Tellico Village Community Church Sermons

September 12, 1999

Exodus 14:10-14:21-25

I am sure there is in history no greater story about breaking free from the destructive powers of evil than the story of the exodus. It is Israel's most sacred story, and it has tremendous significance for all of us who long to be set free from the bonds of life that oppress us.

Some of us, as we become older, for instance, fall prey to the destructive and insidious idea that there's not that much to live for anymore. And life loses its sparkle, and the challenges seem to fade, and some people begin to live for nothing more than to die. And that's slavery.

Some of us live in relationships with family members and others that are so broken that they are like a dark cloud constantly circling our lives. We can't get away from their effect. The bitterness, disappointment, fear, and anger that we experience from or toward other people dominate our lives and make us grouchy and dispirited and quite simply, miserable. And that's slavery.

Some human beings experience accidents and illnesses and losses that forever change their lives and they begin to believe that the best of life is in the past and never again will they be happy or productive. Some of us have character flaws that we've tried to but can't overcome, and life becomes one event after another of making the same old mistakes. Some are addicted to substances or alcohol and can't imagine what life would be without them. Oh, there are many kinds of slavery, and many different places where oppression rears its ugly head.

Even as a society we are in bondage. How can it be that we are the wealthiest nation in the world and yet 30 percent of the people living in Appalachia languish below the poverty level? And we are helpless to affect any change. How can it be that the unemployment rate in some counties of Appalachia rise to 26% while nationally its only 4%? And we can't seem to do anything about it. And the oppressive problems don't just exist in our own regional neighborhood. As a nation, we wonder why our children are killing themselves and each other. Is there anything we can do to overcome violence? And racism? And man's inhumanity to man?

All these things are about being in bondage to the powers. The powers of evil.

And that's where the greatest freedom story of all time begins. When Israel was in Egypt's land. If you want to learn to be free, you need to study the story of the exodus.

Now today's Scripture reading is about the crossing of the Red Sea. The Israelites have eaten their Passover meal, and Pharaoh has relented. He has let them go. And there they are, on their way to the Promised Land with Moses in the lead.

Now you and I know what's going to happen there on the shores of the Red Sea. As Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his commandos to catch the Hebrews, they find themselves backed up against the water. There is no place to go. But you and I know what's going to happen next because we've all seen the movie. In just a moment, Charlton Heston is going to raise his arms, and the sea will split apart. And the Israelites will pass safely through. And the Egyptian chariots will follow. But then Charlton Heston will lower his arms, and the sea will flow together again. And the Egyptian horsemen will be destroyed. And all the Hebrews will be amazed at this and will join together saying, "Holy Moses!"

Now lots of us are also standing today caught between some power of evil and the sea. And if you just happen to be one of those people - here's an invitation to hope. For God is able to part that sea, and bring you safely into freedom on the other side! So come and learn from the greatest freedom story ever!

Now the first thing its important to learn is that exodus from slavery and into freedom is not really a religious event. Despite the fact that in Judaism the Passover and exodus experiences are seen as unbelievably sacred moments of religious commitment, let me assure you, they were anything but that.

Last July, when we attended our Community Church conference in Toronto, several of us attended a little Anglican Church of Canada worship service. The church was located right across the street from our hotel, and our experience there produced many unique stories which I'll be sharing with you in coming weeks. But the one I want to tell you about today is simply about a very human element that turned up in a very sacred moment. There we were, gathered around the altar, sharing communion which is, of course, the Christian version of the Passover meal. And as we took the bread and dipped it in the cup, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the priest - underneath his beautiful robe - was wearing shorts!

Things are not always as sacred on the inside as they seem on the outside.

In a similar vein, I recall a special Maundy Thursday experience in my first church. We were commemorating the last supper - sharing an actual Passover meal which was eaten while passages from Jesus' passion were read. The hall was darkened and in candlelight. The tables were set in the shape of a cross with an empty chair at the head of the cross. It was Jesus' seat. A sacred silence hovered over the hall as the meal was eaten and the Scriptures read. The mood was just right. It was a divine moment.

