Tides and Currents don't Determine Destination

September 6, 1998
8:45 & 11 o'clock services
Wollaston Church of the Nazarene

A PLEA FOR USEFUL
-Philemon 10-

If you fish or sail in salt water you need to know at least
something about tides and currents and channels. When I first went
fishing on my own for flounder - you can ask my sons John and Steve -
I nearly got stranded on shoal. But I'm a fast learner, and soon I
learned a little about reading tide charts and watching weather fronts
and seasons of the moon. It was all new and wonderful for a
mid-westerner like me.

For years I owned a little boat. (I named it Conference.
That way the office people could say that the pastor was in Conference
for the rest of the afternoon.) I found that TIDES AND CURRENTS DO
NOT DETERMINE DESTINATIONS. That is what rudders and engines and sails
are for. While you don't dare ignore the tides and currents, you also
never get anywhere if you let them dictate where you go and how you
fish. When you can, you make them serve you. When you can't go with or
against them, you cut across as best you can with your destination in
mind.

[When one nor'easter threatened my boat at mooring at Squantum
Yacht Club, I took the launch out to the mooring, and slipped the
cable and started around Moon Island for the boat ramp at Boston Gas
ramp in Dorchester. Just as I started from the mooring I saw a man
waving his arms at me back at the Yacht Club dock, and maneuvered back
to pick up John Stark. John has forgotten more about salt water and
boats and fishing than I will ever know, and he wanted to go along for
the fun of the roller coaster ride into the nor'easter. Just as we
were about to go out of sight around Moon island one of the club
members said to Jim Stark, who was watching his dad and me through
binoculars, "Look at those two fools out there!" Jim said, "That is
my pastor and my father!" We respected the elements, but were willing
to take the risk for the safety of the boat and because we really
enjoyed the ride!]

THE TIDES AND CURRENTS OF LIFE CANNOT DETERMINE OUR ULTIMATE
DESTINATIONS. WE CAN GO WHERE GOD INTENDS FOR US TO GO!

IN THE TINY BOOK OF THE BIBLE, PHILEMON, which is actually a personal
letter from the first century, we have the story of how two men were
challenged to take a voyage across the strong currents of their day.
Behind this personal and private letter is the story of Onesimus and
Philemon and the course they felt they had to take across the tides
and currents of their culture.

TO THE CITY OF COLOSSE in western Asia Minor THE GOSPEL OF
JESUS CHRIST CAME ONE DAY in the message of Paul the apostle. A
church was established Among the households affected was that of a
wealthy man named Philemon.

In that day when a man converted so did his whole household,
his wife, children, servants, and relatives. Among the servants
slaves, really- was Onesimus. Whatever his real name had been, he has
been named "Useful."

"Useful" may have been officially baptized, but he watched his
chance and one day he escaped, and took with him a sum of his master's
money. He made his way into Europe, to Rome a thousand miles from
Colosse. In that huge city slaves could melt into the population and
be free forever. But there in Rome Onesimus, Useful, just happened to
meet again the very preacher who had baptized him back in Colosse.

It is impossible for me, or for you or anyone to know what the
tides and currents of culture were really like back then. We don't
know, either, how Onesimus decided he needed to go the thousand miles
back to the east to face Philemon. The Bible does not condone slavery
in any form. But evidently Jesus was making demands on Philemon that
seemed hard if not impossible. Onesimus knew he had to make good what
he had stolen. And so Paul wrote this letter. And Onesimus set off
to deliver it himself.

Think of the cost these men had to pay to face the tides and
currents! The cost to Onesimus is obvious. He risked his freedom and
his life. But the cost to Philemon was great as well. He would be
branded as a slave-coddler. He would be vilified by other wealthy
people in his society. He might even encourage slave-revolt.

Jesus made demands on both these men because he knew they
could make the destination he set for them. The letter doesn't tell
us what happened next. But tradition tells us that not only was
Onesimus received and forgiven, but that he became the pastor in
Colosse. Onesimus was one of the early bishops in Asia Minor.

JESUS HAS A WAY OF CHALLENGING EVERY ONE OF US to cut across the
popular currents and tides of our times. The strong tides today tell
us it is fine to be religious, but that we don't need to get carried
away by our faith. It is not the central thing around which to build
our lives.

