October 15: Pentecost 20: Chosen

 This week we resume our walk through the Psalms from the lectionary for each Sunday. Today we consider how we are Chosen, just like the Children of Israel and all creation throughout history. We have been Chosen by God, and all too often we fall flat on our face in how we live that chosen-ness.

Does anyone else remember the stress of PE class and waiting and hoping to be Chosen for a team. If you are like me, more geeky than physically fit, it was a stressful time. I knew I'd be the last chosen. God's choosing of us isn't like that. It's not a test of who is most favored or fittest. God choses each and every one of us equally, no matter what our qualifications. In fact, when reading the Bible, it seems God chooses the least likely to do God's will. It's reassuring to know we are chosen. However, it can be far to easy to decide that someone, or some group, could not possibly also be Chosen. Think about what group or person(s) you would say God cannot have Chosen to Love... 

God Choses Each and Every One!

It starts in the Garden, and continues throughout Genesis as our very human faith ancestors stumble along. Sometimes they get it right, and more often they make a mess of their lives and families. Sounds a lot like the current world, doesn’t it? The Hebrew Scripture reading this week is Exodus 32:1-14. It is all about how the people, who have barely left Egyptian slavery, decide they were better off there serving the Egyptians and their gods. They demand that Aaron, Moses’ brother, make gods for us, who shall go before us. Aaron makes a golden calf from their jewelry. Moses meanwhile, is on the mountain with God, who angrily says, I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are and wants to destroy them. Moses intercedes and the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.

The Epistle (Philippians 4:1-9) offers a glimpse of conflict in the early church. Paul has to say I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel. Even though they were chosen as leaders, there was apparently friction. Paul then goes on to tell the community to Rejoice and do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Jesus parable of the Wedding Banquet is all about ungrateful guests. The king rejects these guests saying, those invited were not worthy. The king then invites everyone else to the feast. The initial guests were carefully chosen, but refused the invitation. I found this image on a Bing search so I cannot give it an attribution. However, I love the way it shows all of creation at the Wedding Banquet. 

The Psalm reiterates God’s mercy on the Chosen, even when they defy or fall short. It is good news for all of us. In verse 6, the Psalmist notes, we have sinned as our forebears did; we have done wrong and dealt wickedly. However, the first line of the Psalm gives us all hope. Despite all our failings, we can give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. The last verses of the Psalm (not included in the reading today, offer even more hope. The Psalmist prays, regather us from the nations so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say, “Amen!” Hallelujah!

Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23 1 Hallelujah! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever. 2 Who can declare the mighty acts of the Lord or show forth all his praise? 3 Happy are those who act with justice and always do what is right! 4 Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you have for your people, and visit me with your saving help; 5 That I may see the prosperity of your elect and be glad with the gladness of your people, that I may glory with your inheritance. 6 We have sinned as our forebears did; we have done wrong and dealt wickedly. 19 Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb and worshiped a molten image; 20 And so they exchanged their Glory for the image of an ox that feeds on grass. 21 They forgot God their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, 22 Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham, and fearful things at the Red Sea. 23 So he would have destroyed them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath from consuming them. (Book of Common Prayer)

Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord! How good you are! Your love for us continues on forever. Who can ever list the glorious miracles of God? Who can ever praise him half enough? Happiness comes to those who are fair to others and are always just and good. Remember me too, O Lord, while you are blessing and saving your people. Let me share in your chosen ones’ prosperity and rejoice in all their joys, and receive the glory you give to them. Both we and our fathers have sinned so much. For they preferred a statue of an ox that eats grass to the glorious presence of God himself. Thus they despised their Savior who had done such mighty miracles in Egypt and at the Red Sea. So the Lord declared he would destroy them. But Moses, his chosen one, stepped into the breach between the people and their God and begged him to turn from his wrath and not destroy them. (Living Bible)

 It is good news that you are Chosen. What does that mean to you?

Burning Bush Moment: New Heart

Elizabeth Barrett Browning says, “Earth is crammed with heaven,/And every bush is aflame with God/But only those who see, take off their shoes/The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.” I’ve always thought that is a beautiful quote. I think that as Browning says, we encounter burning bushes a whole lot more than we know. Sometimes, of course, the sun creates real burning bushes or blazing skies (like the one below from my backyard) to remind us of that truth. At other times, the burning bush may not be as obvious. It could be something we read or see. Perhaps it is found in nature or in listening to someone’s heart cry. Burning bushes can be found as we search for answers and when we find them, and lots of other places.

