In the Cleft of the Rock

Scripture Lessons: 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10 and Exodus 33: 12-23 Sermon Title: In the Cleft of the Rock Preached on October 18, 2020 The Scripture Lessons you’ve just heard remind me of song we used to sing in Sunday School and then youth group. I feel sure you’re familiar with it. It’s based on Matthew chapter 7 and it goes like this: Seek ye first the kingdom of God, And his righteousness, And all these things shall be added unto you, Alleluia, alleluia. That’s the chorus. The verse I’m really thinking of after reading this Scripture Lesson from the book of Exodus is the second or third one: Ask and it shall be given unto you, Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened unto you, Alleluia, alleluia. We used to sing that with Vivian Stephens, who died during this epidemic, and while we haven’t yet been able to remember her at a funeral, I’ll always remember her when I think of that song or the many others she taught us to sing. Seek ye First is what we called it, and it’s wonderful to sing in a round, yet the reason I think of it now is because it calls us never to settle, but to ask. That’s what Moses did. He dared ask to see God. That was a bold thing to do, especially when you think about how easy it is to settle. When I was a kid it was easy to settle, because we didn’t always know what else was out there. For example, every once in a while, back when we were kids, maybe once a month or so, my Mom wouldn’t be home for dinner because she’d be meeting with her book club. When that happened, my Father was in charge of feeding us supper, which made supper interesting. I don’t know what it meant in your family, but for my sister, brother, and me, our Father cooking supper meant that he’d drive us to Ingle’s grocery store on Powder Spring Road. Then he’d lead us to the sardines, where he’d then say, “Pick out whatever can you want!” Could we have asked for something else for supper? I don’t know. I never thought to ask. Could we have maybe asked that he take us out to our favorite Mexican restaurant, right across the street, or maybe even to Chucky Cheese where a kid can be a kid? I don’t know, because no one ever asked. We were offered sardines and we were thankful to have them. That sounds like the right attitude for children to have, doesn’t it? Have you ever wished that your children or grandchildren would just appreciate all that they have already? Have you ever avoided running into Target with them just because you don’t want to hear them asking for more? I do all the time, only Scripture keeps pushing us and them not to settle, but to ask. Ask and it shall be given unto you, Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened unto you. Those are the words of Jesus, and more than that, all the really annoying people who won’t stop asking for what they want or can’t help but fight for what they believe in, rather than paint them as annoying, intitled, or ungrateful, Scripture remembers them as good examples of how we should all be. Think about it: There’s the Canaanite woman who won’t settle for the scraps that fall from the table, but boldly calls on Jesus to heal her daughter, and the Lord does. There’s the parable of the widow who returns, day after day, to the unjust judge until she receives justice. What does Jesus say about her? He said, “Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” So now consider Moses, who says to God, “Show me your glory, I pray.” What a bold request. Have you ever asked God for something like that? Surely, I never have. I’ve never even had to audacity to expect to be treated like a human being when I call our internet company, much less, call on God for any more than I have already. Yet, consider the song: Ask and it shall be given unto you, Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door shall be opened unto you, Don’t settle. Keep going. Keep asking. Keep pushing. We’re on our way to something more, so fight for it. That’s what it takes. According to legend, George Frederic Handel, who, Beethoven considered the greatest composer who ever lived, wrote his most famous piece, “Messiah,” in 24 days. After completing the most famous portion of “Messiah,” the “Hallelujah Chorus,” he is reported to have said to a servant, either, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God himself” or “I thought I saw the face of God.” Certainly, we never would have made it to the moon had humanity been satisfied just staring up at it. Presbyterian astronaut, John Glenn, gave reporters an idea of what it’s like in outer space, “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible.” What does it take then to catch a glimpse of the divine, as they did? What is required to see, if not God’s face, then a sliver of his glory? I tell you, first of all we are required to ask, though just that is hard for a lot of people to do. Sometimes I’ll meet with couples before they get married. Maybe she’ll tell me that he never considers her opinion. Then I’ll ask, “Does he know what your opinion is? Have you told him?” That’s a good place to start. Maybe he wouldn’t listen anyway, but that’s a good place to start, because talking with your mother about him probably isn’t going to change anything. I’ve been reading the paper a lot lately, and it has me thinking about how sometimes, it’s like we’re afraid to ask directly, that maybe we’re afraid to say what it is that we really want in the presence of those who might give it to us. An old newspaper man named Sam Kennedy, who ran the local paper back in Tennessee, once told me, “If you want to know the true nature of your community, always read the letters to the editor.” There I’ve been reading about all kinds of stuff. Lately, I’ve read about political yard signs getting stolen or vandalized, months ago it was frustration with the local schools not opening their classrooms for in-person learning. My general reflection based on many of these letters to the editor is that we are a society who has such trouble talking with people who think differently that we use forums like this one as a way to vent because we’re too scared to talk with each other face to face. Now, Dan Kirk never vents like that in his letters to the editor. I don’t know if you ever read what he writes, but you should. Interestingly, our own Dan Kirk just writes in to remind us to be grateful for how lucky we are, but that’s beside the point. By and large I believe we settle for venting to the newspaper when we could be speaking our concerns to the people who could do something about it. When I think of such behavior, I worry that we’re settling for ranting when we could be moving forward. We wind up feeling helpless and frustrated when we could be working for a brighter future. We grow used to yelling and finger-pointing and call it governance. We allow our neighbors to do as they please, even when it drives us crazy, because it’s easier to go back inside to watch TV rather than ask them to put on a mask, turn down their music, or just come over for dinner. Why do we go back to watching TV, why do we put our heads down minding our own business, when we could be asking for more? We’d never have gotten to the moon if we hadn’t learned to work together, and we’ll never make it to the Promised Land if we don’t start moving towards each other now. That’s why I think the most important quote of all when it comes to glimpsing the divine as Moses, Handel, or John Glenn did is that of Victor Hugo, the play write of Les Misérables, who is reported to have said, “to love another person is to see the face of God.” Maybe that’s the greatest frontier. Maybe that’s the place where so many of us end up settling for less. It’s so hard to love someone. It requires nearly everything of us. Think about Moses. He killed the Egyptian and lost his home in the palace. Why? Because he loved his people. He left his home in the wilderness to answer a call from God to set his people free. Why? Because he couldn’t bear the thought of their suffering. He faced Pharaoh with nothing more than a staff in his hand. He led them out of slavery and through the waters of the sea, just trusting that God would provide a way. They got hungry and he was bold to ask for food. They got thirsty and he was bold to ask for water. They kept complaining about him, and he was bold to ask God to love them anyway. Love kept pushing him to do more and to be more, and even though they were like five year old’s on a long road trip, even though every five minutes one had to stop and use the bath room. On this long road trip that lasted 40 long years, so long that even God had had enough, saying to Moses, “I will not go up among you [to the Promised Land], or I would consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Moses says to the Lord, “please, stay with us.” “And just let me see your glory.” You know what we settle for? Living in a country with people we don’t agree with. Getting along with neighbors who we can’t understand and who might be stealing our political yard signs. We settle for putting up with, tolerating, just getting through this election without ringing someone’s neck, but do you know what the Gospel demands of us? Love your neighbor as yourself. The time has come, to ask for more out of our country, who made it to the moon years ago, but today can’t seem to engage in civil discourse. The time has come to ask more from ourselves who can read about what’s happening all around the world, but don’t always know what’s happening across the street. The time has come for us to ask more of our neighbors, who may need to be reminded, that while we are free to do all kinds of things, we are never free to hate. With boldness, let us dare ask for more. In doing so, if we do so out of love, we’ll see the face of God.