolding of events. Clearly God was not
speaking to him, or if he was Moses could not figure out what God
had been saying.
Alone, in exile, Moses needed to find a way to get on with his life.
He needed a place to live. He needed a job, even though he was
completely unskilled for life in the real world.
He could no longer count on a palace full of servants to attend to
his every need, and he was ill equipped to do anything.
While he was sitting by the well, licking his wounds, the 7
daughters of the priest of Midian came to the well to get water for
their sheep. They were challenged by a group of shepherds who
intimidated them and would not let them draw water from the well.
In this encounter we see some clues emerging about the
character of Moses, whose impulsive actions were a result of a
desire to care for the oppressed and the weak. So Moses jumped
in and rescued the women from the shepherds, and then watered
their flock for them. His character spoke of someone who would
leap in to help the people who needed help. This is a characteristic that God could use, but first Moses had a lot to
learn, his character needed to be shaped, and he needed to learn
to look for the signs that God was active in his life.
So began the time of waiting.
He married one of the daughters of Jethro, the Priest of Midian.
He had a son, naming him Gershom because he felt as if he was
a foreigner in a foreign land.
Moses likely still thought that his life was over. What he would
come to know is that waiting brings life; not death.
We recall that in the unfolding of Joseph’s life there were signs
that God was already at work, bringing about the right time for the
work that Jospeh was preparing for and waiting for. Just so for
Moses.
God made it possible for the life of Moses to be spared, at least
twice. God made it possible for Moses to learn the ways of Greek
citizens and how to handle himself in the politics of Pharoah’s
court. God provided a way for him into exile, where he was safe
and a part of a family; with the guidance of a man who was known
as a friend of God.
Over the years, the wisdom and knowledge of Jethro were shared
with Moses. In the daily unfolding of family life, Moses learned
how to care for the flocks, but also how to walk as a friend of God.
Although he waited in Jethro’s household for 40 years, he had
never been abandoned by God. This was where he learned,
even in the mundane and every day tasks of life, there were
always signs that God was present and working.
As Moses waited, surely Jethro taught him to recognize the signs
of God’s presence. But even so, when the time was right for God
to call Moses forth, it took a dramatic sign that was completely
and totally unmistakable.
I imagine that caring for the sheep, although a big job, allowed
quite a bit of time for contemplation. There was a lot to reconcile
between the grand life of the grandson of Pharoah and the simple
life of a shepherd, husband and father.
There was to be an even bigger change as Moses took on the
role of the saviour of his people. In that role he challenged
Pharoah and earned the trust (well sort of) of the Hebrew people.
This was an unprecedented calling and it required an
unmistakable sign.
As Moses and the sheep wandered, they stopped and settled in
many areas. As the sheep depleted the green pastures in one
location, Moses moved them onto another place where there was
fresh grass growing amongst the rocks. In time they settled down
at the base of Mount Horeb, known as “the mountain of God.”
Horeb was the mountain on which Noah landed after the flood,
the site of a new beginning for God’s people. That this is where
God revealed himself to Moses is significant.
For 40 years Moses had waited. He had built a life, married and
had children. He grew close to his father-in-law, and learned
wisdom from this man known for his godly integrity.
Again, the waiting was a time of preparation. For what was to
come for him, Moses would need every bit of wisdom to lead the
people. For the 40 years of the journey to the promised land,
Moses would need every bit of patience he had developed
watching sheep in the wilderness. The job that Moses was about
to undertake demanded that he be able to hear the voice of God
and recognize the command of God as he led the people on a
journey they did not appreciate being on.
There at the base of Mount Horeb, watching sheep through
another long night, Moses noticed something strange—a bush on
fire, and yet not being consumed.Curious, he went to investigate this strange event. As he
approached the bush, God spoke to him from the depth of the
flames, saying When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look,
God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for
the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said,
“I am the God of your father, [a] the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because
he was afraid to look at God.
It appears that the lessons of exile are the same as the lessons of
prison. Humility, trust, obedience. No matter how frustrated
Moses had to have been over the years, as he waited and waited
for the word of God to come to him, he learned resilience. He
learned to overcome his past. He learned how to be strong in
adversity.
That resilience is something that the Church of today needs as
well. Root and Bertrand point out that when we are resilient, we
grow in strength during the difficulties. We grow in strength, even
when God is silent.
When God is silent, it is because the answer is postponed, until
the right time. But we are reminded that God’s silence is not an
indication that God is doing nothing. He is preparing the stage,
and he is preparing our hearts for the day he will speak and call
us to embrace the new thing he has prepared.
Right now, the Church is frustrated. Being the Church in these
modern days doesn’t seem to be working…or at least not working
like we think it should. Where are all the people who should be
flocking to hear God’s word proclaimed? Why aren’t the people
interested in what God has to offer? Why is it that when we pray
and learn and believe that the road is still bumpy and full of
obstacles?
How do we wait in a crisis?
We are called to remember that waiting through tension, difficulty
and danger is a part of the Church’s DNA. In fact, tension,
difficulty, discord, danger and crisis are signs of life.