When we think of burning bushes, we think of Moses, yet each of us probably comes across a burning bush, or two, every day. In Exodus 3 we hear the familiar story. “Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 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.” (Exodus 3:1-5, NIV)

Moses saw something unusual and he ‘turned aside’ as the King James Version says. It can be easy to be too busy to take the time to stop, or we may not even notice the ‘bush is aflame with God’ so we simply ‘sit around it and pluck blackberries’. When we do pause, we encounter the One who creates all things, who tells us that we are on holy ground and invites us to be part of the work of transforming the world.

The collect from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer for Ash Wednesday says, “Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

Lent gives us a chance to allow God to work on creating new hearts that are aware of the burning bushes we pass and willing to transform the world. St. Paul tells the Corinthians, “now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:7) God is working all the time. Each day is a day of salvation, a day of new beginnings. Every day is a chance to encounter a burning bush and take the time to ‘see this strange sight’.

This Lent I invite you to meet some New Testament women and men who encountered a burning bush in the form of the Living Lord and were changed. Simon’s Mother-in-Law, Nicodemus, Martha of Bethany, and the Samaritan woman each recognized the Flame of God and were changed. They had a ‘burning bush moment’ and emerged with a new heart.

Have you ever been changed, even briefly, when you met God in a burning bush moment? 

Thin Places-Holy Groung

Thin places are times and locations where God comes very close to humanity. Since the beginning of October, we’ve seen that this can be in dreams, in acts of nature, even in seasons of the year. In Celtic Christianity, all of life was a part of the holiness of God and God was within and without and around all parts of life. Many prayers gathered from the few writings of ancient Gaelic and Irish sources focus on asking God to be present in the minutia of the day. From getting up and dressing, to milking the cow and kindling the fire, to going to bed and traveling-God is invoked into each of these actions.

Moses could have related to seeing God into all parts of life. During his early life in Egypt he learned to worship gods for every part of life. Various gods were credited with causing the annual Nile floods, providing fertility to land and creature, giving light and dark, etc. Coming to Midian and learning about the Yahweh might have been a challenge to him as he learned that there is only One God over all things. Then he had his own encounter with that One God.

We know the story. “Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.” (Exodus 3:1) The scene that follows has been immortalized in song and cinema and art throughout the ages.

The shepherd Moses is confronted by the Living God in a “bush that was burning, yet it was not consumed.” Moses decides to “turn aside and see this great sight.” (Exodus 3:2-3) It is then that he meets God in this ‘thin place’. God tells him to “put off your shoes…for the place on which you are standing is holy ground…I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Exodus 3:5)

Moses was willing to take a moment to check out “this great sight” and because he did, God was able to meet him and commission him to free the Children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt. Of course Moses hesitates and argues with God saying, “who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Don’t we all have that tendency when we sense God is calling us to step outside our comfort zone?)

When Moses left the path to see the bush, he was already on the road to saying ‘yes’ to God, even if he didn’t know it. He was aware of God’s presence around him and responded to the flaming bush-partly with curiosity and partly in faith.

How often do we take time to notice whether the bush in our path is burning or not? I have to admit that too often I rush on by, focused on getting to ‘my’ destination. Stopping to ‘smell the roses’ gets put on the back burner as I scamper on my busy way. Lao-Tzu is quoted as saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Our faith journeys also start with a single step toward God. When we pause long enough to notice that there is a bush or ministry or event alive with the holiness of God, we are already allowing God to break into our life and, very likely, transform it.

Next time we’ll consider times when God has to ‘get our attention’.

A Conversation with Moses & Leah

What does being ‘in control’ mean to you? Is it having everything planned out? Is it ‘be prepared’, as the Scouting motto encourages? Is it juggling all the parts of your life and making it look effortless? Is it pretending everything is OK, when you are collapsing inside and your world is falling apart? Is it forging forward despite not really knowing where you are going or what’s happening?