The strong currents today say that morality is relative and
comparative. "I may not be perfectly honest in my dealings, but I am
not nearly as bad as my neighbors."

The accepted channels even in evangelical circles tell us that if we
have the proper views on abortion and say the right words about family
values then we are spiritual, and good Christians. Jesus challenges us
to dare to be honest with ourselves and with Him, and with one
another! Our faith must move beyond "experience" into the realm of
relationship. He asks us to dare to follow Him no matter which way the
tides are running and the wind is blowing.

(CONCLUSION)

It only makes common sense if you are fishing or sailing in
salt water to know something about the tides and currents. It only
makes good sense if you are living for Jesus in a secular, pluralistic
world to understand a little bit about the way the winds blow. You
may have to run for cover some times. You may have to wait while a
northeaster blows over. But the winds and tides do not determine your
final destination.

WHEN WE WERE BUILDING THIS SANCTUARY eighteen years ago (thirty years as this is copied into Facebook)we had quite a
discussion over just how the steeple would be. We all agreed this
building should be a testimony in itself to the worship of God and the
fellowship of the church. It is Georgian Colonial in architecture
inside and out and (except for the elevator and wall-to-wall
carpeting) as authentic as some gifted members of our building
committee could make it.

That committee thought a nice weather vane on the steeple
would add a great authentic touch to a New England house of
worship. Protestant churches in colonial times did not have crosses on
their steeples. But in my stubborn way I insisted I did not want a
church that seemed to say to the neighborhood "This is the way the
winds are blowing just now!"

A church is not primarily to tell people which way the wind is
blowing, but which way it is to heaven. So without any visible hard
feelings the steeple went up without a weather vane and without a
cross. I confess I may have hidden some pain! And the steeple really
looked "bare" up there 100 feet in the air!

But then Wesley Angell, a great member of our board who knew
more about building than anyone, noticed that the steeple was not
perfectly straight. Sure enough, it had been damaged in the
installation, and no one had seen it but Wesley. The steeple had to
come down for repairs. And in the meantime the committee got back
together. They inquired how much a cross would cost. And you can see
what happened!

Since that day when a crane carried the cross 104 feet to the
top of the steeple more than 6,500 days and nights have passed. There
have been hurricanes and blizzards and foggy nights and blistering hot
days. The wind has blown from every point of the compass and with
every intensity from dead calm to full hurricane. But the cross
stands there reminding us that there is a Way to heaven, and that if
we will follow Jesus nothing can ultimately defeat us from the
destination He has for us here in this life, and in the one to come.

For those with Patience, LONG

TEN YEARS AGO THIS WAS PUBLISHED
IN THE PREACHER'S MAGAZINE

I STAND BY IT:

Charting the Changing Scenes in Corporate Worship
Article written and published for Preacher's Magazine
by Dr. Russell Metcalfe, Pastor Emeritus,
Wollaston Church of the Nazarene,
Quincy, Massachusetts


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just what goes into the Sunday morning worship service at your church and mine? Why do we do what we do? Why do we have Wednesday night Bible study? Why does there seem to be a conflict between some of the needs, interests, and purposes of various representative groups in our congregation? What should we be seeking to accomplish in worship? Is worship a means to an end, or an end in and of itself?
Some of the tenets we stress, and some of the concerns we ignore, may reflect ecclesiastical and doctrinal battles that were old long before we were born. Some of the things we hold as absolutely sacrosanct may be handed down from scriptural times, or they could be derived from idiosyncrasies or personal convictions of some strong personality of comparatively recent years.

God has not been included in this study as a "component part" of worship, for God is what worship is all about. Worship is centered in God, and is directed to Him--or should be. It is taken to be a "given" in this article that real worship will be our attempt to bring our best, our all, to the loving praise of God's glory; and that real worship is not complete unless and until a dynamic connection takes place, a Presence.

Seven elements of worship, according to James F. White, in a fairly recent book, are people, piety, time, place, prayer, preaching, and music. People are "the primary liturgical document." Piety, Time, and Place are what he terms the circumstances of worship; while prayer, preaching and music are the acts of worship.

