Moses and Us
WE GATHER
PRELUDE
BRINGING IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
WELCOME & ANNOUNCEMENTS
*HYMN O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing UMH# 57 v 1,2,7
*CALL TO WORSHIP
L: Lord, open our hearts this morning to hear your words of compassion.
P: Lord, help us to truly listen to you.
L: Lord, open our spirits this morning to strengthen our faith.
P: Lord, help us to work for you.
L: Lord, make us ready to serve.
P: Lord, make us ready to witness to your healing love. AMEN.
*OPENING PRAYER (IN UNISON)
Lord of mercy and compassion, be with us this day as we hear of the healing love of Jesus. Remind us that we are also recipients of his compassion and we are called to bring the same hope and love to others. Prepare us for service in His Name. AMEN.
*HYMN Jesu, Jesu UMH# 432 v 2, 3, 5
WE PROCLAIM GOD'S WORD
CHILDREN’S CHAT
OLD TESTAMENT READING
Exodus 20: 1-21
The Ten Commandments
20 Then God spoke all these words,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no other gods before[a] me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.[c]
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid[d] and trembled and stood at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.” 21 Then the people stood at a distance, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE AND OFFERING
NEW TESTAMENT READING
Mark 7: 24-30
The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre.[a] He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Sir,[b] even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And when she went home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.
Reader: The Living Word of God for the people of God.
People: Thanks be to God.
MESSAGE "Moses and Us" Pastor Natalie
Friends, we’re now at the last part of this sermon series I put together about Moses, and this week, I’m having us focus on what might be the most significant legacy Moses left for us, at least from the lens of Christians: the Ten Commandments.
A lot of us that grew up in a church spent significant time learning about the Ten Commandments in Sunday School. I memorized them when I was ten, and then earned a very tasty candy bar. And who knows, if the grownups around me had kept rewarding me with chocolate for learning scripture I’d have probably memorized the whole Bible. But that’s beside the point.
Whenever I look at the Ten Commandments with a congregation, either from the pulpit, or within an adult Sunday School class, there’s two big things that strike me. The first: a lot of us started learning the importance of these rules long before we knew the definitions of the words in them, and then had to find some balance in that awkwardness. My Sunday School teachers had a hard enough time explaining to us what “covet” means, and when it came to “adultery”, they squirmed with discomfort in their chairs and said “eh…go ask your parents what that word means.” And, fair enough, some conversations are best started, and then continuously revisited, at home. But even as grownups who all have access to a dictionary, these words still make demands of us that make us uncomfortable.
The other big thing that hits me when I look at there words with a congregation is the very loaded sociopolitical conversation coming from the Ten Commandments, and where we should proclaim and share them. There are some public debates about this that have gone on for years, but without much change happening, like the notion that the Ten Commandments should be displayed in court rooms, or government buildings. Then there’s the debate where some change has happened: should the Ten Commandments be posted in public school buildings? As recently as June of this year, Louisiana became the very first state to require that the answer to that question be “yes”. Will more states require the posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms? Will a shift in the tide see the Ten Commandments posted in more public spaces? Or will Louisiana’s new law be ruled unconstitutional? It’s very hard to say. Oklahoma has required the teaching of the Bible in schools, which may push the pendulum one way. But the ACLU is supporting several Louisiana families who are suing the state over their new law, and if they prevail the pendulum could be pushed in a different direction. For the record, I’m against the posting of the Ten Commandments in places like schools and court rooms, I think it’s in everyone’s best interest to keep those places secular. But you may disagree, and that’s fine. Regardless of what you personally believe, we bring the weight of all of these ongoing debates into this sanctuary with us when we dare to look at these seventeen verses from Exodus together, and I commend all of you for your courage.
Originally, I was going to end this series on Moses last week, with Aaron and the story of the golden calf. But then I looked at the foci of the other 5 sermons–Moses’ adoptive mother, Moses’ relationship to God, Pharaoh, Moses’ sister, and his brother–and I suddenly knew what relationship we needed to explore before I could really call this sermon series complete: Moses and us.
That might sound silly. This man lived more than 5,000 years ago, we don’t know him. What relationship do we have with a long dead guy? And true, we certainly don’t have the kind of relationship with him that his contemporaries had. But I’d argue that the stories and theological framework that Moses left behind impact our faith lives so significantly that even though we’ll never have a face to face conversation with the man on this mortal coil, we nevertheless know his heart and mind, and we carry him with us when we model his servant leadership, and when we live out his teachings. I further argue that we can only truly appreciate the latter through the lens of the former, so when we’re looking at the Ten Commandments, we need to imagine hearing them in the middle of the wilderness, many years into a long journey with no end in sight, surrounded by absolutely nothing we know except one another.
When the Hebrews first heard the Ten Commandments, they were in the infancy of a new faith journey, and they had so much more to learn. They were also tremendously vulnerable to harm, and God worked through Moses to keep them safe. I say this because, reading these words as a kid, I heard a whole lot of finger wagging implicit in the text, and I don’t think the Divine intended that. It was more that God wanted me, proudly eating that candy bar, to know which shiny red buttons in life to avoid as much as my ancestors from 5,000 years before needed to know.