Imagine an interview with two Bible people who were good at looking like they were ‘in control’, even when life wasn't going as planned. 

Moses and Leah meet somewhere in the world of imagination:

Leah:    Moses, tell me what does ‘in control’ mean to you?

Moses: I’d have to say it changed over the years. I was raised a prince in Egypt, you know, and power is a great way to stay in control of your life...or at least you can act like you are in control

Leah:    I wouldn’t know anything about power. I did have to be in control of things in our house, though. Everyone expected me to be the one to take care of everything. My sister, Rachel, was the one who had all the fun, while I kept the household running smoothly.

Moses: I suppose my sister Miriam felt the same way. She was older and I never even knew I had a sister until years and years later. While I was living in the palace, she was living the life of a slave in Goshen. 

L:         I often felt like a slave to my family. Perhaps that’s why I made sure that everything was perfect. If I could look around and see the meals made, the loom strung with a new blanket, the water jars full, clothes clean, and all the details taken care of, I knew I was doing my job.

M:        Well, I have to admit that I never gave much thought to how things got done, until my life changed.

L:         What changed?

M:        I learned that I wasn’t the son of Pharoah’s sister. Instead, I was a foundling child, a Hebrew man child who should have been left to die at birth. It changed my entire outlook on life and in trying to defend a fellow Hebrew, I killed an Egyptian.

L:         (Gasps) Oh my! What happened?

M:        I fled for my life. (Pauses) In an odd way, it was the best thing that ever happened to me…

L:         Maybe I can relate. The thing in my life that I thought was the most horrible was when my Father tricked my cousin into marrying me instead of Rachel. She was my sister and Jacob really loved her. However, marrying Jacob turned out to be a blessing. I became a mother and discovered love. I still felt like I had to keep everything running smoothly though, even when it seemed that nothing was going my way.

M:        I married a wife in Midian, while in exile. Zipporah was the daughter of Jethro, a nomad and priest of the One God who took me in and cared for me when I had nowhere else to go. I probably would have died in the desert if I hadn’t stumbled across that well where his daughters brought their flocks. Jethro and Zipporah taught me about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But, I have to say that my life felt very different and out of control because I was no longer a prince and could no longer command people to do my will.

L:         As a mother I had new responsibilities and I did them well. No one knew that inside I felt like I had no control over my life. After all, I was married to Jacob so my father could gain 7 years more free labor from him, so he could marry Rachel anyway. Jacob made no secret of the fact that he did love Rachel and only came to my bed when he had to. However, I proved to myself that I was better. I could bear children and my sister could not.

M:        I raged at God even though I had a comfortable life and a family in Midian. They cared for me more than all the people in the palace ever did. ‘Why did you let me live as a prince and then take it all away?’ I asked. ‘What did I do wrong that you punished me?’ I thought that if I carefully put my life back together then God would bless me.

L:         My children were my joy, but, like you, I raged at God. ‘Why do you hate me and allow my sister to be more loved even when I am the mother of Jacob’s sons?’ ‘When will you let me be loved?’ God never seemed to hear me and when Rachel did finally have a son, Jacob set him over my boys. It was too much and in an attempt to be loved by someone, I may have poisoned my sons against their half-brother.

M:        I know how despair can eat away at you. The caravans that passed through Midian told of the ways that Pharaoh mercilessly used my kinsfolk. It was then that I really felt helpless. There was no way an exiled murderer could do anything to ease their burden.

L:         It was only after my sister died in childbirth that I started to understand that neither God, nor Jacob hated me. I took Benjamin and raised him like one of mine, but the damage was done. My sons detested their brother and, as I learned much later, sold him into slavery in Egypt.

M:        God sent me back to Egypt to free the Children of Israel from their slavery. I had to learn to depend on God’s guiding and to let go of trying to control my life. There was no way I could plan ahead for what would happen. I didn’t even know if I would survive returning to Egypt. I was afraid that I’d be arrested as soon as I set foot in the country.

L:         When Jacob learned that his favorite son was killed, we thought by beasts, I gave up trying to keep my life neatly in order. By sharing my husband’s grief I learned that I did not have to have everything perfect or planned out. Eventually we learned that God had a greater plan for Joseph. He came to power in Egypt and through his influence the tribe of Jacob was able to survive a terrible famine.

