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27.06.2010_Deuteronomy 8:1–10
| 29.07.2010, 09:33 | |
| Rev. Tatiana Cantarella Psalm 103:1-12, 20-22; Amos 8:1-12; Hebrews 10:32-36 Deuteronomy 8:1-10 The Forgetfulness of Troubling Times Life often brings changes and the necessity to adapt: college comes after high school, a job comes after college, and then another job comes along after that, one that demands more training and higher qualifications. The birth of children and grandchildren also changes life. All of these life stages indicate a break in the usual flow of life. Often these changes are characterized by difficulties, even problems. In the book of Deuteronomy Moses records his words to the Israelites as they are just about to enter the Promised Land. Huge changes and the difficulties those changes imply await each of the Israelites: they will have to deal with other hostile nations, and as a people who have wandered for almost their whole life, they will have to struggle to learn from scratch how to work the land and care for cattle. Moses wants to prepare the people for life in new circumstances, so that even in the face of great difficulties they will remember the Lord and remain faithful to Him. What happens in our heart, when life overwhelms us with difficulties, suffering, misfortune? When life starts to seem like a dark abyss? Some of us start fussing about, looking for a way out. Some of us start doubting that God wants to have anything to do with us anyway; others start to think that He is unjust or even harsh. Have you even tried to save a drowning person? Or have you ever seen someone else do it? Do you know what the drowning person should do? They should relax and allow the person saving them, the person who knows what needs to be done, drag them to the shore. But if the drowning person continues to try and fight with the water themselves, it is impossible to help them. Their panic will cause them to drown and choke; they could even end up drowning the person who is trying to save them. When I studied physical education in college I studied water rescue techniques and I know that when a drowning person is interfering with their own rescue one is allowed to knock them out cold to "help” him submit to the rescue process. A lot of times we get tossed about by the waves of life, and we start desperately clutching at stuff, looking for a way out, but Moses reminds us that first and foremost we should remember how God has maintained us in the past and to trust Him, the one who knows what we need to survive and overcome whatever situation we might be facing. Moses says: "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years; to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years” (Deut. 8: 2-4). However, during their difficult journey in the wilderness the Israelites complained about what they didn’t have more often than they thanked God for what He gave them. We too, when preoccupied with the problems of the present, easily forget how God has continually cared for us in the past. We too remember what we’ve lost, what we lack, more often than we remember what God has helped us to preserve. When everything in life starts to fall apart, that is the very moment we should remember the times when, by God’s mercy, everything was going well, when our television wasn’t broken, when, for 20 years straight, the heating system worked without fail, when we ate our fill and could afford things we didn’t really even need, when our health was such that we could afford to ignore it altogether, when we had consistent work for so many years. When everything in life starts to fall apart, first of all, let’s remember all the things the Lord has blessed us with for so long, the things that we’ve had for so many years and are still working, the things we have had in excess. And when we remember that God has always been near to us, we will be able to trust Him, the One who is able to save us from these tumultuous waves of life. Moses really learned well the lesson that in his life everything was from the hand of God: he was miraculously delivered from the hand of Pharaoh when he was just a babe, he was saved again after killing an Egyptian while defending one of his fellow Israelites, he was called by God to lead his people out of Egypt (although it made him an enemy of both nations), then the events of the Exodus from Egypt (the ten plagues, dividing the sea, manna from heaven, water from a rock, the fiery pillar, the cloud...). When the people repeatedly disobeyed God and Moses, when times were especially difficult for him, when it seemed that everyone was against him, he reminded himself about what God had already done for him, and that gave him confidence that once again God would be faithful and take care of him. "If only we would remember the grace of God in the past, we would never start doubting in his future care for us,” said Stephen Karnok? The famous German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, 1906, in we very well-to-do family, and from his early childhood he had only happy memories. After completing his impressive education, however, he surprised his family and chose to pursue the path of theology, the calling of a pastor. But even then he lived a relatively peaceful live, teaching in the Universities of Tübingen and Berlin. His problems began when Hitler came to power and the 27-year old Bonhoeffer couldn’t accept Hitler’s rule and plans for Germany. After joining the resistance movement he first lost his teaching position, then the right to even live in Germany. He dreamed of serving Germany after the war in her renewal and spiritual awakening, but in 1942 he was arrested for his anti-Hitler position and he understood that his sentence was unavoidable. His last, difficult years of imprisonment were for him a path through the "wilderness”, but he wrote that the darkness of those days was pierced by memories of joyful days, blessings, and past relationships, all gifts from God’s hand. We too should recall over and over all that God has done for us in the past so as not to forget Him and doubt Him during difficult times. When hard times come our way we often wonder why we are being punished in such a manner. And although the Israelites often deserved punishment, the Lord tells them that their difficulties along the way weren’t punishment, but a reminder from their God and Father. That difficult journey through the wilderness by which the Lord led Israel served to "humble and try Israel and to find out if they really would be faithful to God no matter what.” Humility is not God striving to