And then the outside door swung open and slammed shut. The POOF of a flashbulb went off. Everyone gasped and turned around. It was Frank, the photographer from the local paper. Flash! Flash! Flash! What a great photo op, he thought! I could hardly control my anger as Frank reduced our sacred moment to mere secular mush. And then, to make matters even worse, good ol' Frank came over to ask me the names of the people for the paper. And as he wrote down their names, Frank plopped down right into Jesus' chair!

Would it be possible to more completely destroy a sacred moment like that? I wouldn't have thought so until after Frank left. For when he did, poor little Kirk Murphy, sitting directly across from me, found something in the bitter herbs that upset his stomach. And he got sick. And threw up all over the table.

O holy night.

Now, if you are a student of the Bible, you may have noticed that all the great movements forward, all the miraculous advances of God's people seem to occur not when the people are heroically religious and the moment antiseptically divine, but rather when the people are incredibly unfaithful and the moment utterly profane. Although Cecil B. DeMille polishes up the event to make it look like the escaping Hebrews are the equivalent of a squadron of saintly Mother Teresa's standing there just waiting for the sea to part, Exodus 14 gives us a different picture. Verse 11 shows us what really went on there at the Red Sea:

Oh, the popular redacted version is that the people of Israel bravely marched toward freedom. But the Bible shows us another version. Why they were being pulled out toward the Red Sea by forces they could no longer control and they were kicking and screaming all the way. They were ticked off at God and mad as hell at Moses. And the last thing in the world they wanted was to be free.

Because, you see, its always easier to serve Egyptians than it is to cross the sea!

One of the most important things you can ever learn about yourself is that you are much too human to do the work of God. And your desire for freedom is not as strong as you think.

You have an argument with someone you love. You are so angry, you can hardly stand it. You know you've got to let it go because - as long as its there - this anger is going to stand in the way of that relationship. As long as its there, you're going to toss and turn at night and grow ulcers. As long as its there, you're going to be captured by that anger. As long as its there, the hole between you and that other person is going to deepen. You know all this. But as much as you know what God would have you do, you are powerless to do it. As much as you think you want to be free, there is something about the anger that you want to hold on to.

Oh, we human beings are much better at serving Egyptians than we are at crossing the sea.

The longer I live and God walks in friendship with me, the more I realize how impossible it is to be a Christian on our own power. Preachers will lead you to believe that being a Christian is simply about making decisions to follow God in this way or that way. All you have to do is make the choice and it will happen. But it really isn't as easy as that. When you've lost a loved one and you're caught in the grip of grief, its not a simple matter to just move on. When you're trying your best to live your life and begin to sense a call to give of yourself in some important way to others, its not a simple thing to just change your lifestyle and do it. When you've lived all your life believing that people should get what they deserve, its virtually impossible to accept a life of God's grace.

One of the adult electives we'll be offering this Fall is a study of Philip Yancey's book, "What's So Amazing About Grace?" I encourage you to attend because you will encounter in that study an in depth look into what God's grace is really like. And you're not going to like it. You'll say to yourself, "Why, its impossible to live this way, and even if I could, I'm not sure I'd want to!" You see, the truth is, while most of love to sing the song "Amazing Grace, How Sweet The Sound", few of us have any real desire to live the life of grace. Why that would mean that we could never again support capital punishment. That would mean we would have to learn to love and pray for the redemption of people like Timothy McVeigh. That would mean we would have to learn to weep for the mothers of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi soldiers who died in the Gulf War right along with weeping for the mothers of the American kids who died. Why, that would mean we would have to love people we can't personally stand.

Oh, grace is nice to talk about. But its almost impossible for humans to do

So here we are, standing with the Hebrew people on the edge of the Red Sea. Enslaved to destructive, sinful behaviors, attitudes and values on the one side. Backed up against a sea we don't have the power to cross on the other. Are we stuck here? Or is there something we can do?

Listen to what Moses tells the people to do. Verse 13. "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today shall never be seen again. The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still."

Moses holds out three things we can do when we find ourselves stuck between the Egyptians and the raging Red Sea. The first is to see the Egyptians we're so inclined to follow and serve. You see, we must face up to the things that enslave us. We must identify them before we can do anything about them. Its okay to be a human being. God expects you to be nothing more. But along with being human, its important to come to understand your humanity. Who and what are the Egyptians that are enslaving your life? Anger? Hurt? Grief? Self-doubt? Bitterness? Laziness? Pride? The need to always be right?