M:        I have had to learn over and over to let God be in control. On the journey out of Egypt with all the people, whenever I tried to do things in my own strength they failed. It was only when I depended on God that we prospered.

L:         That was something I finally learned, too. Only in my old age was I able to forgive my family and then I was free to let God act through me to help bring reconciliation between my sons and their half brother.

M:        We humans are a stubborn group. If only we were willing to Let Go of our plans and Let God lead the way… I suppose life would be easier, wouldn’t it.

L:         Perhaps it would.

I find that I can relate to both Moses and Leah in the ways they worked to keep up the appearance of being in control-even when they weren't. How about you? Have you ever tried to do things in your own strength and only later discovered that God had something better planned?

Next time we’ll take a look at one more way that we try to keep in control and not let God work through us.

Transfiguration

I’ve been thinking a lot about “Transfiguration,” partly because last Monday was the Feast of the Transfiguration. You can find the Gospel account in Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8 and Luke 9:28-36. Instead of focusing on Jesus whose “face shone like the sun and his garments became white as light”, I’ve been thinking about the reactions of Peter, James and John who were with Jesus.

At first, they probably thought it was rather special that they were chosen to go with Jesus to pray while the other disciples stayed behind. Maybe they expected some private training in prayer or being a better disciple. Maybe they thought he was going to explain some of his more cryptic comments recently.

However, what happened on the mountain was outside of their experience entirely. They did not get some private prayer mantra. They did not get private disciple lessons. What Peter, James, and John got was a vision of the Glory of God, previously reserved for Moses and Elijah who, lo and behold, were there too!

Imagine for a minute that you are a Galilean fisherman living in first century Palestine under Roman rule. Not too long ago you met Jesus, an itinerant rabbi. There was something about him that warmed your heart and made you leave everything to go with him. No longer can you say ‘I am a fisherman’ because that’s behind you. You do say, “I am Jesus’ disciple,” but you aren’t completely sure what that means. With Jesus and a few other men you’ve been traveling around Galilee. He’s been healing the sick and feeding thousands with a bit of bread and fish. Jesus also sometimes says some pretty astonishing things, and you wish he’d explain them.

Remember, about a week before the Transfiguration, Peter blurted out, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” but got rebuked for scolding Jesus who started trying to explain to all the disciples that the Kingdom of God comes at a cost—even the cost of a cross. Jesus had said, “Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Your training in the Torah has, of necessity, been a bit skimpy. The best rabbis gather in Jerusalem, not provincial Galilee. The local rabbi is not the greatest scholar and belabors points when he preaches. Being a fisherman means you haven’t really had much time to sit around discussing the finer points of the Law and Prophets, anyway. Trading with the ‘pagan’ merchants who come to the Sea of Galilee to buy fish for their clients across the empire means that you have been exposed, like it or not, to un-Jewish ideas. Sometimes it is even hard to hold onto your identity as Jewish in the face working and trading and making a living.

You do, however, know about Moses and Elijah. They are the pinnacle of what it means to be a Jew. Moses is the great deliverer and giver of the Law, while Elijah stood up for God against Jezebel and all her priests and later was taken up into heaven by the flaming “chariots Israel and its horsemen’ (2 Kings 2:11-12) Now here you are on this mountain with Jesus and there are Moses and Elijah-long dead, but not dead now. It’s a pretty amazing and awe inspiring event! No wonder Peter again blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, “…if you wish, I will make three booths here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” I like this image of the Transfiguration because it shows the three disciples adoring the vision rather than flattened to the ground by the event.

The next thing that happens is even more astonishing for the trio of former fishermen. They are surrounded by a cloud and hear “a voice from the cloud…’This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to him.” Probably in that moment they were totally overwhelmed, but later as they thought about it, they would have recognized that it was the same cloud that overshadowed Moses when he received the Law on Mount Sinai and that led the Children of Israel through the wilderness. 

