At 4 o’clock
one afternoon in May, 1992, in the city of Sarajevo, a mortar shell exploded in
a square. The explosion killed 22 people that were waiting in a food line. The
next day at the exact same time, a cellist from the Sarajevo symphony came to
the same spot where the shell had exploded. He set up his chair and instrument
and played “Albonini Adagio.” Then each day for twenty-two days,
the cellist returned and played the same piece—once each time for each person that had been killed. For him, his
playing was a liturgical act of remembrance of those who had died in that terrible mortar attack.
It seems to be a basic human need for us to engage in liturgical acts (secular and sacred) in trying to make sense
of life’s challenges. We fly the American flag at offices and homes. We further sing the “National Anthem,” and say the “Pledge of Allegiance”
at public events. Those symbolic acts remind us of the important principles on
which our nation was founded—and helps to bind us together as Americans as we together face future challenges. Likewise, as Presbyterians, we gather together each Sunday in congregations
to read ancient texts, profess creedal statements, hear music written throughout the ages, celebrate the Lord’s Supper,
and baptize children in the faith. These weekly gatherings remind us as Christians
who we are and what we are to be about during the week. Likewise, the ancient
Jews came together on a regular basis at the Temple in Jerusalem
to give thanks to God for God’s blessings.
Some time, back
I saw a story on TV about a man who suffered from a brain injury. Because of
that injury he was unable to build new memories. He always was living in the
present moment. Every experience—no matter how many times he had that experience
before—that experience was a new experience for him. Without the ability
to build memories he could not have a sense of from where he had come in his life. In
having no sense of his personal history, he had lost his identity.
The text before us today from Deuteronomy is about claiming one’s faith identity. The issue in Deuteronomy is not primarily about “what do we to do as Israelites”---but
instead primarily about “who are we as a particular people called by God.”
In their worship they had a confessional statement.
That confessional statement began, “A
wandering Aramean was my father...” When they referred to a “wandering Aramean,” they were referring to Abraham
and his descendants that had come out of northern Syria. In the Hebrew text, the verse reads, “An Aramean gone astray,” using the analogy of a sheep that was separated
from the flock and who was in the danger of perishing. Their profession declared
that Abraham and his descendants were vulnerable and were destitute in a dangerous world; the odds of their survival were
slight.
This Aramean “went down into Egypt
and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there became a great nation, mighty and populous.” For one who
had been in danger of perishing, God had opened Egypt’s
arms, offering opportunity and prosperity. However, over the generations this
opportunity turned into a curse. They were enslaved by the powerful within that
nation. Once again, their future seemed uncertain. They only had the taskmasters’ demands of hard labor and the prospect of an early death. Like their Aramean ancestors before them, they too cried out to God to rescue them from perishing. God
heard their cries for deliverance. For the Hebrews that had been in danger of
perishing, God had delivered them from Egypt’s enslavement.
For 40 years they wandered in the wilderness. They wandered about in the wilderness until they stopped seeing themselves as
escaped slaves and instead began to see themselves as free people. Then they were ready to claim the Promised Land. In that bountiful promised land, they could plant their crops and raise their herds.
By the time that this common creedal statement was composed, the Israelites had developed into a broad cross-section of
peoples. This creedal statement was spoken by those descendants of Abraham and
Jacob that had gone into Egypt and been freed in the exodus. This creedal statement was spoken by those persons who had married into the Israelite
family. This creedal statement was spoken by persons who had met the Hebrews
along the way and then traveled together in search of a better life. This creedal
statement was spoken by distant cousins that already were living within the Promised Land prior to the Hebrews arrival. For this diverse community of peoples to profess this creedal statement, they were
laying claim to God’s promise given to Abraham centuries before.
It is important for us to recognize that the profession of this creedal statement was as a part of an act of worship. The particular festival was an “Ingathering” celebration, which took place
in late summer. It followed the beginning of the harvest season. At that “ingathering” celebration, each family would bring a token
gift of the “first-fruits” of their crop. They would bring it in
a basket, tied with a ribbon. They would give it to the priest at the temple. The priest then would place the gift before the altar in acknowledgment that the basket
of fruit belonged to God. Their offering was given to God not in hope of a crop, but rather after they had been blessed with
a crop. Their offering therefore was their response for God’s blessings
upon them.
In this story, there is the theme of “wandering.” God used the
Israelites’ time of wandering, in order to prepare them for being able to claim the Promised Land. The process of wandering
was not lost time. Wandering was a creative time. Through that wandering
they discovered whose they were, and what God had called them to be. In
contrast to our culture today that insists on instant answers and snap decisions, this story recognizes that God’s Spirit
used time and challenges in shaping these people into being thankful people.
A while back, I received a news article from the Raleigh NC,
News and Observer newspaper. In that article, the writer was telling about
Dr. Art Ross, the Pastor of White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, retiring
after many years of service in leading that congregation. The writers told how
that congregation had increased significantly in their stewardship giving during Art’s ministry, and thereby in their
ability to minister within their community. The writer then told how Art Ross
had stressed that our faithful stewardship of our possessions is related to our growing relationship with Christ. That our willingness to share our financial possessions with others—is based on the degree of trust
that we have in the God to provide for us in the future.
Of course, our willingness to trust in God does not come at once—that trust develops over time as God continues
to bless us. Just as we are not born as adults, but as children, we likewise
grow in our trust in God’s provisions throughout our lives. Moreover, as
we are growing in our trust in God, it is important for us to immerse ourselves in the testimony of our ancestors in the Christian
tradition. Their witness can provide for us sound spiritual food to sustain us
in our faith journey.
There is a story from the early 1980’s in South Africa. It seems that the residents of a small village in South
Africa (Magopa) were told by the white-controlled government attorneys that their geographical
area of the country had been reclassified as a “whites only living area.”
In those days, that legal tactic was used in seizing lands under the apartheid system.
Since the residents of that village were black, they therefore would have to move somewhere else. Many of these families had lived on that land for four generations.
This village was the only home that many of them had ever known. They
therefore resisted being forced off their land by telling the government attorneys that they would not move from their homes. In response, the government attorneys sent them a notice telling them that they had
to move by a certain date. For on that day, massive bulldozers were being sent
to demolish their village. The people bravely still refused to move in the face
of such overwhelming odds against them.
On the evening before the bulldozers were to arrive, a group of pastors went to
the village to organize a prayer service. As is customary in Africa,
at the end of the worship service they asked an elderly man in that village to have a closing prayer. This elderly man was going to lose the only home that he had ever known.
He was going to be forced off land that his family had owned for generations. In response to his immediate circumstances,
he could have been filled with anger. He could have been filled with despair
over the seeming hopelessness of his situation. Yet, when he began his prayer, he prayed these words: “Lord, we thank you for loving us.” In his words, he expressed his faith in the God who transcends
our immediate circumstances—the God who journeys with us and continues to love us throughout the challenges we face.
As we begin our journey through the season of Lent — through worship we will be hearing the testimony of our ancestors
in the faith. These ancestors trusted God throughout their faith journey. May we too learn to be able to exclaim in our own thankfulness, “O God, We thank you for loving us”.
Dr. William dePrater