The crisis that arose when Moses defended a man threatened by
an Egyptian soldier was the opportunity for Moses to learn to wait
for God.
God was able to take everything that had happened and make it a
part of the unfolding of his will for the greater purpose of leading
the Hebrew people into their own homeland.
Everything that Moses had learned prepared him for tension and
difficulty.
The stubbornness of Pharoah through 10 plagues. The
reluctance of the people to trust and to follow Moses. The
people’s complaining along the way to freedom. The time they
turned their back on God and made an idol. The strength that
Moses learned in diversity made it possible for him to meet each
demand and complaint with trust in God. The one time that he
didn’t and got angry and instead of speaking God’s word, struck
the rock that gave water with his own angry words, was the act
that resulted in him being denied entrance to the promised land
himself. As much as that must have hurt, it was a consequence
he accepted, because he knew that wherever he was, God would
be with him, even in the silence, even in the waiting.
For this reason, Root and Bertrand point out that no community
can live without tension. They say we are not alive if there is no
conflict.
When discussing the Church Detrich Bonhoeffer writes that if we
are the church, we love the real church. We may love the “ideal”
of the church; but the real church is the body of Christ and it is not
called to be ideal. The church is called to be faithful.
Faithful in good times and in bad times. Faithful when God is
silent and when God speaks to us. Faithful when God’s answer
to our prayer is no and when his answer is yes. Faithfulness is a
choice that flows from the vows we take to love and serve God.
For Moses the challenges of faith came directly from the politics
of Egypt. But also, from his own heart and then from the very
people whom he was called to serve.
For the church in the modern age the challenge comes from the
society around us, who expect the church to be perfect. When
they see tension and conflict; when we make mistakes and even
when we sin, they wonder how people who know God could
behave this way.
We may wonder that too. We may be challenged by our own
doubts and our own failures in faith. We may recoil from tension
and conflict as we work out our calling. But in the time when we
wait, we like Moses will learn resilience, humility, trust, faith and
patience. Then when our waiting is over and our calling is clear it
will push our boundaries, and that will cause conflict.
Conflict with one another, conflict within ourselves, and conflict
with the world.
We have seen that everyone who has waited on God, has been
called to a difficult task.
The Pentecost challenge of adding thousands of people to the
faith at one time.
The challenge of earning the trust of the people we need to bring
to safety.
The challenge of reconciling our past with our future and learning
that God can and will use in spite of what we have been and the
mistakes we will still face.
We have learned that God will give us the power to lead a people
who don’t want to go where God is asking them to go.
And in the weeks to come we will learn of more impossible
situations that God’s calling may yet thrust us into.
For now, we are left to ponder this truth. Moses freed his people
from crisis after he learned to listen for God in a crisis. Jesus
lived in constant crisis; from the Temple, the Romans and even
his own disciples.
Every person we have encountered whose wait resulted in God
calling them to a difficult task, has a lesson for us. That lesson:
be resilient, be humble, be faithful, walk in close fellowship with
the people around you and above all—keep going back to God.
Keep listening for God to speak. Keep looking for the signs that
God is present with you.
We are called to wait for God who is actively working on our
behalf until the time is right for him to reveal our calling in him.
Wait. Watch. Listen. God will speak. Amen
Affirmation of Faith:
Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not
be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40: 31 NRSV
Hymn: 592 I the Lord of Sea and Sky
Offering and Doxology 830
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise him all creatures here below
Praise him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
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Offertory Prayer
Gathering Prayer Requests
Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Lord’s Prayer (debts and debtors)
We thank you, O God that you go before us into tomorrow,
making a path through yesterday’s doubts. We thank you that
you stand at our side, offering your hope’s strength.
When we would clasp old worries to our hearts, you open our
eyes to that hope which opens the way before us.
God in Community, Holy in One, as you are all to us, so we would
offer all we are to you, offering our prayers for your people and
your world.
JOYS
LOCAL CONCERNS
WORLD CONCERNS
O God of Exodus and the Burning Bush, of the Prophets and of
Jesus, we hear your powerful calling to be your servants.
At every turn we hear your voice calling to us, seeking
us. Help us to watch and wait, as we seek your vision, claim your
promise and yearn for what you are planning to call forth in us.
We pray in Jesus name, saying as he taught us: Our Father who
art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will
be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily
bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil for thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory, for ever. Amen
Hymn: 587 Called as partners in Christ’s Service
Benediction
Go out into the world to join God trusting him to lead you and to
show you the way. Take in the breath of life. Take off your
shoes. Know that you are ever in the presence of the Holy and
Living God. Your journey with God is holy ground. Amen.
Go forth to walk in the grace of Jesus, the love of God and the
wisdom of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Blessing Song: 500 Open my eyes v.1 chorus
Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me
place in my hands the wonderful key
that shall unclasp and set me free Silently now, I wait for thee
ready my Lord, thy will to see open my eyes, illumine me Spirit
Divine
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