Glimpses of God’s Glory make us want to hang onto the moment so it will last. How often do we attend a retreat that is very moving and inspirational and find that it is very hard to ‘come back to earth’ when we get home and find the laundry piled up and the kids squabbling? (You may recall that the same thing happens to Jesus and the three disciples-see Matthew 17:14f)

We are not told if Peter, James and John were different when they came down from the mountain. Perhaps, like Moses of old, their faces shown for a while, too. I am sure that they were transfigured in their hearts. That didn’t make them perfect. Peter, after all, later denies he knew Jesus. The experience, like any transfiguring change, became part of their hearts and souls and the way they lived, if only for brief moments when the event was remembered.

Transfiguration experiences do not have to be as dramatic as seeing Moses and Elijah and hearing a voice from a cloud. Deep insight during a time of prayer, an especially moving worship service, the unexpected beauty of nature, and many other things can all be times when we experience being in the presence of God. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning says, “Earth's crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes - The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.” (Aurora Leigh)

Have you experienced God’s fire or God’s cloud? Have you heard God’s voice? You are blessed. God’s glory is all around. Let’s look for it, instead of just picking blackberries.

Ordinary Time Excursion-Miriam

This week we meet Miriam, sister of Moses. She has only 4 citations in the Bible. However, she is a courageous woman who continues to inspire us thousands of years later. She spent a long time in the wilderness, and even at the end didn't get to enter the Promised Land, but she learned to trust that God's way is the best way.

We meet her as a child approaching Pharaoh’s daughter to offer her mother as nursemaid for her brother. “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women…?” (Exodus 2:7) Many years later we hear her song of triumph after the Israelites cross the sea. “Then Miriam, the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.’” (Exodus 15:20-21). Miriam saw God's actions clearly and proclaimed them to all the people.

Of course she is best known for her rebellion against Moses in Numbers 12. “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses…behold, Miriam was leprous….the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.” Not unlike many of us, she decided that she knew better than God or Moses how things should be done. Lastly, we hear of her death before the people enter the Promised Land. “The people of Israel…came into the wilderness of Zin…and Miriam died there and was buried there.” (Numbers 20:1)

In these few glimpses of her life against the backdrop of the grand story of the Exodus, we see a brave, faithful woman, who is not afraid to speak up. Even as a child, she boldly addresses Pharaoh’s daughter. As an adult, she is known as a prophetess and leads the women in celebration. Although quiet during much of the Exodus, she is not afraid to confront Moses when she thinks he is wrong for his marriage to “a Cushite woman.” (Numbers 12:1) It appears that God is angry with Miriam and Aaron for asking “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” (Numbers 12:2). For their pride, God reminds them that “my servant Moses…is entrusted with all my house…and he beholds the form of the Lord.” (Numbers 12:7-8) Then Miriam is left leprous. Perhaps because he immediately repents Aaron is spared the same fate as Moses intercedes for his sister. She is left outcast for 7 days as “If her father had but spit in her face…let her be shut up outside the camp…” (Numbers 12:14)

In many cultures, to be spat upon is considered a curse. God has symbolically spit upon Miriam and made her unclean through the leprosy because her actions have belittled Moses (as a woman to speak against the leader). However, she is not “cast out” forever, just for a week.

Miriam and the children of Israel are being prepared to enter the Promised Land. Like us, they need to learn that God is the one who will lead them safely. Sadly, the next several chapters of Numbers recite the doubts of the people and the spies. The Lord announces, “No one [of you] shall come into the land…but your little ones…I will bring in.” (Numbers 14:30-31) So, because of their continued doubts and dependence on their own strength, the people do not obtain immediately the promise.

What can we learn from Miriam? Even though she is oppressed with leprosy for her mutiny and “shut outside the camp for seven days,” (Numbers 12:15) God does not abandon her. Despite their doubts and fears, God continues to provide for the people until they do finally enter the Promised Land (but that’s another story).

Even though neither Miriam nor Moses set foot in the Promised Land, they both knew that God would bring the people in. “I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there,” God tells Moses on Mt. Nebo. (Deuteronomy 34:4) Miriam too is close to the Promised Land when she dies at Kadesh. After a life spent following God, she knew that Psalm 37 is correct, “Our steps are made firm by the LORD, when he delights in our way; though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong, for the LORD holds us by the hand.” (Ps. 37:24-25)

In my novel, Miriam’s Healing,* she affirms this belief at the end of the book:

“The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the one who throughout our bondage and our wanderings has been the true deliverer. Even though I hoped to liberate my family, I AM used a shepherd’s staff in the hands of my brother to redeem all the children of Israel. God always has a greater plan than we can see.”


