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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity |
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Psalm 107:1-16 Exodus 5:1-9, 19-6:1 Hebrews 3:1-19 Scalpels, not Surgeons Most of us here today can grasp the fact that God can love us with an everlasting love so great He came down from Heaven Himself to save us from our sins, and, at the same time, He can be angry at us for our sins and willing to chastise us for the problems and pain we cause other people, ourselves, and Him by our sins. We understand that the Bible does not contradict itself when its verses assert these two principles and attributes of God. In fact, we understand that anyone who loves us will get angry with us when we conduct ourselves in destructive ways. All good parents want their children to work hard in school and make the most of their opportunities and talents, because their futures depend on theses things. If the children neglect their studies, develop lazy and counter productive habits, or engage in behavior that otherwise harms them, the parents become angry. If they did not love their children they would not care what they do. They would not care if they grew up to be lazy, ignorant, or even criminals. Even so, God, who loves us far more than human parents could ever love their children, is angry at us for wasting our talents and opportunities in the destructive behaviors of sin. At such times we expect chastisement, “for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” But what about those times, and they are many, when it seems to us that we are doing all we can to follow God and do His bidding, and things still go wrong? We could understand it if we were fired from our jobs if we were lazy and unproductive and rude to clients. We would say we were receiving our just desserts. But what if we work honestly and diligently at our jobs, and we do our jobs morally and honestly because we are Christians and because we love God, yet still get fired? Where is God’s justice then? I know, for example, of a man who worked hard and honestly, and did his job well, while another man played golf with the boss, gave parties for the boss, and otherwise stroked the boss’ ego. Now it so happened that the company participated in an annual golf tournament with several other companies in the area, which they won because of the second man’s skill on the links. Of course the other companies didn’t mind loosing because they were invited to a great victory party, organized by the man and his wife at the country club. In time a high position in the company came open, and both men became the top candidates for the promotion. Guess who got it? If you said the golfer you are correct. And the other guy asked me why God allowed that to happen. This is Moses’ question in Exodus 5. Moses was living the happy, pastoral life in the land of Midian with his wife and children, when God called Him to return to Egypt and lead the Hebrews out of their bondage. Moses didn’t want to go. You may remember the many excuses he made to God, but God prevailed and Moses went. Right into the very throne room of Pharaoh he went, risking his life, but confident that God would accomplish the deliverance. But instead of letting the Hebrews go free, the anger of Pharaoh was kindled against the Hebrews. He made their work load intolerable, and their bondage was made bitter, and they blamed Moses, and Moses blamed God. Moses became as angry and bitter at God as the Hebrews were at him. And Moses went to God in anger, and he said; Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all (Ex. 5:22-23). That is a very important verse in the Old Testament. You should make a point of remembering that verse. We often memorize the high blessings of Scripture, and we should. But we need to remember the places that show people in the low points of life too, like this one. We need to remember these passages of Scripture because they remind us that others have felt the way we sometimes feel. Others, even the great lights of Biblical history, have felt anger, and resentment, and disappointment toward God, just as we do sometimes. If you really look at Ex. 5:23 you will see that Moses is making an accusation here. He is not just saying he is frustrated with Pharaoh or that God isn’t working quickly enough to please him. He is accusing God of breaking His promise. He is saying God let him down. His complaint goes something like this; God, I was happy tending sheep in Midian. I told you I’m no good at this sort of thing, but you talked me into it, and you promised you would be with me and you would bring Israel out of slavery through me. So I went where you told me to go, I said what you told me to say, and I did what you told me to do. I did everything right, at great personal risk and sacrifice, and I did it all for you, but you did not set the people free. I did my part, but you didn’t do yours. Now listen to this, because this is important. Moses is saying, God, you broke your promise. God, you’re a liar. Let me ask you something, what would it mean if God did lie to Moses? Let me suggest a few things. If God lied to Moses, then He could lie to us too. If God broke His promise to Moses, then all of His promises are at risk. If He broke His promise to Moses, we cannot trust Him to keep any other promises to us. If He broke His promise to Moses, then everything the Bible says about His love and His justice and His goodness are mere fabrications at best, and outright lies at worst. If He broke His promise, He is not worth following. He is simply the great bully in the sky who blesses or abuses people according to His whims and moods, like the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology. I believe every Christian feels the way Moses felt some time. Sooner or later we will all think God has let us down. We will all think we have done our part, we have left our comforts behind and made great sacrifices to follow God and do His will, only to find that things didn’t work out the way we thought they should, and we will think God broke His promise to us. There is a story of a small boy who was being troubled by a bully at school. The bully tried the old bully’s favorite trick. You know the one; he challenged the smaller, younger boy to a fight after school behind the playground. The boy told his father about this, and his father gave him some pointers on self defense and told him to meet the bully and fight him. “The things I showed you will win any fight,” the father said. “And I will be right around the corner and to help if you need it. I won’t let him hurt you in any way.” So the boy met the bully at the appointed time and place, and the bully tore him up. As they fought, the boy kept calling for his father, “Daddy help. Daddy, he’s hurting me. Daddy, help.” He