"TAKING IT TO THE TOP"

Rev. Jim Petersen

First Congregational UCC-Great Falls, MT

2-15-09                                                                                                                                         

Text: Deuteronomy 34:1-12 Philippians 3:12-17

We are returned.  Weary, but here.   We were just there - the Holy Lands.  It was great. One scene I had never seen before. Had always wanted to, but had never been there before.  The site of a sad scene.  A tragedy, really.

An old man, faithful and righteous, having worked hard all his life, at considerable sacrifice and no small amount of suffering, is now within sight of his dream, his life-long goal.  It is right there, within his view if not grasp.

As God says, "I will let you see it with your own eyes." Yes, it is there.  So near.  He can almost touch it.  And then God says, "But you shall not go over there." 

Say what?  Not go over there?   It's the Promise.   About to be fulfilled.  Right in front of him!   And God says, "You can look, but you cannot touch."

Then the next line, from the final chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy, "So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab."  Died there.  Bummer!  Unfair!  Heartbreak!  

The death of Moses in Moab (modern day Jordan - we were there), of whom scripture says, "Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses...He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in Egypt."   Oh, what a crushing conclusion.

You remember the story of Moses.  Perhaps you saw the movie a few years back, "The Prince of Egypt."   Moses plays the prince.  It is based on the Bible.

Where the story goes Moses is born in Egypt to Jewish parents in a time when a Pharaoh came to power who "knew not Joseph."  This means the Jewish descendants of Joseph no longer "knew" a place of honor in Egypt, and were quickly relegated from favorite son status to slaves.

It gets worse.  In a fit of insecurity, the Pharaoh orders the slaughter of all male born Jewish babies, for they are breeding and multiplying too fruitfully.

"Throw them into the Nile," the king commands his captains, "that ought to cool them," including Moses, for it is into this dire time in Hebrew history Moses is born in Egypt. We were there, too.

But Moses' mother places her new born in a basket and hides him in the bulrushes along the Nile, where the Pharaoh's daughter bathing along the banks, a scene which encouraged my Sunday School attendance,  finds the baby, and takes him as her own, naming him Moses, Moshe, Musa, which means  "to draw out."   The Pharaoh's daughter finds Moses and draws him out of the river.

Unbeknownst to the princess she proceeds to hire Moses' mother to provide child care for Moses, who is therefore able to nurse her son and care for him through his infancy.  So it works out well.   Moses' life is not only saved, he is raised as a prince in the palace, in ancient Memphis.  We were there.

Until one day taking a princely promenade Moses observes an Egyptian taskmaster beat to death a Jewish slave.   Moses' Hebrew heritage rages and in retaliation he kills the Egyptian soldier.  Which threatens to blow Moses' cover and reveal his true Hebrew identity, placing him at great risk.

So Moses flees his Egyptian homeland crossing the Sinai Peninsula to the east, not very hospital, ask Stacy, or Don, or Patsy, where he enters the land of Midian (modern day Saudi Arabia, we were not there), and meets greater hospitality.

Whether watering his chops at a well or checking out the seven lovely lasses who are there drawing water for their ranch, Moses observes the ladies being harassed by some slimeball shepherds.  Moses shoves them aside, perhaps with a few of his Egyptian jujitsu moves, and rescues the women.

The sisters invite their hero Moses home to meet their dad, Jethro, who, it so happens, is the high priest of Midian.  Whereupon Jethro invites Moses to marry his daughter, Zipporah, for Jethro is without heirs and wanting to get on with things.  Moses does.  And so Moses is rescued, settling down to a life of security and obscurity in Midian, working his father-in-law's ranch which his firstborn son will inherit one day.

But, there is always a "but" in the Bible, but God hears the cries of God's people in Egypt.  And God remembers God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  So God calls Moses out of Midian to tell old Pharaoh, "Let my people go."

Only Moses does not want to go.  Like most of our Old Testament heroes, he doesn't want the call.  Its long hours at low pay with poor benefits.  He knows this.    But the burning bush bit, where it is on fire but not consumed, convinces Moses otherwise. Yes, we were there, too.