“My sister, your words are true,” the voice of Moses, Deliverer of Israel, was heard.


He joined the group beside his sister.


“It is the Lord who will bring the victory. The people are ready to enter the Promised Land,” Miriam stated with conviction.


“Yes, they have learned the ways of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as they listen to your words,” a smile of affirmation was for the Prophet’s sister. “By the recitation of the manifold acts of the Living God, the people have been healed of their doubt. They are now a faithful nation ready and able to follow the laws set out by I AM. With your help, my sister, the Word of God has been given to these chosen ones.”

When we become too prideful and forget who is really in charge, God does not abandon us, either. The natural consequences of our actions can cause us pain when our plans come crashing down around us, but God is still right there. We may feel that the rug has been pulled out from under us. Only looking back do we see that God was preparing us for something better than we might have expected. Once upon a time I thought I was meant to be a Sunday School teacher for the rest of my life…but God had other plans and led me through a dark time to become an author.

Next week we will meet Abigail, a woman who learned that God’s ways are infinitely more surprising than any plans we can make.

*Miriam’s Healing, ISBN: 978-0-557-00943-5, available online through Amazon.com and my website (CynthiaDavisAuthor.com).

Doing or Being

On our journey through Lent we sometimes take on new disciplines--more prayer or study or extra volunteer work. We can find ourselves so immersed in 'doing' that we forget to sit quietly and 'be' in the presence of God.


The story that often comes to mind when we think about the difference between “Doing” for God vs. “Being” with God, is about Mary and Martha of Bethany. The emphasis is often on how much better it is to ‘be’ in the presence of Christ, like Mary, instead of ‘being busy with many things’ like Martha. It’s not the doing that is really the problem, but the ease with which it gets in the way of being with God.

Miriam of the Exodus had to learn to balance her busy-ness with listening to God. There’s not much about Miriam in the Old Testament, so we have to read between the lines to tease out her life. That is what I did in Miriam’s Healing. We know that Miriam was the sister of both Aaron and Moses. She is best known for following the basket with Moses inside until it landed at the feet of Pharaoh’s daughter.

“[His mother] put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him. The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. ‘This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,’ she said. Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?’ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Yes.’ So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.’ So the woman took the child and nursed it. When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, ‘because’, she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.” (Exodus 2:3-10)

We know the story of Moses from movies like The Ten Commandments or Prince of Egypt. He kills an overseer for mistreating a Hebrew worker and flees to the desert. Miriam is left behind in Egypt. She decides (in my book) to be in charge of taking care of everyone even though her own faith slipped away. Doing takes the place of Being still and waiting for God.

The long years stretched out and receded in sameness. Aaron and I mourned the death of first Jochebed and then Amram. They died within a few months of each other. The gold from the Princess was used to purchase the services of the embalmer and a small tomb. My parents would not lie in the desert sand to be ravaged by wild beasts.


I never saw the princess again. A few years after Moses disappeared, the royal barge brought her body to be buried beneath the small monument that bore her name. A year later the old Pharaoh died. Grand ceremonies were held at the temple that bore his name and was inscribed with his exploits. Then his embalmed, wrapped, and sanctified body was taken to the secret burial place of Kings. When alive, each Pharaoh was Horus, son of Osiris. In death, the king became Osiris, in charge of all life in Egypt. It was very important that the ka of the King remain undisturbed even after death. The silent pyramids and their attendant monuments and mortuary temples all paid tribute to attempts to keep past rulers undisturbed.


The new Pharaoh was a harsh, proud man. I saw him from a distance once. He insisted on more marvelous feats of building and statuary in the Treasure City called by his name, Raamses. Men pushed beyond endurance died in the heat and dust.


I wept angrily to the One God. “Don’t you see us? Can’t you save us?” The faith of my parents seemed futile and foolish. With each year of God’s silence, I became more and more convinced that the God of Israel was helpless. The songs my mother had sung seemed empty memories of a hopeless people.*

When Moses returns to Egypt claiming to be the Deliverer, Miriam and Aaron have to change their lives. Still Miriam works at being the one in charge and able to 'fix' things. When Moses and Aaron are discouraged, it is Miriam who urges them not to give up.

