Proper 25 / Pentecost 23 / OT 30
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
... I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.
-- Deuteronomy 34:4
One of the great unresolved mysteries of our faith story was why Moses was not permitted to cross over into the promised land. Surely, whatever error he committed at the rock would not seem to compare with some of the failures of other servants of God such as Abraham or David. Even as we ponder this mystery, we are faced with a profound theological truth. We cannot accomplish everything we would like to in our lives. Even if we live to be 120 and are in excellent health, as Moses was reported to have been, there are still things that we cannot complete. There is always a "promised land" out there ahead of us that we will not enter. "Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39-40).
Even during our life, there are good things to do that we are really interested in doing but which we do not have time to accomplish. For some people that is reason for despair, but for people of faith, it is an admonition for good stewardship. Just because Moses could not enter the promised land himself did not mean his life was a failure. As a steward of the Spirit of God, Moses laid his hand on Joshua so that Joshua could carry on. Earlier Moses had shared God's Spirit with seventy elders that they might do what Moses did not have time to do. Moses shared his gifts so that God could use the greater community to further God's witness. While Moses was a key figure in the story of our faith, the completion of God's purpose was not dependent on him alone. There always comes a time when we must transfer the responsibility to those who come after us. Hopefully, we will have had the grace to share the Spirit that will enable them to continue on.
-- Deuteronomy 34:4
One of the great unresolved mysteries of our faith story was why Moses was not permitted to cross over into the promised land. Surely, whatever error he committed at the rock would not seem to compare with some of the failures of other servants of God such as Abraham or David. Even as we ponder this mystery, we are faced with a profound theological truth. We cannot accomplish everything we would like to in our lives. Even if we live to be 120 and are in excellent health, as Moses was reported to have been, there are still things that we cannot complete. There is always a "promised land" out there ahead of us that we will not enter. "Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39-40).
Even during our life, there are good things to do that we are really interested in doing but which we do not have time to accomplish. For some people that is reason for despair, but for people of faith, it is an admonition for good stewardship. Just because Moses could not enter the promised land himself did not mean his life was a failure. As a steward of the Spirit of God, Moses laid his hand on Joshua so that Joshua could carry on. Earlier Moses had shared God's Spirit with seventy elders that they might do what Moses did not have time to do. Moses shared his gifts so that God could use the greater community to further God's witness. While Moses was a key figure in the story of our faith, the completion of God's purpose was not dependent on him alone. There always comes a time when we must transfer the responsibility to those who come after us. Hopefully, we will have had the grace to share the Spirit that will enable them to continue on.
