The Stories We Choose to Tell: God’s use of The Exodus

 

My beautiful wife Nicole and I have been married for 21 years and counting.  Early on in our married life she began a habit of asking, “tell me a story” at the end of our day.  Aside from an occasional foray into fiction, my go-to response was to tell her about how we had met, about our first kiss, reminding her that she asked me to kiss her, and how we had subsequently fallen in love. 

Along with these origin stories about how our union came to be, which she enjoyed even though they lacked any radioactive spider bites or experiments with gamma radiation, I recounted to her the tales of road trips we had taken together to Texas, Virginia, Glacier National Park and Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National Park, and once more to Glacier National Park, and the various adventures, and misadventures that accompanied them. 

For example, “Do you remember the time we pulled a pop-up camper to RMNP, only to discover while we tried to set it up in the dark at the end of the first day that we’d left two of the poles behind, necessitating making new ones from some pipe purchased at a Lowe’s the next day, have the stove be unusable because the gas line was clogged with a wasp nest, discover the hard way that misquotes had multiple ways inside that we needed to plug, have a flat on the car in Colorado and on the trailer in MN, and finally have the lift mechanism stuck in the up position while I beat on it with a rubber hammer at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in MI’s U.P.?  Ah, fun times.”  FYI, that was the only trip we took with that trailer, sold it the next summer.

For Christmas 2007, I created a journal of memories to give to Nicole that covered our relationship from 1999 when we first met until then.  It was a leather-bound journal with the written version of the stories from my point of view that I had been telling her at night, in my dubious handwriting, but also with stickers representing the various events in our lives together and places we had visited in it that I had purchased at a craft store to give it some flare.

In 2014, when Nicole and I returned to Glacier National Park, hiking to some of the same places as we had in 2004 like Avalanche Lake, but adding a 13.6-mile round trip trail with 3,526 feet of elevation gain to Sperry Chalet, the last mile or so on top of the still six or seven feet deep snow that remained in mid-June.  It was a climb that seemed endless to Nicole, especially since you can’t see the goal to know if you’re getting close or not until you’re almost to it.  After that trip, Nicole took it upon herself to one-up my effort of commemoration by making this professional looking book on the computer and printing it on Shutterfly.

The thing is, we both knew the stories that we were telling each other, or writing about, already.  It wasn’t new information the first time we told it to each other, let alone on subsequent retellings, so why did Nicole want me to share with her those same memories over and over again? 

The reason has to do with the value we place on the stories we choose to tell about the past.  There was a reason why she didn’t ask me to, and I didn’t choose to, recount boring everyday stories, things from work, traumas, or sorrows, but rather focused upon those seminal moments, those vivid, comic, and happy memories that we shared together.  Our shared stories are instrumental in explaining how we became who we are now, the experiences themselves having molded and shaped us along the way.

It turns out, God does much the same thing by choosing to share, and reshare, specific stories about the past in the scriptures.  One moment in time stands out as the example par excellence: The Exodus. 

The first time God tells Moses that The Exodus is going to be a recurring theme occurs during the instructions about the Passover,

Exodus 12:14     New International Version

“This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.

Even before it had happened, God told Moses that his people would be required to commemorate this display of God’s power and covenantal faithfulness with a yearly ceremony in perpetuity.

It was much less than one year before the story of The Exodus was brought back up, even before the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai, God needed to remind them of the plagues that had befallen Egypt, this first time using the story to put a stop to their grumbling along the way.

In fact, Moses used the story of The Exodus when talking to God, who certainly hadn’t forgotten about it, in his plea for mercy upon the Israelites following the Golden Calf debacle.

Exodus 32:11-12     New International Version

11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.

Thus begins a pattern repeated many, many times in the remaining books of the Hebrew Scriptures as well as in the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament, of God, the psalmists, the prophets, Jesus, the Apostles, and more making direct references and easily identifiable allusions to God’s actions in The Exodus. 

The Exodus in subsequent portions of scripture becomes a catch-all capable of both admonishing the people when they go astray from the covenant and encouraging the people during times of oppression.  While pointing to the past, references to The Exodus also become the basis for promises about what God will do for his people in the future, with the ultimate culmination being the Messianic fulfillment of Jesus whose life and ministry is steeped in Exodus imagery highlighted by a Passover meal at the beginning of his Passion.