“Pharaoh will not let the children of Israel go,” he stated in a dead tone. “He is so angry that he has ordered the bricks be made without straw.” Another groan of sorrow, “I have harmed the people I was sent to help. ‘Everyone will have to work to gather straw in the fields’,” he quoted. “The tally will not be less.”


I couldn’t suppress my gasp at his words. Aaron bowed his head in resignation. Zipporah stroked Moses hair in sympathy. The silence held hopelessness. My brothers looked like whipped puppies rather than messengers of the Living God. Anger helped me find my voice.


“Are you going to let one setback discourage you? Do you plan to quit after one attempt?”


“These are not things a woman understands,” Aaron’s voice was harsh and arrogant.


Hands on my hips, I faced my brothers, “If a woman gave up after one attempt at birthing a child, children would have ceased to be long ago. Women know more about perseverance than any man.” I turned to my youngest brother; “You are birthing a nation. It will not be easy. Do you think that the God who has preserved you this far will abandon you now?”


“My sister,” Moses looked at me, desolation in his eyes. “I threw down my staff as God commanded. At first, the cobra frightened Pharaoh. Then the priests used their drugged snakes to do the same thing. The King and all the court laughed. Pharaoh asked if I had other magic tricks to show him.”


“So you have given up because of a little derision? The laughter of men is more important than the will of God? The Living One said you would do great things, and that He would bring the people out with mighty wonders. Surely the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is stronger than the Nile gods, even Pharaoh.”*

Miriam, despite her busy-ness, was able to see beyond the immediate results and realize that God could act through the frailty of her brothers. How often do you and I get discouraged when things don’t go our way? Are you, like me, guilty of trying to 'fix' things for other people instead of leaving them in God's hands?
Miriam originally looked inward to find solace instead of seeking God when her life began to spin out of control. Many of us do the same thing. Keeping busy helps us forget the troubles. Our culture rewards busy behavior and we are expected to multi-task. It all leaves little time for God. Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the better part” (Luke 10:42) not because it is bad to make food for guests, but because Martha was “worried and distracted by many things.” Being too busy can distract us from finding time to sit quietly and focus on God.

In Miriam’s Healing, Miriam continues to be the organizing force that keeps things moving smoothly. She tries to ignore the urging from God that suggests she should stop, listen, and become the storyteller of the nation. Only after she is exiled from the camp with leprosy (Numbers 12) does she understand the power of the words of the story.

For a long time, I lay on my pallet of blankets. The peace lingered with me. I knew now that God had been with me even when I doubted and turned from him. In my darkest moments, it was the hand of the Living One that comforted me.


In the quiet of the ending night, God gave me a great gift. I saw the action of I AM from the beginning of time. The Ruach that breathed life into all creation, the EL who spoke to Abraham and wrestled with Jacob was the same I AM that now led the chosen people with the cloud of glory. My fingers itched to write the words. No longer did I doubt that the stories of the Living God would convert the people. Only by hearing of the actions of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could the congregation find unity and identity.*

Sick with leprosy, Miriam’s life had been taken out of her control. All her life she tried to ensure that everything was taken care of. God’s action of redemption of the nation brought about a greater freedom than she could have imagined. She still finds it difficult to let God be in charge. Only when she is struck with the dread sickness, can she understand that God has been in charge of her life all along. She did not have to do anything. She had to sit with God and let go of the busy-ness of her life in order to hear and understand.

Do you take time regularly to sit with God? I spent one day at the Botanical Gardens here and found it a very refreshing break and time with God. Retreats are another way to do this, but a daily or weekly discipline keeps you in contact regularly with the One who guides our steps. I invite you to find a time to be still and sit at the feet of our Lord with Miriam of the Old Testament and Mary of Bethany. Who knows what you will discover about your journey…?

*All quotations are from Miriam's Healing by Cynthia Davis. Available online from Amazon.com and the author.
 
Next week, on Palm Sunday, we'll look at how our Expectations of God affect our relationship to God.