In graphic form the elements of worship might look like this:



2. Piety 5. Prayer

3. Time 1. People 6. Preaching

4. Place 7. Music [1]


1. "People," to quote James White, are "the primary liturgical document."[2]

Worship which does not connect culturally is like instruction in a foreign language. In any normal church setting there is a wide range of levels of moral and intellectual development represented. Age groups see similar issues from different slants. Birthright Catholics see things differently from past Pentecostals or former Baptists. When there are a variety of cultures represented, a special challenge obtains.

Added to this are the changing attitudes of society at large, attitudes that are often all-too-quickly reflected in the church setting. Deliberate choices must be made by worship leaders about when to seek to be like other voices in current society (culturally correct?) and thus "connect" with people in tune with entertainment, pop psychology, and success-oriented thinking, and when to confront popular thinking, me-ism and television influence with demands for clear separation of lifestyle. Currently we see some odd combinations of living in the name of Christ-likeness.

Much is currently written about the influences of the baby-boomer and baby-buster generations in American society. Depending on how recent trends are interpreted, the flower children and peace-niks of the late sixties and seventies gave way to narcissism and introversion of the eighties, with continued emphasis on physical appearance and youth.

Some of the changing dynamics reported in various denominations have included lack of loyalty to any tradition; supermarket mentality in consumerism; lack of interest in Sunday School or midweek services, and more recently in the necessity for two services on Sunday; relaxed dress codes reflecting sometimes relaxed behavior codes; swing away from classical modes in music, literature, worship styles; instant gratification; preaching that affirms instead of confronts sin or wrongdoing; increasing conflict between a movement's drive and a denomination's stability. [3]

2. Piety refers to the climate in which we relate to God and to each other.

Probably it has most to do with the deeply held concepts of God that we have formed.

People who think of God first as a "God of vengeance," always looking for faults and sins, will worship differently from people who conceive of God as "keeping score, but willing to forgive," which is different from others who see God as predominately interested in sharing His life and joy.

Worship can cover a spectrum from totally evangelistic, with the assumption that everyone present needs to be severely chastised for falling short of God's glory, to almost totally praise and positive thinking, assuming that the assembled church is already "family."

For the purpose of categorizing only, think of three viable evangelistic modes or "sets" of worship as:

evangelistic;
penitential (with confession/absolution as central focus); and
resurrection, or rejoicing and celebration.
It is my contention that an ideal evangelical church will have a blending of all three, without getting stuck in any one category.
3. Time refers to the various chronological cycles in which a church worships.

These can be thought of as daily, weekly, yearly, and lifetime. Also under the general heading of time in worship, we consider punctuality or lack of it (often a cultural key,) and the usual length of services, and that length in relationship to the overall time-usage of the worshipers. Highly scheduled people will respond differently from more casual approaches to time management.

In a lifetime cycle certain churches expect their members to do certain things at certain times of their lives in certain ways. Sacraments and sacramental-type events, baptism, joining the church, weddings, passages, and even funerals are observed in widely differing ways, even in the same denomination, in different areas of the country, and in different cultural pockets.

Each church has a yearly cycle, whether or not such has been officially recognized by pastor or people. The American versions of the free church often substituted their own local or national observances for the ancient church calendar abandoned in Europe by immediate forebears. Ethnic-based evangelicals brought old-country celebrations or prohibition of celebrations with them to this country when they came. Evangelicals of many denominations in recent years have discovered the richness of the yearly cycles observed by Christians across the centuries, of days of Advent, Lent, Pentecost, Trinity, and many others.

Also under yearly cycles come such events as revival meetings; district events such as assemblies; as well as unspoken or tacit "attitudes" at various times of the year, such as "easing off" in the summer time from choir and from strictness of form in worship to accommodate vacation habits of large proportion of our people; the gathering of intensity as school starts in the fall; the unspoken and often unrecognized weariness and temptation to negativism in the spring when fatigue sets in for many who have been "flat out" for eight months or more.

Weekly cycles, too, should be examined. How often do we observe the Lord's Supper? Why? Why do we worship at 11 a.m. on Sunday? (Why NOT?) Why do we hark back to a mid-week prayer service for as long as we can remember? What does a church encourage its members to do regularly in order to maintain vigorous spiritual health?