expected his father to come charging around the corner, and stop the fight, and have the bully arrested, along with his father and mother, and maybe even their dog. But his father didn’t come. The fight didn’t last very long. And in short order the little boy was bleeding and humiliated and lying in the dirt in a circle of jeering children. After the mockers left, the boy slowly got to his feet and tearfully made his way around the corner, to the place where his father was supposed to be watching to help him. And what did he find there? His father, talking and laughing with the bully and the other children who had jeered and mocked him. If you can imagine the sense of betrayal that little boy felt, then you can imagine how Moses felt in Egypt, and you might be able to remember a time when you felt the same way about God. Now let me ask a question, a ridiculous question. Can you imagine a scalpel complaining that the surgeon didn’t do the operation correctly? Can you imagine a hammer complaining to the carpenter that the carpenter built the wrong house? Can you imagine a pot telling the cook she’s not cooking the meal properly? Of course not. Those things are tools, not people. Well, Moses needed to remember, and so do we , we’re the scalpel, not the surgeon. We’re the tool, not the craftsman. We’re the pot not the cook. Or, to say this in more Biblical terms, we’re the creatures, not the Creator. We’re the disciples not the Master. We’re the people, not God. You see, God has a plan. Therefore, He does things on His own schedule, by his own plan, and in His own way, and He doesn’t always ask our opinion or consult us about it. God had great plans for Israel. God knew just when and how He was going to release them from their bondage. God knew He was going to do it in a way that would live in the collective mind of the Church forever. He would do it such a way that people would know forever that it was God who delivered them, not Pharaoh, not the Jews, not even Moses. God had a plan. We must see this in this passage, for it is crucial to understanding the whole Exodus, and, for that matter, all of the bible and all of life. God has a plan. But Moses didn’t know the full plan of God. Moses couldn’t see the whole plan. So his job was not to tell God how to deliver the people. His job was to simply obey God. Delivering the Jews was God’s job. That’s difficult, but we are in the same situation. We are told to be faithful in our callings, whether they are as a parent, a spouse, a daughter or son, or a sibling, an employee or employer, a church member, or a Christian. And our job is simply to do what the Bible tells us to do in each of these callings, and leave the results to God. And if God does not pave the roads of our lives with ease, or crown our efforts with overwhelming success, or in any other way do things the way we think He should or when we think He should, it is our job to accept His will. Ours is to trust and obey. We are scalpels, not surgeons. I really do believe the best way to prevent discouragement and dismay like Moses is experiencing in this passage, is for us to simply let God be God. Stop trying to second guess Him. Stop trying to tell Him how to do His job. Stop trying to convince ourselves that He ought to do things our way. Just let God be God. This means of course that we must let ourselves be the people. We must let ourselves be the scalpels, the hammers, the pots, while we let God be the Surgeon, the Carpenter, and the Cook. It is we who need to get with God’s plan, not God who must get with ours. I do not say this in a judgment of anyone, for I want to be surgeon as much as anyone else. I say it as one who has experienced the same kinds of frustrations and impatience, and even anger, as Moses was feeling in this passage. And I know from experience that the only way out of that “slough of despond” is to stop trying to be God and start being the creature. And I know how difficult that is to do, the self denial, even self crucifixion it requires, but it is the only way, because God has a plan. I think this is what God means in chapter 6, verse 1, when He says; Now
shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he
let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. But God is telling Moses something else too. He is saying God keeps His promises. He did free the Jews. He freed them in a mighty demonstration of his power and glory so complete and so convincing that the Egyptians not only released the Jews, they “drove” Israel out of Egypt. They forced them to leave Egypt. And God will keep his promises to you and to all of His people. He will deliver you in whatever sense you need deliverance. Did He give you children, or grandchildren to care for? Do His will and leave the results to Him. He sees the whole picture, you don’t. Did He call you to be a wife, a husband, son, a daughter, an in-law? Do what His word demands of you and trust Him with the results. Don’t be discouraged when it seems from your perspective that things aren’t going well. He sees the whole picture, you don’t. I think this is one of the great lessons of Scripture; that we need to trust God when things aren’t going the way we think they should. We need to trust God in the difficult times as well as the good times. Anyone can be a sunshine Christian. Anyone can have faith when times are good and the blessings of God shine like the morning sun. But life isn’t all pleasant. Life is pleasant sunshine, and blazing heat. Life is gentle rains, and thundering hurricanes. Life is good times, and life is bad times. Our calling is to trust God in all things. That is the test of faith. Or, I should say, that is the proof of faith. So Moses faced a decision here. Would he trust God again, and continue to lead the Jews to freedom? Or would he quit and return to the land of Midian to live the peaceful life of a shepherd? That is the question we all face isn’t it? We face that question every day. We face that question every time we are tempted. Will I trust God, who says this is evil and destructive, or will I yield to temptation, like Eve, thinking sin is better for me than what God offers? We face it every time something goes wrong in life. Will I trust God, who sees the whole picture, or will I let discouragement and anger drive me away from Him? We face it every time we sense the call of God on our lives to leave our comfort zones and do something for Him. Moses decided to trust God. God grant that we may always do the same. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
The Anglican Orthodox Church P.O. Box 128 Statesville, NC 28687 The Most Rev. Jerry Ogles, Bishop Metropolitan The Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Campbell, Vicar, Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
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