The past, for God, is a tool capable of teaching his people what he needs them to know in a variety of settings and circumstances.  It is not meant to be forgotten, but remembered and learned from not once, but multiple times.

What then do we do with what God has done in our lives, individually, our families, as a local congregation, and as a region of the American Baptist Churches?  Commemoration and celebration are certainly in order, as is storytelling and preservation of that history that allows it to be shared now and in the future. 

Following the biblical examples of how The Exodus is used, perhaps the most important things we can do with our knowledge of what God has done for us and through us in the past, is use it to help us confront, and by God’s grace overcome, the challenges of the present.  Have we strayed?  Remembering how God forgave our past can guide us to repentance again.  Are we burdened?  Recalling how God provided in our past can comfort us and give us hope.  Do we need motivation? Praising God for the outpouring of his amazing grace in living memory can help us find it.

What stories do you need to tell of the love of God manifested in your church and your family?

The stories I can choose to tell to Nicole in the present have a new character in them since she made “Nicole and Randy’s Big Adventure” in 2014: our precious Clara Marie.  And while we were already aware of God’s presence in the first 14 years of our journey as husband and wife, especially the difficult years that led step by step to our decision to move to PA in 2012, and while we have already given him glory for seeing us through those days, parenthood is often God’s way of saying, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.”  We have so many stories to tell of God’s love and faithfulness.

Sermon Video: That all the earth might know the LORD - Joshua 4

Having provided a supernatural way across the Jordan River, the LORD instructs Joshua to have the people of Israel construct a memorial using twelve stones carried from the midst of the river.  The memorial is to serve as a object lesson to facilitate the teaching of future generations regarding the wonders performed by God on behalf of his people.  In addition to the construction of the memorial itself, Joshua instructs the people that it will be the responsibility of future parents to teach their children about the LORD.
Both of the ideas in Joshua chapter 4 are easily applicable to the Church today.  We too need to celebrate what God has done for us, finding appropriate ways to memorialize them, and we too need to emphasize the need for parental responsibility regarding the instruction of the next generation regarding the LORD.  As a Church, it is our responsibility to reinforce and encourage the instruction that ought to begin in the home, which of course necessitates that those who are parents within the Church have themselves been instructed in order to make them capable of teaching their children.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: Ebenezer - 1 Samuel 7

As the story of the life of Samuel continues, Israel faces a dark and difficult period.  The priestly leadership of the past under Eli is no more after his death upon hearing of the loss of the Ark and the death of his sons.  The Ark of the Covenant, although quickly returned by the Philistines is unable to be returned to its place in the Tabernacle until after the people have rid themselves of false gods.  When the people are ready to repent, Samuel leads them in a collective act of worship and repentance at Mizpah.  The neighboring Philistines interpret this gathering as a prelude to war and attack.  God's people call upon Samuel to pray for deliverance, but the question on everyone's mind is: Has God forgiven us or are we about to receive the punishment for our sins at the hand of the enemy?
God, in his mercy, has already accepted their repentance and protects his people by "thundering" that day, driving the Philistine army away in panic.  To commemorate this victory, Samuel places a memorial stone, "Ebenezer" (in Hebrew: "stone of help") to show how far the LORD was willing to go to help his people.  The stone will serve as a reminder to this generation and a teaching tool for future generations to obey the LORD and rely upon his deliverance.
In our own society, we too must put away our false gods of money, power, fame, illicit sex, and a host of others in order to fully devote ourselves to God.  We could also benefit from memorials of our own, celebrating what God has done through us and for us.  After such victories, we too, like Samuel, must return to the everyday business of shepherding God's people and doing the work of the Lord.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video