Daily schedules might refer to what is expected of each participant in a congregation; what sort of prayer/devotional schedule/time management is practiced as the norm (or professed.)

4. Place of worship is the third "circumstance" of worship and is probably more important than usually thought.

There is a saying among those who make worship a study: "The building will always win." That statement is probably very nearly true. Many churches have been started in very unlikely places, and "wherever Jesus is, 'tis heaven there.'" But function is often shaped by form. Certain types of worship are almost dictated by certain arrangements of seating, furniture, and participants, as well as respect demanded by or given to the place of worship itself. Building materials of themselves are not sacred, but even as we love and cherish our houses until they reflect our personalities and become our homes, so the House of the Lord becomes more than the sum of its constituent parts.


The "acts" of worship:
5. Prayer is a universal in worship.
It is unthinkable that there should be worship without prayer. How do the people speak to God? Literally, how do they call Him?--"Thou" or "You"?

[Is there something somehow "holy" about addressing God in Elizabethan language? Do we realize that even then the "Thou" was the more intimate and familiar address that one would use with close friends? But when one has grown up hearing only this form of address to God, it becomes a "language of prayer" and connotes respect; so often the "Thee" or the "you" simply denotes the generation of the pray-er.]

What form does the main prayer of the worship service(s) take? How about he use of printed prayers? Is it a "no-no"? How often is the Lord's Prayer used? Is that important? How are people taught to pray? What emphases on prayer are regularly reviewed?

6. Preaching is another basic "act" in the drama of worship.

It is central in most evangelical services of worship. Exegetical, doctrinal, evangelistic, narrative, topical are all styles or types of sermonizing, plus there are always "fads" of various kinds (participatory, team preaching, drama) that come and go. Personally, I have an almost mystic faith that preaching "connects" when God is Present' that the written Word becomes the Living Word for those who listen with the anointing of God as the preacher preaches with the same chrism.

Others have less lofty ideas of preaching, although it remains central in most Protestant worship orders. James White speaks of one task of preaching as "stressing the corporate memories." [4]

Preaching probably at once shapes and reflects, defines and describes, spurs and soothes, enlightens and condemns, influences and is influenced by the entire church and all of worship. It is not beyond the discussion of the governing board, but is so arranged in my mind that I need a separate agenda for talking about it.

7. Music is the last "act" of worship that we discuss here.

Like preaching, music has "life of its own" in the church and we can approach it from many different directions.

The songs and hymns a congregation often sings say a great deal about the communal mind-set. Spiritual songs and hymns reflect all the tenses and moods of all of life. But in worship we tend to begin and end where our emphases are.

First-person songs tell about "I" and "We." They reflect experience, and they are important and useful. They can also begin and end with "me." God is important because of what He has DONE FOR ME! Of course He is to be praised for what He does for us! To paraphrase another author, we sometimes get the idea that "Jesus, Lover of MY Soul" would be turned around to "MY SOUL, Lover of Jesus!" We easily become self-centered, even in our so-called spirituality. We attract attention to ourselves in insisting that WE will do it such and such a way, etc.

But, too, it is hard to improve on "The Lord is MY Shepherd!"

Third-person songs tend to be statements of fact. They can be exalted statements that lift and bless. But in them we stand back and make observation. "Isn't HE wonderful?" (Of course, He is!) "To God Be the Glory!" lifts us as we sing--and all can freely enter in the praise. Many great doctrinal hymns of the Wesleys and others are in this mood.

But second-person songs and hymns address God in the "I-Thou" mode; they are actually prayers put to music. Whether they are older, accepted hymns ("O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder") or choruses ("Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy O Lord!) they address God directly, and put the assembled congregation into dialogue with God in prayer even when it is not called prayer time. This second-person music must have a central part in any significant plan of worship.

Music is highly significant in the shaping of thought; it reflects our state of piety and belief. Nowhere in the church have the emerging technological advances made more impact; we not only have instant accompaniment by professional sound track musicians in the smallest churches, we have television-trained soloists to clone the stars that make the hits. In some cases, they are cloning the clones of secular singers. These technical facts are not in and of themselves bad or good. What we can lose sight of is the fact that genuinely good music is:

highly subjectively judged; and
not necessarily correlative to genuinely popular church music; and that
there are no spiritual short-cuts to becoming a means or channel of God's blessing, even though it is relatively easy to prepare a performance.
To sing the words and sound the tones may evoke excitement and even applause. To convey the message God intends for the particular occasion still requires preparation for which there is no instant fabrication.


