Bible Text: Exodus 17:1-17 | Preacher: Pastor Dorry Newcomer | Series: Exodus | Moses named the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”  Hmmm.  I’ve never been to Egypt, but I’m pretty familiar with Massah and Meribah.  Seems to me they’re a lot like ‘Merica and even our own Middletown Township!  Places where people are quarrelling.  Places where people are wondering, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

It’s so easy for us to be critical of the Israelites.  From our perspective it;s easy to see, of course God was with them!  Exodus chapter 16 tells us how God provided manna every morning and quail every evening, six days a week, for forty years to sustain the Israelites as they journeyed out of Egypt and made their way to the Promised.  Six days a week God rained down manna, “bread from heaven” in the morning and quail in the evening, and everyone had enough.  On the sixth day, twice as much food was provided so no one would have to do the work of gathering food on the Sabbath.  Clearly God was with them, providing them not only enough food to eat, but also providing for them a day off!  What a change from their time as slaves in Egypt.

But now there is a new challenge.  No drinking water.  You’d think waking up every morning to new manna would have taught them that God’s mercies are new every morning.  Every day they had evidence that God provides.  You’d think closing out each day with fresh flocks of quail for supper would have taught that that God is faithful all day and all night.  You’d think the rhythm of six days you shall work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, would have shown them that they could trust God to always provide for their needs.

Turns out, it takes a long time to learn these lessons.  Whether you were formerly a slave in Egypt, or you live in modern times, very few of us seem to naturally know how to trust God.  Even with years of experience.  As soon as the next crisis hits, we get nervous.  We get testy.  We might even begin to quarrel and doubt.

That’s why I like this story of Moses striking the rock so much—it’s a good snapshot of us!  The people were so afraid of not having water, Moses thought they might stone him.  Their anxiety completely pulled them off their pins.  They hadn’t yet learned they could trust God to meet their needs.  Instead of praying to God directly, instead of depending on God, they catastrophized.  They made a potentially bad situation even worse by turning on their leader.  They were willing to sacrifice the best part of themselves in order to satisfy the more base part.

Hmm…even if you weren’t looking for a succinct definition of the human condition, I think we just found it!  Think back to Adam and Eve.  They were willing to sacrifice the best part of themselves—their innocence—in order to satisfy the more base part that wanted what it wanted even if it was forbidden.  Think about our history as Methodists, people traditionally against drinking alcohol and gambling.  Those policies weren’t developed because we don’t like to have fun.  Those viewpoints emerged after watching countless people sacrifice the best parts of themselves—their relationships, their self-respect, their ability to contribute to society—in order to satisfy the more base part that wanted to use alcohol to escape from pain or use gambling to try to get rich quick.

We can have compassion for the Israelites, because even though they left Egypt with all the gold and silver they could carry, they are still missing some very important things.  They are still thirsty.  They need water to drink, yes, but clearly they also need water for their souls.  They need to learn to depend on God and develop the faith to know that God is indeed among them.

The whole rest of the Bible is a compilation of people’s experiences with learning to see God’s presence and depend on God’s provision.  Even when the Israelites finally reach the Promised Land, they will continue to struggle with this.  Throughout the Old Testament, even when God sends military victories, and kings, and later prophets, the human condition is so strong, so ingrained in us, that on our own we cannot overcome our tendency to sacrifice the best parts of ourselves in order to satisfy the more base parts.  That is why God sent a Savior.  We need God’s help to know once and for all that God is indeed in our midst.  We need God’s help to turn our Massah’s and Meribah’s—our places of anxiety, anger, rebellion, despondence—into places of faith.

Even as Christians, we struggle to see God’s presence and trust God’s provision.  And hard times make hard things harder.  We need something to be easy!  Did you know that, after today, there are only EIGHT Sundays left in 2020?  At Lima we’ve decided to make things as easy and simple as possible, and for the next eight weeks, focus on one key idea.  And that key idea can be expressed with six words:

GOD IS NO WHERE
GOD IS NOW HERE

See the difference?  For the months of November and December, we’re going to focus on how we can make the shift between thinking “God is nowhere” to seeing that “God is now here.”

