Proper 23 / Pentecost 21 / OT 28
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
... These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
-- Exodus 32:8
When the going got tough, the tough wanted visible gods they could manipulate. It is not unusual for a community of faith to express their anxiety about their security by redirecting their resources toward a more visible program or strategy for success. Golden calves come in a variety of forms in the contemporary church. "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us." Aaron tried to blend their demand for a successful plan with the worship of God. "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord." God's reaction was described with a touch of humor. Pay attention to the choice of pronouns. God says, "Your people whom you brought up...." Moses responds to God, "Why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you brought up...." Sometimes clergy want to speak of the church as "my people," but at other times, we would be quite pleased to remind God that it was God who formed them as a church. In either case, the role of spiritual leadership is displayed in this story. We are pressed by people's anxieties to make faith address the instrumental values of the people. Such pressure often centers on economical issues of survival. It is difficult for people to have confidence in leaders who absent themselves as Moses did by staying on top of the mountain.
A major role for spiritual leadership that is often overlooked, however, is seen in Moses' pleading with God on behalf of the people. It is precisely when people have been unfaithful that they most need clergy to plead with God on their behalf. The role of the priest is to be the person caught in the middle between God and the people. Moses did not walk away in despair just because the people had committed a grievous sin, and neither should that be the response of the clergy.
-- Exodus 32:8
When the going got tough, the tough wanted visible gods they could manipulate. It is not unusual for a community of faith to express their anxiety about their security by redirecting their resources toward a more visible program or strategy for success. Golden calves come in a variety of forms in the contemporary church. "Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us." Aaron tried to blend their demand for a successful plan with the worship of God. "Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord." God's reaction was described with a touch of humor. Pay attention to the choice of pronouns. God says, "Your people whom you brought up...." Moses responds to God, "Why does your wrath burn hot against your people whom you brought up...." Sometimes clergy want to speak of the church as "my people," but at other times, we would be quite pleased to remind God that it was God who formed them as a church. In either case, the role of spiritual leadership is displayed in this story. We are pressed by people's anxieties to make faith address the instrumental values of the people. Such pressure often centers on economical issues of survival. It is difficult for people to have confidence in leaders who absent themselves as Moses did by staying on top of the mountain.
A major role for spiritual leadership that is often overlooked, however, is seen in Moses' pleading with God on behalf of the people. It is precisely when people have been unfaithful that they most need clergy to plead with God on their behalf. The role of the priest is to be the person caught in the middle between God and the people. Moses did not walk away in despair just because the people had committed a grievous sin, and neither should that be the response of the clergy.
