Deuteronomy 34:1-12

We have been following the fascinating story of Moses leading the Hebrew people from slavery to freedom - from Egypt to the Promised Land. And today we come to the final vignette in the drama, the closing story of the Torah. It is about the death of Moses and the passing of the torch of leadership to Joshua.

Now Deuteronomy gives us some facts about Moses at the time of his death. He was one hundred twenty years old. The Bible also tells us that Moses' "vigor had not abated". This, of course, is the biblical way of cleaning up life to make it a bit more palatable for religious folks like us. Old Testament scholar John Hayes points out the meaning of the original Hebrew for the phrase "his vigor had not abated" actually relates to one's sexual prowess. In other words, even at one hundred twenty years old, Moses did not need Viagara!

And one more fact about Moses at the time of his death. Not only did he not need pharmaceutical help in the aforementioned way, neither did Moses require glasses! We are told that his vision was unimpaired.

This is an interesting characterization. There is more to it than just the fact that Moses had good eyesight. One of the threads that runs through the story of Moses is the subject of what he sees. You'll remember that what got Moses started on the path to freedom was when he SAW an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. Later, when Moses was hiding out in Midian, he SAW a burning bush. And you'll remember how, on the road to freedom with the people, Moses met with God high atop a mountain, and God let Moses SEE his glory.

And now, here he is, on Mount Nebo, looking out toward the sparkling blue of the Mediterranean Sea. And Moses - at 120 years old, not needing either Viagara or eyeglasses, but at the end of his life nonetheless - looks out from the lofty peaks of the mountain and finally SEES it! The land called "Promise".

One of the most important things we can learn from Moses is that the glory and power of his life flowed from the fact that he was a man of vision. And if our lives are going to count for something, and bring freedom to ourselves and others, and contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God, we will need to ask God to help us become people of vision, too.

In E.M. Forster's wonderful short story, "The Other Side of the Hedge", a young man has been running along the same hot and dusty road nearly every day for the past 25 years. The road is very narrow and bordered on either side by a brown crackling hedge. It is thick and impenetrable, blocking out any sight or sound of what lies on the other side.

But, one day, the man stops and sits down to catch his breath. Suddenly, a cool puff of fresh air touches his cheek. It seems to come from a place in the hedge where the branches have thinned out. He moves closer to the hedge, and sensing an opening, the young man pushes through the branches and thorns. And then, in a miraculous moment, the young man emerges into a new world. He sees a land of exquisite beauty with blue sky, brilliant sunshine and cool waters. The earth rises grandly into the hills, and beech trees line the meadows, and everywhere there are flowers! The air is filled with songbirds, and the young man who, for twenty-five years, has run the same dreary path nearly every day, discovers a brand new world - on the other side of the hedge.

The Christian Faith tells us that life is full of new worlds to discover! And following Jesus is a process of pushing through the hedges that have formed around our lives. You know, what I admire most about Moses is how he was not afraid to push through the hedges erected in his life around other people, around himself, and around God. And the vision he discovered on the other side of each of those hedgerows is what made his life so different and so powerful.

So on this day when we install Stephen Nash into our ministry, and as we consider the challenges we individually and collectively face in life, come take a quick look at these discoveries of Moses, for you and I need new vision, too.

First off, Moses gained a new vision about people. This group of Hebrew slaves were not a fun crowd, you know. Why, whenever they ran into difficulty on the road to freedom, their first instinct was to turn around and run right back to Egypt. Whenever a hardship came along, they blamed Moses for it and plotted to kill him. The Bible describes them as stiff-necked and stubborn people. Even God was ticked off at them.

But despite his anguish and frustration with the people - tempting him to turn his back on them, never to come back - Moses fights down the urge. Even though God's anger with the Hebrews is to the point that judgment is poised against them, Moses argues with God and convinces him to change his mind. And it seems to me that the driving force behind this incredible advocacy for these terribly difficult people must have something to do with what Moses saw back in Egypt - when he watched the Hebrew slave beaten by the taskmaster.

You see, Moses saw something about who these people really were and what these people truly experienced in life! Why, they were slaves. Had been for the last 400 years. And later - out there in the wilderness - Moses came to understand that because they were slaves, these Hebrews had no idea about how free people live! And Moses faced a choice. He could resent them for it and give up on them. Or he could appreciate them for it and continue to care for them until they were nurtured into the life of freedom. If you were Moses, which course would you take?

You have to catch a vision of who people are, and appreciate the meaning of their lives, if you're ever going to learn to love them.

When we train our Stephen Ministers about caring for those who lose loved ones, we try to help them understand that the reason the comprehensive support from family members and friends often begins to ebb after a time is because people want the grieving person to be well. They want them to be able to talk about something other than their loss. They want them to not burst out into tears every time the loved one's name is mentioned. They want them to be making progress toward getting over it.

You see, we often want people to be what they are not - which is well - and we want them to live the way well people live - which they cannot. The death of a loved one is a life-altering experience. And you and I can't manipulate it into resolution. All you can do is recognize its power. And learn to appreciate the depth of a person's loss. And affirm it for them. And try to understand that grieving people do the things they do because they are grieving. And if you'll stick with them through those difficult times, and be constant in your love for them, and let God lead them through the process they need to go through, healing can begin.