So Moses returns to Egypt where he plagues the Pharaoh to death and delivers his brethren out of bondage.

For forty years the fickle children of Israel wander in the wilderness, saved only by the faithful leadership of Moses, during which time God reconnects with God's people through the giving of commandments, including the Big Ten to Moses atop Mt. Sinai.  We were there camped at the base for an overnight, though not long enough to climb it.  I'll have to go back.

A part of this re-covenant is God's renewal of God's promise to the patriarchs that one day God's children will dwell in the Promised Land.  To this end the people pilgrimage as led by Moses.  For forty years they journey, biblical shorthand meaning "for a long time."

But finally they are there, the end of the Exodus. It is right there before them. The Promised Land! Right across the River Jordan.

The journey's end.  The children of God, as led by Moses, are gathered on the east side of the Jordan River.   Moses is 120 years old now. 

An aid on either side assisting him, I imagine, Moses hikes the trail to the top of Mt. Nebo, or Pisgah as it is also called, pausing along the way, for there are not many breaths left in his lungs, that he might peak across and see the Promised Land.

At this point I intended to drop the screen and show a slide of this view, but the day we were there it was hazy and we were unable to see the Promised Land.  Some days are like that.  We'll have to go back.

But it was a clear day for Moses, when God said, "I will let you see it with your own eyes, "but you shall not go over there."  So the story concludes.  "And Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, and was buried in Moab, but no one knows the place of his burial to this day."

The death of Moses. It is a sad scene.  A tragedy, really.  A faithful follower, who gave up the good life in Midian, who did everything the Lord commanded of him, who sweated, sacrificed and served, who is close enough to touch the Promised Land, or at least peer over and see it, so close, only to fall short of his goal.

Emily Dickinson saw the sadness in this scene when she wrote:  

"It always felt to me a wrong -

To that old Moses - done.

To let him see - the Canaan

Without the entering (in)..."

The poem goes on, and then concludes: 

"Old Man on Nebo -

Late as this 

My justice bleeds - for thee."

Which is calling it right: this is an injustice.  A tragedy perpetrated by an unfeeling God. This is how it reads, isn't it?  Or at least, this is how the Greek in us reads it.  And we are frequently more Greek than Judeo-Christian.

We read this as a Greek tragedy.   A good man so near his goal in life is snuffed out by a fickle fate.

But wait.  Moses does not read it this way.  There is no mention of Moses decrying his disappointment.  Moses does not lament like Job, nor bleed like Emily.  There is no self-pity here, as documented by the Deuteronomist.  No, this is something different.

Moses, at the end of his life, journey concluding, is able to climb Mt. Nebo with expectation.   He is taking life tiptoe to the top.  He gets there, atop Pisgah, and is privileged to see what his people had been promised for hundreds of years.  He, among the many generations, is blessed with the vision.

Can't you imagine Moses atop Mt. Nebo making like the modern prophet, MLK, Jr., saying, "God's allowed me to go up to the mountain.  And I've looked over.  And I've seen the Promised Land.  I may not get there with you.   But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. 

And I'm happy tonight.  I'm not worried about anything.  I'm not fearing any man.  Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

 I mean, it had to be something like this for Moses.  Where do you suppose Martin got his stuff?   God meets Moses atop Mt. Nebo.   Gives him a personal long distance tour of the Promised Land, just so he could see it before he dies, and be assured his descendants are going to inherit it.

For Moses, the vision is sufficient.   The vision of the Promised Land is sufficient.   He knows now his life has not been lived in vain!  It has been lived in the right direction, for the purpose of fulfilling God's promise to future generations. That's good enough!

So Moses dies.  Not tragically, but faithfully.  Not empty, but filled.  Not finished as in fatal, but fulfilled in the promise and company of God.

There is nothing to go on about.   So the author, the Deuteronomist, notes, "Moses died in Moab, and was buried, and no one knows to this day where his grave is."