Addenda:
The public worship experience itself is dynamic. In my lifetime I have seen a shift from passive participation, if that is not an oxymoron, where just showing up for church was considered worship, to a demand for more active participation in worship, with an emphasis on saying and doing and responding to the Word.
Where we go from here is hard to predict. I have my own strong preferences, but my tastes are far from universal. Hopefully those who chart a course of worship in their local churches will remember they must speak in a language their people can understand, but also that they do not necessarily need to always say, indeed they dare not always say what their people want to hear. As Wesley urged his preachers to preach Christ in all his offices--prophet, priest, and king--so we who seek to determine the direction of corporate worship must use all the elements of worship in sacramental intentionality solely for the glory of God.




1. White, James F. The Study of Protestant Worship,
(Westminster Press, 1989).


2. Ibid., p. 44.


3. See "The Christian Century," July 10-17, 1991, article by
Paul B. Tinlin and Edith L. Blumhoffer on the 'Dilemmas of
the Assemblies of God.'"


4. White, p. 112.

Permission to reprint or publish this material is GRANTED as long as the reprinting or republishing is not-for-profit. You can access more of Dr. Metcalfe's sermons at his scripturally indexed sermon archives web site. Dr. Russell Metcalfe is Pastor Emeritus of the Wollaston Church of of the Nazarene. You can reach Dr. Metcalfe at eflactem@aol.com.

Sixty Years Ago- today!

SIXTY YEARS AGO TODAY, exactly, was a Saturday- the day I left home.. Lawrence and Louie Durkee, and Joanne, their daughter, we kind enough to take Lennie and Roy Laudermilk and me along with them to take us from Akron to Boston, to Eastern Nazarene College. Six adults in a nice new but quite compact Plymouth sedan.
The trip took two days. To say I was apprehensive is understatement. I was close to insanity with homesickness. We drove all day and stopped for the night near Syracuse. Mr. Durkee paid for tiny tourist cabins, and Roy and I shared a room just big enough for a bed.
That night I took out my little Bible and opened it "by chance" to Isaiah. I came to Chapter 41, and read the tenth verse (Isaiah 41:10) "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I amthy God. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
Right then I knew God knew where I was even when I did not. I 'got the message' that God was with me and would be with me. That verse that night was a life-line to me. It still is, these sicty (60!) years later- the Presence! The Presence!
I probably have come a long way in beginning to understand "grace"- the unmerited love of God for a sinner. But I know I don't know anything, really-- I have only begun! I cannot explain, or analyse, or prescribe to you or for you. But I can and do tell you that I have come to believe two things: God is GOOD! and God loves ME! (which is to say "God loves YOU!) I am not His favorite-- or maybe, yes, I am! We all are!

THE CALL TO STAND ON HOLY GROUND

THE CALL TO STAND ON HOLY GROUND
Exodus 3:1-10
Most of the people you meet each day, good bad or indifferent,
live by their wits in this dog-eat-dog world and never think about God
at all. If they ever do consciously think of God they probably think
in terms of restrictions and oughts and shoulds.
But at the same time most of the people we meet each day at some time or other have stopped and asked themselves the question, "Is this what life is all about?"
For when we live by our wits or not, life is full of hard places.

If we were to be brutally honest, it isn't just the most of the
people we meet that are frustrated with life at times-- and who do not
think of God most of the time. People LIKE YOU AND ME who should know
better, or who may have been taught better, or even people who in
earlier times at a youth camp somewhere or a revival meeting or a VBS
made a commitment to God find that they can live a whole day a whole
week a whole month without ever looking to God, and then one day ask
that same question, "Is this what life is all about? Isn't there more
than this?"

THIS IS WHERE THE EXODUS STORY COMES IN....

In the most modern, progressive, intelligent civilization the
world had known to that time-- a nation that had already produced
man-made wonders like the great pyramids of Giza that were evidence of
knowledge of celestial orbits-- in that nation were several hundred
thousand men, women and children who were descendants of the Hebrew
Patriarchs. Four hundred years earlier Jacob had taken his tribe in a
time of famine into Egypt, following his son Joseph who was viceroy of
the entire land. They had been honored guests of the Pharaoh. At that
time there were a total of 72 Hebrews.