Oh, its tempting to become frustrated with people because they do not live as we want them to live. Why, in our society today, many of us want the poor to live and behave as though they are not poor - as though they live in the same world as middle and upper class people, and share the same resources. And we are quick to express that the poor must pull themselves up by their bootstraps - just like we did; and take responsibility for themselves - just like we do; and stop having so many babies, and so on and so on and so on. And in the process, what we do is live with a faulty vision of the poor that does not take into consideration who they are, where they live, and what has become ingrained into their lives. And it is a vision that will never help the poor.

We need a new vision - a new vision of what it is like to lose a loved one, a new vision of what it is like to be poor and hungry in a world of plenty, a new vision of what its like to be black in a white society, a new vision of what its like to be young in 1999, a new vision of humanity! For only when you push through the hedge and see people for who they really are, and their life as it truly is can you learn to love with power. We need a new vision of the people in our lives.

Now the second vision of Moses was a new vision of himself.

You'll remember that Moses was raised as the step-grandson of Pharaoh. He grew up as a privileged, wealthy Egyptian. But all along, his natural mother - who served as his nursemaid - taught Moses about his other identity. He was not really an Egyptian, you know. Moses was one of the Hebrews!

Several years ago, I began taking groups of high school kids to work up in the mountains, in a little place called Roses Creek. Its a pretty poor community, but the people have banded together to make life better. As our middle-class, mostly suburban kids worked with the people of Roses Creek, one of the girls made a touching observation. When it came time for her to share what she'd learned from the trip, she began to weep and said, "I learned that these people are not really poor. WE'RE the ones who are poor!"

What a powerful vision! To realize somehow that our own true identity is not really located in the social class within which we live! To learn that our own true people are not really the white, suburban, middle and upper middle class people within whose circles we run. To discover that our true family is actually the poor, the disenfranchised, and the enslaved of this world.

Moses learned that his true identity was as a Hebrew slave, and not as a privileged Egyptian. And when Moses caught this vision, he dedicated the rest of his life to helping his family to freedom. Will you dedicate your life to helping your true family, too?

And then the third vision. Moses' vision of God.

When I was a kid, someone told me if I doubted, God would strike me down. But when I got old enough to read the Bible, I read of Moses who not only doubted God, but argued with God every day. And God didn't blow up Moses! Rather, God engaged him in the conversation.

You know, the world is full of rumors spread about God. Rumors that God sends tragedy to people and kills innocent children. Rumors that God sends religious people off to destroy infidels. Rumors about God withdrawing love from people who disobey his will. Rumors about God being content to save only a few while the vast majority of humanity goes straight to hell. But while these voices of rumor speak loudly all around us there must be some who - like Moses - dare to push through the hedge and argue with God about these things. What Moses said to God when some thought he was about to destroy the Hebrews was this: "If this is what you're really like, then you are a laughingstock in the eyes of the world. For if you called us out of Egypt to save us, but can't deliver on your promise and now you're going to destroy us, you don't deserve to be followed! If you think people are gonna love you by inflicting pain on them, you must be crazier than Pharaoh! And if you can't save all of these stiff-necked, stubborn people, don't bother to save me either - 'cause we go as a package deal!"

And as the world held its collective breath, waiting for God to swat Moses like a mosquito for such insolent behavior, something incredible happened. God smiled. He said, "I agree!" And the Bible tells us that, more than any other human and any other prophet, Moses knew God face to face! He had a new vision!

And that brings me to Stephen K. Nash.

Steve, this morning, we install you to a sacred office. It is an office that requires clear vision. We need you to know us and love us not for who and what we ought to be, but for who and what we truly are. When we drive over the dam to come to this church and this Village, life does not stay on the other side. Why, in this congregation today are a family and friends who have lost a loved one this very week. There are others who've just learned they have a serious illness. There are others still who will return home from this service to care for loved ones just home from the hospital, to try to help grandchildren in trouble far away, to engage the powers of darkness. They are here today because they hurt beyond imagination. And yet they are here! They have come in love to celebrate your taking your place among us. Imagine that! Today, I want to invite you to come and push through the hedge. Come to the places where you clearly see these extraordinary people weep, and groan, and doubt, and struggle, and yet love as powerfully as they do. Steve, come gain a vision of who we are. And love us in Jesus' name.

And let us help you catch a deeper vision of yourself. You see, we don't need you to be a Superhero. We take you into our care today because you are truly one of us. You are frail. Mistake-prone. All-too-human. And loved by God. That's why we like you so much! No, you're not really an Egyptian from Kentucky. You're really one of us Hebrew slaves.

And finally, we need you to show us the way to a new vision of God. We have a sense that there's more bad information about God in the world than good information about God. And we have a lot of questions, and doubts, and things we'd like to talk with God about. We need you to help show us how.

You know, at the end of Moses' life, he laid hands upon Joshua. And Joshua, the Bible tells us, was filled with the wisdom of the vision Moses discovered.

Stephen K. Nash, today we pray for you the Moses touch.

The touch of seeing things on the other side of the hedge!