Then this.  Then this, "And the people mourned for thirty days; then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended."  So the people got up and followed Joshua, Moses' appointed successor, into the Promised Land.

I think we miss the message when we name this scene the death of Moses.  And call it a tragedy.  It is not about the death of Moses.   It is about the life of Moses.  It is not about disappointment, it is about encouragement.  It is not about failure, it is about fulfillment.

This story is not a lamentation about a tragic figure; it is the good news of a faithful steward who keeps the vision to the end that was given to him while tending sheep back in Midian.

A vision which called him out of a life of security and obscurity, and gave him purpose and direction, something greater than himself to live for, for which he sacrificed through much adversity, but could not be denied, not even at the age of 120, when he could still climb mountains and see his vision fulfilled.

Can't you hear Moses?  "And I'm happy tonight.  I'm not worried about anything.  I'm not fearing any man.  Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."  I think that is it!

For hear the epitaph given by the Deuteronomist in the verse following "but no one knows the place of his burial to this day." The text continues, "Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, and his vision was not dimmed, nor his vigor abated."

The secret to Moses longevity: "his vision was not dimmed."  He was the steward of a vision, the keeper of a vision, to lead his people to a better life.   His body aged, but his vision did not dim.   He knew faithful vitality to the end.

The point is not his age, which was good and long.  The point is he lived his life to the last day, whereas, as you know, many are dead long before they die.  When you live like Moses, it doesn't matter when you die - for you have seen the Promised Land.

I tell you, this is what the Bible is about.  It gives us vision.  Vision of the way God wants life to be. A glimpse into the "Kingdom of God," as Jesus calls it.

The Bible promises not only will we find the Kingdom at the end, but journeying towards it in this lifetime will give us meaning and purpose in the wilderness.  And our lives will not be in vain.  Which is our greatest fear, isn't it?

My friends, this is why the church is here. To keep alive the vision. To clear away the smog in this secular, self-centered world.  The church is here to represent, as the Apostle Paul put it,  "a more excellent way."

This is why this congregation is here in this community.  And this is why we unite together with likeminded churches in other communities to create a denomination where "God is still speaking," so we can "make a difference" in our nation and far beyond our borders, stretching the vision for as far as we can see to the ends of the earth.

We are like Moses.  We are stewards of a vision, "a more excellent way," which both shapes us and calls us into the future.  We have been doing this for nearly 120 years in this congregation, passing it on, one generation to the next, collecting "pennies for peace," which is how it works, from Moses to Joshua to Jesus to you and to your progeny.

It is a sacred assignment, I tell you.  And joyful.  Like old man Moses.  You know, he lived with a certain "holy nonchalance."  People of faith do this.   People with vision do this.  They can take setbacks, and still move on.  They can lose, but not get lost.  They can fail, but not lose faith.

They are relaxed, at peace, centered, and maintain a sense of humor, even though they work very hard and there is cause for discouragement.  For there is hope.  Always hope.  Moses.  How crummy.  "You can see it, but you cannot go over there."  But Moses does not toss a tantrum.    He does not seek to sue somebody.   He does not pack a pistol to the post office and shot people.

No.  Moses climbs a mountain.    And there we see him standing on his tiptoes, with great expectation, and no small amount of wonder and gratitude, looking over to the Promised Land.  "And he is happy tonight."

 Because even though he is not going to get there, he is glad to have played a part.  And now he can hand the mantel on to Joshua, who will lead the people, after forty  years of wandering, to the fulfillment of the Promise Land.

So it is the end of the Moses' story.  Or is it the beginning?  For "Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, and his vision was not dimmed, nor his vigor abated."  Moses was a part of the circle, or cycle, of faith, which now includes you.

Oh, how nice to do the pilgrimage with faith, which enables us to know the end is guaranteed and it is good, so even though we are not quite there yet, we are free to live in sacrificial and generous ways, and not grow weary.  At least I intend to rest up. Praise be to God.

AMEN.