But in the intervening 400 years governments had changed, and
generations had passed and now the Egyptians had brutally dominated
the Hebrews. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were
reduced to living by their wits in the absence of God-- or so they
thought. But from time to time they raised their heads and hearts and
voices and said, "O God! Is this all there is to life?"
And so far as they knew -- nothing! Nothing happened! Day followed day, and
nothing happened.

WHAT A GREAT STORY THIS IS!!

Just as these people were praying almost in despair-- several
hundred miles to the southeast there was a solitary shepherd on the
backside of the desert near a mountain called Horeb. He looked like
any other shepherd, perhaps. He was a shepherd with a very
interesting life story. He had been a prince. He tried being a hero.
He became a fugitive.

I have no idea what was going through this
man's mind as he stood, a tiny isolated little speck of humanity in a
vast dry wasteland south of the Negev. But Moses was about to have an
encounter with God.

GOD MEETS ONE LONE MAN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BARREN DESERT--

The man, Moses, saw a fire. It was a fire that burned and burned
and burned. Moses turned aside to see it. (Significant!) The
scripture says (4) "When the LORD saw that (Moses) turned aside..."
then Moses was confronted with Almighty God. Moses was drawn, but he
was also almost in terror. It was electrifying.

After more than 3,000 years this story has tremendous
significance. For it tells in language deeper than words can express,
to those who will listen, something about what happens when we come
into living contact with God.