Memorial Day in PA

For the past five years I had led the service for Memorial Day at the little cemetery across the street from my church in Palo.  It was a privilege and an honor to do so each time.  This year, I wasn't there (as you know from our move to PA); I missed being there and seeing more than 100 people show up in that tiny town to pay their respects.  This past Memorial Day I was in Franklin, watching the parade with its thousands lining the streets, an impressive sight to be sure.  Then Nicole and I walked over and sat down at the bandstand to await the service expecting the whole park to be full of people (if only 1/2 those who had watched the parade came over, it would have been full of people).  I was saddened to see that only about 100 people stayed for the extra hour to listen to Mother Holly's prayers, watch the wreaths being laid, hear the list of those veterans who had died this past year, and the always moving 21 gun salute with taps.  I've been impressed with Franklin thus far; the town has great civic pride and does so much together, perhaps that was why I was disappointed to see so few linger to pay their respects.  I know that different towns had different traditions, but my hometown of Saranac always filled the cemetery at the end of the parade route for the service, the people of Palo more than represented their town by having more people at the cemetery than lived in the town; I guess I just expected more.  One thing I know, I'll be there next year.

Where heroes come from.

September 11th, 2001 was just another day in the beginning.  All over the country people got up and went to work, life went on as usual.  That it was to be the last day for countless heroes, was beyond their knowing.  These men and women, mostly firefighters, first responders, and cops responded to a distress call like they had as part of their jobs each day.  This distress call was however, unlike any that came before.  They didn't know it at the time, but America was at war.  They were asked to respond to a cowardly act of war that cannot be compared with the Day of Infamy witnessed by the Greatest Generation.  Pearl Harbor was an undeclared act of war by a nation against another.  Armed forces fought each other that day, and those who lost their lives in the Arizona or elsewhere died in the service of their country.  9/11 was an act of terrorism against unarmed non-combatant men, women, and children.  It was no better than walking into a pizzeria and blowing yourself up.  Moral outrage is meaningless to those who don't value human life.
Such was the situation that these public servants rushed to confront as they converged on the burning towers.  Most did not return.  They left behind wifes, family, children; but they brought out of the fires thousands who would live to hug their own families because of their sacrifice.  They didn't know when they put on the uniform to start another work day that the ultimate sacrifice would be asked of them.  Were they scared?  Sure.  Hesistant?  Perhaps.  We honor them today because they went forward anyway.
Ten years have passed.  Wars have been fought in retaliation.  Thousands of soldiers have joined these men and women in sacrifice, and tens of thousands have returned home wounded in body and spirit.  Time will heal all wounds.  Decades from now few will be left who remember that day, as a new generation grows to adulthood in the shadow of the freedom provided by those who know that it is not free.
So where do heroes come from?  Most don't make a choice ahead of time to be a hero.  Heroes choose to put others ahead of themselves each day through small acts of service and sacrifice.  By dedicating themselves to help those in need they have already made the choice to trade their own lives for those of others.  All the men and women who put on uniforms that day (and any day) were heroes, some were asked to pay for that honor one last time.

Remembrance

“Remember the Alamo!” We certainly do. “Remember Goliad!” Not so much. And yet, both were used as rallying cries by the forces that defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Why is the Alamo remembered to this day, its legend celebrated in movie and song, but Goliad is known only to the few who paid attention in U.S. history in high school. In the same vein, the defeat at Pearl Harbor became “A date which will live in infamy”, but the defeat of American forces in the Philippines which occurred later that same day has been forgotten. What is the purpose of remembering the tragedies of the past? Why will we all tell the next generation years from now about what it was like on Sept. 11th 2001, much as our parents told us about the day that JFK was assassinated?


We remember the past because it helps us to understand the present. The tragic past also inspires us to make choices today which we hope will prevent us from repeating it. As Americans, we honor and celebrate those who risked their lives in service to their country throughout our history each Memorial Day. We have parades, go to the cemetery, and listen to speeches, often including a reading of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. We honor them because we know that our present freedoms were purchased with blood, and we honor them because we hope to avoid the wars that interrupted, and for too many ended, their lives.

As Christians we do the same thing. We celebrate Christmas and Easter every year to remember what Christ chose to do for us. Jesus chose to enter our world as a man, subject to the same pain that we feel. He chose to walk up to Jerusalem, knowing the Cross would be the ultimate destination, but also knowing that the empty grave awaited beyond it. We remember because it is “altogether fitting and proper” to honor Jesus for his sacrifice on our behalf. Likewise, we will always honor those who give the “last full measure of devotion” to America.