First, the shiniest of most red buttons: nothing is God but God. Nothing can satisfy like the Holy, provide like the Creator, care like Mother Nature. So every time we’re tempted to put something, or someone, else up on a pedestal, or an altar, we need to know that we’re practicing idolatry and setting ourselves up for danger. As humans, we’re always looking for promises of safety and security elsewhere–in money, in a career, in our looks, in substances, in celebrity culture, in politicians–but none of those other sources can take care of us, and if we give any temporary, human made source too much importance in our lives, we end up getting hurt.
Because the Divine is so powerful, and the Divine name is so revered among people, we need to be careful about not using it for vanity. Contrary to what many think, this isn’t about what you say when you stub your toe. I’m inclined to think that’s pretty low on God’s list of concerns. This is more about how we talk about God with one another. Am I invoking the name of the Divine to win an argument, or to get what I want out of someone else? Am I saying “well God says…” or “the Bible says…” not out of a desire to help or teach, but to manipulate? Watch your words, and you intent behind them, because “God told me” is a really powerful way to start a sentence, and it’s a compelling way to persuade another person’s will.
In a similar vein of caring for one another–have some respect for your heritage. For you, that might have to do with your relationship with your mother and father, but most of us reach a point in life where what mom and dad think is no longer the be all end all in our lives, and that’s ok. Most of us will realize at some point that our parents made mistakes, maybe some really big ones, and we don’t want to take the same road they did. That’s a healthy way to feel. So who in your family tree gives you strength? What good lessons can you take with you from the people who cared for you when you were young? And what are you passing on to your own kids, your grandkids, your students, your nieces and nephews, or your younger friends?
Make sure you take time to rest. It doesn’t have to be on a Sunday–for me it sure isn’t. But people don’t thrive when they work and work and work and burn themselves out. Give your body and mind time to recover and get ready for what’s coming up, and show the folx around you that the world won’t end if they take a nap.
When we make promises, keep them. Whether those promises are marriage vows, vows to your Church, commitments to work or school, or promises to your friends and family, respect them, and don’t tempt other people to break promises you know they’ve made.
Be kind, and compassionate. Don’t take things that aren’t yours, don’t break what doesn’t have to be broken, don’t get in the way of a good outcome for someone else, and don’t work the system to get what you want.
I don’t think these laws should be quoted from scripture and then posted in places we share with those of other faiths, because that does harm, and, ironically, breaks a few of these very commandments. But instead, I think these should be inscribed within us, as an internal moral code. It’s easiest to keep living by these rules when they’re reinterpreted and written in contemporary, contextualized language, so because of that, I’m ending this sermon with a “Remix” of the Ten Commandments, penned for a website called “enfleshed” by a clergy friend of mine who likes to go by their first initial, M:
Practice loyalty to the sacred.
Remember every image of God is only a glimpse.
Do not use God’s name to do harm.
Do not allow productivity to dominate life.
Care for those who have cared for you, and honor those who have paved your way.
Do not be unnecessarily destructive.
Be faithful to the commitments you make.
Do not take what does not belong to you.
Do not hinder justice from coming to fruition.
Do not use power over others to get what you want.
Amen.
*HYMN Heal Me, Hands of Jesus UMH# 262
WE RESPOND
JOYS & CONCERNS
PASTORAL PRAYER
Lord God heavenly Father, you have commanded us to have no other gods. Keep us faithful to you alone, dethrone the idols in our life, and give us the grace to fear/honour, love and trust you above all things.
Gracious Father, your name is holy. Stop us from using it in unholy ways. Let the name that you put on us in baptism keep us holy, and may we always trust in the holy name of Jesus and use his name in prayer and praise.
This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Almighty God and Father, you created six days in which to work and the seventh you made a day of rest. Grant that we may use the Lord's day for rest and hearing your word.
Gracious Father in heaven, in your goodness you have given us fathers and mothers whom you want us to honour. Grant that by the help of your Spirit all Christian parents may bring their children up to fear/honour and love you, and that children may not provoke their parents to anger but love, respect, and obey them. Keep the families of the church united, and strengthen them through your word.
Lord of life, you have created the world and you give life to all people. Grant that by your grace all may respect the sanctity of life, including the life of the unborn. Let us do nothing to hurt or harm our neighbour in any way, but rather to be of help, especially in times of need.
Merciful Father, you have established the state of marriage and continue to bless it. Give us grace to lead a chaste and pure life. Bless all who are married; enable them to remain faithful to their vows, and to be patient and forgiving.
Almighty God, you are the giver and preserver of all good things. Help us to value honest work as your gift and the means by which you bless our country. Give us joy as we serve others with unselfish hearts. Give work to the unemployed and help them to use their extra time constructively and for the good of their communities.
Lord God our heavenly Father, in Jesus Christ you have shown yourself to be for us and not against us. Help us to be loyal to our neighbours and do nothing to damage their reputation. Show us the log in our own eye when we find a speck in their eye. Make us more ready to forgive than to judge, and always view the actions of others in the most favourable light.
Gracious God and Father, you are the owner and giver of all things. Enable us to be good stewards of all your gifts, content with what you have given us, and eager to advance the cause of others even if it is to our disadvantage. Give us a generous heart and joy in serving our neighbour.
— posted on the Lutheran Church of Australia’s Sunday by Sunday website.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
*HYMN Together We Serve FWS# 2175
SENDING FORTH WITH BLESSING
POSTLUDE
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