THE WONDER OF GOD REACHING TO A HUMAN BEING
[All Moses could do was "draw near"...not generate the experience;
also extreme reverence of Jews for this name "YWHW" and LORD in our
OT...]
Rudolph Otto, a respected German scholar, used three Latin
adjectives to describe encounters with God in the Bible in general,
and this Burning Bush story in particular. Those three words are
tremendum, and mysterium, and fascinans.
Tremendum: Otto used the word tremendum to express three aspects
of a divine-human encounter. First, he said was (1) A sense of
awe. It is, in his words, "a quite specific kind of emotional
response, wholly distinct from that of being afraid, though it so
far resembles it that the analogy of fear may be used to throw
light upon its nature." The Scripture says "Moses hid his face
for he was afraid to look at God." Later, when God had brought
all the people to this place again they, too, were afraid and
trembled and stood at a distance.
But there is more. Tremendum means also (2) an overpowering, a
majesty-- a majestic distance-- realizing the infinite difference
between the ineffable God and our mortal humanity. The prophet
Habakkuk said: "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver at
the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble
beneath me." Daniel said, "My strength left me, and my
complexion grew pale, and I retained no strength." Both these
men stated later that they felt greatly beloved and yet they were
shaken physically and mentally and spiritually.
Finally tremendum has elements of what can only be described as
(3) sheer "energy." The "energy" is sometimes represented in
fantastic ways-- Ezekiel's wheels within wheels-- the four living
creatures of Revelation-- even the picture of the living Savior
in Revelation chapter one-- (words like Psalm 29: 5 - 9)
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire,
The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voices of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, "Glory!")
"Awe" like Abram in Genesis 15 when "a horror" came over him as
God passed between the pieces of the sacrifice "Overpowering" like
Habakkuk who says, "I hear, and I tremble within; my lips quiver
at the sound. Rottenness enters my bones, and my steps tremble
beneath me." Energy beyond any human-generated excitement!
[THAT IS A LONG WAY FROM BODY SURFING AT A JESUS ROCK CONCERT]
But AWE is not all when God asks us to turn aside: [Another word:]
Mysterium: Encounters with God can never be really described.
And they cannot be duplicated or summoned up at will. Ezekiel is
never ever willing to say he saw God or even God's glory-- but he
IS willing to say he saw something LIKE the glory of God:
And above the dome over their heads there was something LIKE a
throne, in appearance LIKE a sapphire, and seated above the
likeness of the throne was something that SEEMED like a human
form..." and so on.
When the Bible tells about people coming into contact with God it
never confuses this great I AM THAT I AM with the physical
setting nor does it give any glory to the humans involved. God
is not in the whirlwinds or the fire or in the burning bush or
even in the mountain or the tablets of stone. Moses does not
fast and pray until God has to do as Moses says. There is always
mystery involved when the great God reaches out to communicate
with people.
One might say God has a big problem. How does he get near to us
without on the one hand consuming us with his energy, and on the
other hand convince us that He really is interested in us if we
will listen and respond in humility and faith. There will always
be mystery.
[Finally-- and wonderfully-- there is another aspect:]
Fascinans: The final adjective Rudolph Otto uses to describe
encounters with God is fascinans, or the root word for
"fascination." There is a tremendous attraction within the human
heart for the holiness of God. For God is white hot passionate
caring LOVE. To think that someone just simply downright LOVES
you is just about the most fascinating thing in the world.
"Love" of some kind or other is the dynamic that drives most of
the dramas and novels of the world-- the concept of loving and
being loved. But no love can compare with the purity and
intensity of the LOVE that emanates from an encounter with God.
Awe. Mystery. Great fascination! Moses is awed. He covers his
face. He certainly does not understand. But what is this-- this I AM
THAT I AM finally saying to Moses?
THIS GREAT GOD CARES ABOUT PEOPLE
He is saying, to Moses,
"I have been listening to a bunch of people who are living by
their wits, and who haven't really ever thought much of Me,
except that I am "absent" from their lives. I have been hearing
them ask 'Is this all there is to life?' And I have even heard
some of them cry poor, broken prayers like, "O God, if there IS a
God-- like I have heard about in fairy tales and myths and
stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-- why don't you show up
here and help me? ' Well, Moses, I AM is going to show up! And
GUESS WHO is going to introduce ME and begin the process of
answering their prayers??"
God went on to say that the proof that He was really God would be that
right here-- right at the base of this mountain-- one day you will be
standing with those very people who are praying to Me right now-- and
together you will worship. And then, and then only, the fire
disappeared. It did not "go out." It simply was gone, and there
stood Moses all alone in the vast expanse of desert.
THERE IS A CONNECTION, OF COURSE, BETWEEN THE PEOPLE IN EGYPT ASKING
"IS THIS ALL THERE IS TO LIFE?" AND THE BURNING BUSH EXPERIENCE OF
MOSES-- DO YOU THINK THERE MIGHT BE A CONNECTION OF GENUINE WORSHIP
AND GOD'S LOVE FOR PEOPLE "OUT THERE"??
A lot of things happened in the next few months to Moses and to
Egypt and the people who were slaves but were to become the people of
God. Great miracles took place, and God nearly destroyed Egypt
getting the people out and away from their old masters. But the
bottom line is this: one man met God-- Almighty God-- and obeyed Him.
When this one man invited the slaves in Egypt to follow God they
believed him, they responded to the promises of this God. And one day
the living descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob stood at the
Mountain of God, and they saw the fire and they experienced tremendum,
and they experienced mysterium, and yet at the same time they knew
fascinans.
When WE think of the Exodus we think of the details of the
journey-- the parting of the sea, the manna, the water from the rock--
and that is only natural.
But really Exodus is about a God of fire and holiness and mystery
who calls people to look up and believe and to walk with Him and trust
Him and find they have never been so free and so happy. Exodus is
about being drawn out of life that goes around in circles into a life
that ascends in spirals that never, ever, ever end. Exodus is about
an invitation to fellowship with the eternal God, the I AM THAT I AM.
THE WONDER OF EXODUS IS THAT GOD WANTS TO COME NEAR
HIS PEOPLE AND NEVER, NEVER LEAVE THEM AGAIN!
So-- who are we? and where is God? Are we saying "Is THIS all?"
Can we ever see God inviting us to come nearer to Him? Will we take
time to "turn aside"??
THE MESSAGE OF EXODUS IS THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN EXPERIENCE THE
TREMENDUM AND THE MYSTERIUM AND CERTAINLY THE FASCINANS OF COMING INTO
GOD'S PRESENCE-- AND THAT ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN WALK WITH GOD AND NEVER
NEED TO LEAVE HIS FELLOWSHIP EVER AGAIN.

(Preached at Wollaston, September 1, 1996)