My Way or the Highway
“When the people saw that a long time had elapsed and Moses had not come down from the mountain, many of them gathered around Aaron, and said, ‘Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us, who will lead us. We need this to be done because we do not know what has happened, what has become of this Moses, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt.’” — Exodus 32:1b
What I am about to relate is a scene from a move. The name of that flick does not matter particularly since the scene is a pretty standard one that gets played out over and over and over in different films. I, therefore, suspect most of you will recognize this as a theme rather than a scene.
Here’s the set up: two characters face a dangerous situation. The dialogue runs like this. (The pastor changes voice registers on alternating lines to indicate the two characters.)
(1) You’re scared, right?
(2) Maybe. Well, yeah.
(1) You see, the way this works is, you do the thing you’re scared of. And it’s only after its done that you get the courage to do it. The courage happens after you do it, not before. You got that?
(2) I guess so. But that’s stupid. It should be the other way around. You need to have courage or to get courage from someplace before you do something, don’t you think?
(1) You got that right. But that’s not the way it works in the real world. It works the other way around. I’ve never known it to work any other way. First ya gotta do it. [1] (Slight pause.)
My guess is most of us do not particularly like change. To be blunt, we are afraid of change. And to face change takes courage and since courage is available only in a rear view mirror we try to hang on to what’s familiar.
Frankly, I think it is good to remember the courage to face change and to deal with change is not usually something one acquires beforehand. Courage happens after the fact. (Slight pause.)
Now not this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but the following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I shall be on the Clergy Retreat of the New York Conference. Well, this may sound a bit boring but it is a description of what the retreat is about.
(Quote:) “During the retreat, participants will receive feedback on their own psychological type and their levels of stress compared to others. Psychological type theory will be reviewed and recent research on type and stress with various clergy groups... will be presented. Then participants will apply type theory to church-related stressful situations...” (Slight pause.)
To help participants prepare, we had to fill out a survey about stress in our lives. What filling out a survey about stress made me realize is any aspect of stress, any stress filled situation, can only be measured in comparison to other stress-filled situations.
So, let me draw a comparison for you. Which is more stressful: spending 14 months in a war zone, as I did, or being a pastor? Which is more stressful: while in said war zone being blown out of bed by incoming a couple of times, which happened to me, or being a pastor?
I’m sure you catch the drift. Stress can only be measure in terms of comparisons. Now, I am not saying the work of a pastor fails to be stressful. It is. Indeed, a number of people have said to me, “Oooo— I’m glad I don’t have your job.”
Well, that brings me to a merger of topics: stress and church and change. Most of us realize the church is changing. (Slight pause.)
No, let me correct that. The church is changing... again. (Slight pause.) No, let me correct that. The church is not just changing and the church is not just changing again. The church is about change. And change... is... stressful— change... is... stressful. (Slight pause.)
We find these words in Tanakh in the section known as the Torah in the work known as Exodus: “When the people saw that a long time had elapsed and Moses had not come down from the mountain, many of them gathered around Aaron, and said, ‘Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us, who will lead us. We need this done because we do not know what has happened, what has become of this Moses, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt.’” (Slight pause.)
With some interpretation, let me give you a shorthand version as to where in the story of Exodus this passage happens. The Israelites have crossed the Sea of Reeds. They are now wandering around in the wilderness near Mount Sinai.
Moses has already brought the tablets to the people and gone back to the mountain. The people have been and are nervous. They did not really want to follow Moses: too much stress and change. They did not really want to leave Egypt: too much change and stress.
“Hey! Aaron,” they say. “This Moses guy ain’t coming back. They had images for gods back in Egypt. Lots of peoples have images for gods. Despite what the tablets say, how’s about we make an image right here, right now. We’re used to it. It’s comfortable. It will make it seem like nothing’s changed. What da ya’ say?”
Aaron does not hesitate. “You got it. And we’ll even say this image is really the God Moses talks to, this Yahweh. That way it’ll look good. Besides, we need some focus. What kind of god would it be, if we had no image?” (Slight pause.)
All right— so that’s an interpretation. But I think the passage really does tell that story, even if it’s not told in quite that way.
Besides, telling it this way is one of the few ways this story makes sense. You see, this is an important moment in the drama commonly labeled as the salvation of Israel and the salvation of humanity. God compassionately embraced and delivered the Israelites. And what happened? The people restlessly turn away from Yahweh to gods of gold.
Therefore, I think the real key to this passage comes at the end of the story. (Quote:) “And so Yahweh, God, relented, had change of mind. And the disaster that threatened the Israelites was forestalled.”
Indeed, when this passage was introduced this was said (quote:) “There is one piece of today’s reading found in the Torah that has the potential to shock modern readers. It’s the idea that God might have a change of mind.”
If there’s anything we moderns don’t get, it’s not that God might only have a change of mind. God, you see, is a God of change. God is a God of transformation. It is we who resist change. It is we who resist transformation. It is we who have the audacity to say to God “we don’t want change.” (Slight pause.)
The Thought for Meditation in the bulletin today is from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Quote:) “We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” (Slight pause.)
I think there is a difference, a really big difference, between the urgency of now to which God calls us and allowing for our false pretenses of personal willfulness, that which we might want to impose on and over the will of God. I think we sometimes allow our will rather than the will of God to be the rule of life. And way too often our will does not encompass change.
The Israelites try to block out the will of God. And sometimes we try to block out the will of God. It’s as if we say to God in a very egocentric manner, “my way or the highway.” Why? Why— we want to resist the places of change to which God encourages us.
And here’s a paradox. If we insist the church is not about change, if we say the church is not about transforming lives, that’s when church becomes really, really stressful.
Why? Deep down we all know the church needs to be about transformation. Deep down we know the church needs to be about making disciples. Deep down we know the church needs to be about change. And since we know that’s what we should be doing, when that change, that transformation, that molding of disciples does not happen, we feel stressed.
And what do we do when we’re stressed? We do exactly the opposite of what we should do. We resist change. (Slight pause.)
As that opening dialogue suggested, we need courage to change. But the only way to acquire that courage is to face change. The only way to acquire that courage is to do change. The only way to acquire that courage is to be change.
Can we? Will we? Well, this is interesting. Scripture tells us (quote:)“Yahweh, God, relented, had change of mind.” God is a God of change. Amen.
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York
10/12/2014
ENDPIECE— It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “This is an old one but I like it. ‘When the caterpillar became transformed and grew wings, the other caterpillars wanted their friend to change back into what always had been, into what was there before. “What,” they wanted to know, “had happened?” In a world filled with caterpillars transformation was not appreciated.’”
BENEDICTION: God can open our minds to what is true. God can fill our lives when we participate in the work of God’s realm, participate in seeking justice and peace and love. When we seek what is pleasing to God we are doing God’s will. And may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ, Jesus and the unity of the Holy Spirit, this day and forever more. Amen.
[1] Adapted dialogue from the movie Three Kings (1999).
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