I want to encourage you in these days ahead to conduct an inventory of your life. What are the Egyptians that enslave you. What are the powers of evil you're currently serving? Its important for you to identify them.

And then, there's a second thing Moses tells us to do. Imagine what life can be like if these Egyptians can be removed! What might happen in your relationship with your child if you can resolve your disappointment in their lifestyle? What might life be like if you can be reconciled with a former friend? What might be possible if you put away your need for vengeance, your drive for self-fulfillment at the expense of others, your excuses for not using your life to help others?

You see, healing can't come just by identifying problems. You have to imagine how good life can be if you can conquer them.

And then Moses says a third thing. Be still. Ask God to fight the battle for you. Because, you see, you are contending not against human things, but against powers and principalities. Is there anyone here who believes they have the strength to overcome Pharaoh and all his armies? Of course not. But God can do it! If we trust him.

Mary McGuire is a 56-year old woman who's had a hard life. Had to go to work to support her family when she was about 10-years old. Suffered the loss of her husband Joe shortly after the birth of their son David. Worked hard to raise her boy and get him ready for college. And then David came down with terminal leukemia.

He was such a beautiful kid. The apple of her eye. He knew he was dying, but - like both his mother and father he was a fighter. He worked hard to finish high school. Worked hard to put himself through college. And six months after he got his degree, David died.

There is no loss greater than the loss of a child. Mary was overcome by grief, and filled with anger. How unfair life was! And three days a week, Mary languished in the thought that the proof of life's unfairness were the homeless people she went to serve food to in the church's soup kitchen. How could there be a God who let people like these scum live, and people like her beautiful son David die? Finally, Mary couldn't take it anymore.

She went to see her pastor and told this very wise woman that she had had it. She couldn't do it anymore. Serving these people was an insult to the memory of her son. Her pastor let her talk and carefully listened. She let Mary sob on her shoulder. And then she said, "Oh Mary, I know it must hurt terribly. I can't imagine what it must be like for you. I can see how hurt and angry you are. And its okay."

And then a moment passed, and Mary's pastor said, "I hope you'll pray about your work here. Right now you see those people through the filter of all your anguish. I'm hoping you might be able to imagine them as if the anger weren't there."

These words troubled Mary. But then a day or two later, she was slopping mashed potatoes onto peoples' plates when a scraggily man came through the line. She scooped up the potatoes and filled his plate. And then, for some strange reason, she looked up at him. And behind the dirt, behind the full beard, behind the hardened wrinkles, were the clear blue eyes of a boy. And for the first time, Mary McGuire saw a homeless person not as a broken-down waste of a human being, but as some other mother's child.

And one by one, Mary came to see them all that way. She began to scoop them extra potatoes. She went and sat at their tables and chatted. When she saw them on the street corner on cold winter nights, she pulled over her car. "Honey, get in out of the chill. Come warm up." And the homeless men and women would always say, "Thanks, mom."

Several years later, Mary was fixing supper in the church kitchen. She heard a noise behind her and turned. There was a clean-cut young couple smiling at her. "Hi, mom," he said. She looked puzzled. "You don't remember me, do you?" he said.

"I'm sorry," said Mary.

"I'm Willy," he said.

"Willy???" Mary exclaimed in disbelief. He was the most hopeless one of all. He'd disappeared a couple of years before.

"I know you don't remember," Willy said. "But two years ago, you handed out Valentines cards to all us bums. Mine said, 'Be Mine'. And when I saw it, I got to thinking that my mom used to always give me one of those candy hearts on Valentine's Day. And it always said, 'Be mine.' And I knew that I had to go home. Been clean for two years now. Got a job up in the financial district. Goin' to college at night. And this is Marsha, my wife. We got married last year, and you can see we're havin' a baby. If it’s a girl, we're going to call her Mary. And if it’s a boy, his name will be… David."

And in that miraculous moment in a church kitchen, Mary McGuire saw the Red Sea part. And without a doubt she knew that God himself was leading her to freedom.