humiliate us, but rather to let us know the paucity of our own resources and to teach us to fully rely on God. It is during the difficult times that our faithfulness to God is subjected to trial. Even the Lord Christ and His faithfulness to God were tried by hunger and thirst in the wilderness. With the seemingly innocent sentence "If you are truly the Son of God, turn these stones to bread” the devil prompted Jesus to doubt in God’s Word. But Jesus refused to doubt, being sure that the words of God, "You are my beloved Son,” needed no proof, sure that God would take care of Him. And God did. The Gospel tells us that angels were sent to minister to Jesus in his hunger and thirst. During difficult times God might discipline us, for we are His children; not servants, not slaves, not strangers, but children. Sometimes He brings us through difficult times, through bitter experiences, all the while teaching us to rely on Him. However we always have a choice: we can be crushed and wounded by difficulties and suffering, or we can see in them the opportunity to become stronger in faith and closer to God. Hard times can make our priorities even more clear, our witness more bright, and our benefit to those around us greater. Periods of suffering and difficulty in our life are far from being time spent in vain. Remember, Bonhoeffer dreamed that he might aid in the rebuilding of his country and church after the war, but his life was cut short not long before the end of the war. Why, many of us might wonder, since he wanted to help his country, to serve God for many more years? What did he do to do deserve suffering, imprisonment and death? But Bonhoeffer didn’t give in to such questions. Quite the opposite, during the course of all of these life events he came to the conviction that he actually needed all the dark years of imprisonment and suffering, and he wrote, "I would much rather be outside these walls, but I believe that not a single day here has been spent in vain... something will definitely come of all this... We will come out of all of this a lot stronger.” During an excursion of a huge furniture factory the tour guide led the group to a large wardrobe made from lumber of unparalleled beauty. "Notice the beautiful design of the grain in this wood” she said, "This is a specially selected type of wood, and the secret of its beauty is that these trees grew in a place where they were constantly subjected to hurricanes.” These trees, beaten by hurricanes, developed the most subtly and beautifully patterned wood grain. When the trees were cut down, the designs were revealed and the carpenters chose them for their best artistic plans. The same is true of the trials, suffering and difficulties in our lives. If a soul goes through a storm, God is able to make it stronger and more beautiful. The sufferings of our life are in no way useless and meaningless. Our faith, our soul will never attain beauty and strength if our whole life were to be spent in greenhouse conditions. If we want to not forget God in difficult times instead of grumbling we should see in them the opportunity to become stronger and more beautiful. Moses reminds the Israelites of yet a third thing: "don’t forget the goal of your earthly journey (7-10) -- the fulfillment of all our hopes, "For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land ... When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.” But when speaking of plenty Moses also reminds us that human prosperity consists of more than just material wealth. "Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the Lord.” The most important thing we can learn about life is that real "life” doesn’t just consist of food and drink. People are spiritual beings in need of communion with God and a person only truly lives when they have communion with God. That doesn’t mean, however, that a person only needs spiritual sustenance or that material things in life are unnecessary. Yes, we need to eat and drink, but if we only eat and drink then we are merely existing. We are able to truly live when we hear and accept, when we live by God’s Word. It is important to remember that the Word of God isn’t just simple sounds, it’s not just the vibration of air: God creates things by His Word, He heals people by His Word, by His Word He blesses, by His Word He reduces to nonexistence. The Word of God signifies action, everything that He does in relation to His creation. If a person loses their connection to God he loses everything, even if he possesses all the riches of the world. That’s what the prophet Amos is talking about when he says, " ‘The days are coming,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘when I will send a famine through the land -- not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it’” (Amos 8:11-12). The most terrible type of hunger, the most terrible type of thirst is when a person’s stomach is full, their clothes are expensive, but their soul is empty. But the Promised Land to which the Lord is leading us is a promise of fullness, light, satisfaction and joy in everything. When difficult times come, in order to remember God, we should remember the goal of our journey and that God is walking along beside us. Psalm 103 says, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love... For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him... For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103: 8, 11, 14). As Moses understood well, you can’t always avoid evil and suffering sometimes falls upon our own shoulders. But we have a choice: FORGET about God, try to wiggle out of the situation by our own efforts, all the while wondering, "why me?” and perceiving suffering as God’s punishment. Or we can REMEMBER that God is with us, the God who consciously forgets our sins and consciously remembers our weakness, the God who walks along beside us, who was with us at all times, who gave us everything we needed, who desires for His children to become strong and beautiful through their hope in Him. God is with us, the same God who is leading us to a beautiful world in which their will not be want, suffering, and misfortune. And remember the whole journey along which the Lord your God has led you... He gave you food, water, clothes, and a fortress of health... In order to show you that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of the Lord... And know in your heart that the Lord your God teaches you as His own son... So that you might keep His commandments and walk in His ways and Fear Him... For He is leading you to a good land... | |
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