Moses called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”  And as much as that might ring true for us, we don’t want Middletown Township, ‘Merica, or anywhere else in the world to be Massah and Meribah.  We want everyone, everyplace to know that God is now here!  In fact, that is our main job as followers of Jesus.  Just before leaving earth for the last time, Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, telling them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Back in January, on the first Sunday of the year, I said that we are now in 2020, and this is the year everything comes into focus.  Then the pandemic hit, and things became very confusing and cloudy for a time.  But, at least in terms of Lima UMC, I believe things are getting clearer.  With our Statement of Inclusion vote counted last Sunday, we can begin to clearly articulate our desire to welcome all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or any potential source of discrimination.  With our stewardship campaign this month, we can clearly articulate our desire to help everyone see that God is now here, even during this difficult time in history when it might be easy to conclude God is nowhere.

And take a look at this diagram.

 

We start off on the left, with an idea and a small amount of resources.  What is needed in that phase is visionary leadership.  This was Moses!  He had the vision and could see a way, he trusted God to make a way, when the way was anything but clear.  Lima Methodist also had this kind of leadership, starting in 1832 or so.  A handful of members saw a need for a church in Middletown Township.  They knew if they got organized, they could do more for God.

The second phase is a time of building, time to turn that vision into reality. We will get a glimpse of the Israelites in this phase as we get toward the end of November.  At Lima, we stand on the shoulders of the giants who built first a chapel, then a fellowship hall, then a larger sanctuary, and eventually the campus we enjoy today.

In the third phase, the main structures of the organization are in place.  The values are clear.  The programs run well.  Administrative leadership is needed to keep things running smoothly.

But eventually, all organizations start to decline.  The visionaries are long gone, the builders are mostly gone, and the administrators are tired.  Without an infusion of fresh vision, the organization will continue to decline.  What will be most needed then is a chaplain who can help them age gracefully and die with dignity.

If we were together in person, I would ask a bunch of you to come up to the white board and put a colored dot on the life cycle diagram, to indicate where you think Lima is now.  But since we’re not able to do that, I will simply tell you where I think Lima is.  You’re free to disagree, of course.  But this is what I see.  I think Lima is right about here.

Wait, you might be saying, that dot isn’t on the life cycle line!  You’re right!  It’s slightly above the line.  The reason I put it there is that this life cycle diagram you are seeing is not an inevitability.  It doesn’t have to look like this.  God can and does give fresh visions, and when that happens, the life cycle begins anew!

 

And that’s where I think we are today.  God is giving us a fresh vision.  A simplified vision if you will in an increasing complex technical age, of helping people make the shift from thinking that God is nowhere, to knowing that God is now here.  I believe God is calling us to reclaim our original priorities, values that date back to 1833 when Lima Methodist Church was officially founded: to be committed to, and organized for, sharing God’s love.

We don’t have to be a place of Massah and Meribah.  Instead we can be convinced that God is with us!  We can be

 

Lima United Methodist Church

Committed to and Organized for Sharing God’s Love with a New Generation

 

Lima United Methodist Church

Committed to and Organized for Developing Disciples Across the Lifespan

 

Lima United Methodist Church

Committed to and Organized for Helping People Make the Shift from

GOD IS NO WHERE

To

GOD IS NOW HERE

 

This is what ultimately happens when we depend on God:  God gives us new life.  New life after death, and new life even before we die!  If we are willing to follow God’s lead, we can trust that God WILL provide for us.  But there will be challenges.  There will be times when we are thirsty and there’s no water in sight.  We will have to deepen our trust in God.  And we will have to sacrifice. We will have to let go of some of the old ways of doing things, and embrace new things.  But here’s the reality:  we are going to sacrifice either way.  The question is, will we stay stuck in our human condition and sacrifice the best of who we are in Christ to satisfy the baser parts of ourselves?  Or will we sacrifice what is only temporary anyway, so we can experience and live in the eternal?

Friends, even in the midst of this horrible pandemic, I believe we are living in an extraordinary time that God wants to use for good.  Let’s not be people marked by quarreling and doubt.  Let’s make sure Lima is not Massah and Meribah.  Let’s put our trust in God to make Lima like Zion, a community of hope and light, a place where everyone can see that God is Now Here!  Amen.