DELEGATING TRUST September 28, 2008

Exodus 18: 13-27
Matthew 21:23-32
Ordinarily, we follow the Lectionary, a three year week by week schedule of readings, to encourage reading the diversity of the Bible, and that every Church of every denomination would converse with the same passages, and hopefully one another. BUT, these are not ordinary times.

Following the Lectionary, after the Crossing of the Red Sea and Manna from Heaven, prior to receiving the 10 Commandments, we would ordinarily read of the peoples' grumbling and complaining leading to Moses naming that place on the journey Massah / Grumbling and Meribah / Complaining. I am uncertain why the Religious Authorities suspect we need to read about the people grumbling and complaining, every year, twice each year? So I looked at the passages between this and the next, and discerned these three which we never are given to preach, the justification being that these deal with the specific circumstances of that specific people in time. This is the differentiation that when the sermon is “THOU SHALT NOT STEAL” the minister is preaching; when the sermon is “THOU SHALT NOT STEAL THY NEIGHBOR'S CHICKENS” the pastor is medling.

The three passages between The Grumbling and Complaining of Massah and Meribah and Moses receiving the 10 Commandments, are:
That the wandering tribe of escaped Hebrew slaves were attacked by the Canaanite tribe of the Amalekites, and Joshua went into battle against Amalek. While Moses stood on the hill watching them, whenever Moses raised his hands to appeal to God, Joshua would win, and whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek would win. So Aaron and Hur, held Moses hands up for the whole day until Joshua and the Lord had saved the people.

Recall that when Moses saw the burning bush, he had been keeping the sheep of his Father-in-Law Jethro, a priest of the Midianites. When Moses went back down to Egypt, and led the people out away from Pharaoh, Moses had left his wife Zipporah and their two sons Gershom (we were alien in an alien land) and Eliezer (my father's God saves us) with Jethro upon the mountain. Now Jethro brings the family to Moses. As Moses recounts to Jethro what took place, how God had saved them at the Red Sea, Jethro led Moses in making an offering and thanking God.

The following morning, Jethro noted that Moses was both leading the people, judging between the people on every complaint, and appealing to God for guidance of this people. This is probably the first event in human history of a leader being challenged about burn-out, and needing to be taught to delegate.

These are passages about TRUST and AUTHORITY and CONFIDENCE; and we are in a time in human history where TRUST and AUTHORITY and CONFIDENCE are lacking. These are not simply matters that we can choose, I am going to trust / or I am not. CONFIDENCE must be lived into and developed day after day, from isolated grand occasions and repeated small events, through increasingly greater delegations of commitment, as well as retracing our steps, asking for forgiveness and looking for help when we struggle.

This week our Nation's leaders explained that we are in a fiscal crisis. If something bold and dramatic is not done, the wheels of our Nation's economy will grind to a halt; and that very lack of inertia, that lack of momentum would require even greater resources than doing something now. Both sides had been quick to blame the other, both have been sobered by fears of impending doom, but the underlying issue, the underlying issue, is one of TRUST, Consumer CONFIDENCE, questioning how to cultivate a willingness to follow and to risk.

Israel had been a rag-tag mob of grumblers and complainers, former slaves, who knew only to do what they were told or be beaten, they knew not how to TRUST or to believe. What was dramatized for Moses and the people, was that when Moses appealed to God they were saved. Literally, over and over throughout the day, when he lifted his hands in prayer, they were victorious. Yet, whenever he tired or was distracted, when his hands and his Confidence faltered, they were beaten.

There are times when daily prayer, the grace before a meal, or sleep, seems rote and ritual, but these are the simple foundations of trust and faith. We are extremely fortunate as a congregation to celebrate a number of weddings and baptisms. One of the elements we include in weddings is a daily reminder to pray for each other. To awake in the morning and realize how blessed we are to have been given each other. In the middle of the day, to stop from our busy-ness, to name the blessing of challenge and life lived for those whom we love. In the evening, not to ignore each other taking life for granted, but to talk together and inquire about changes, because we do not have the ability to read one another's minds, but the responsibility to ask what is upon their hearts as they grow and change through life. And before the end, before we lay down the last time, to thank God for having given us the blessing of one another to share life.

Not only in perpetual acts of faith, but when especially blessed, to stop and name our Trust in God. Jethro returns with Moses' family. Jethro hears the wonder of all that has taken place. And Jethro models for Moses and all Israel the human need to Thank God, to make an Offering. A decade ago, at a family gathering, their three year old wandered down to the water and out on the docks. Suddenly the family festivities were interrupted by the barking of their dog, and when they investigated they found the child had fallen in the lake and the dog was pulling him to shore wet, surprised but safe and sound. The dog received a special treat, and they made a special offering, saying they were so thankful their grandchild was alive.

So often, we are caught up in wedding receptions and family birthdays at who is sitting next to whom, whether they have the right meal, whether the fireworks will be inspiring, that we forget the reason for the reception, for the feast, for the gifts, all began with this simple act of Jethro teaching Moses to make an Offering to God in thanksgiving for their blessings.

There are those who are waiting for me to dance around Jethro's instruction to Moses of the need to delegate. Years ago, our congregation was extremely divided because of a failed co-pastorate. It did not seem to matter, what the issue was, whether turning the Sanctuary, replacing the roofs, problems with the Nursery School, or the Organ, friend had been turned against friend into differing camps. So the new pastor exercised authority, bringing all decision-making, all power and responsibility back to the pastor. We used to have what we described as ALL COMMITTEE night, which meant that all the Committes met simultaneously and the pastor literally ran from one to another, with problems or ideas surfacing just as soon as you left, until the pastor was set to have a nervous breakdown. We separated committees to meet at different times on different days, and gradually delegated Christian Education Committee to the Christian Educator, Finance to the Business Administrator, etc. But time has passed again, we as the Church have grown and changed to where it appears we may need an Associate Pastor. LET ME BE CLEAR, THIS IS NOT CONSIDERATION OF A CO-PASTOR, but rather a delegation of authority, of trust and confidence, that just as in Israel they gathered in small groups, in 10s and 50s and hundreds and thousands, so we may need to have those who work especiallly with youth fellowships, with mission.

If we were to do so, we need to be clear of the trust and confidence we share. These are difficult financial times, when everyone is a little uncertain about the future, and this has specific financial consequences. We can be thankful that the Finance Committee and Session have nurtured the endowments of the Church, to allow us the opportunity to consider this even in times of economic unrest. We need to talk together, to share concerns and ideas and hopes and dreams, especially including those who will be most effected.

One of the questions we must ask ourselves in this, and continually address in all we do, is the question of our Motivation, of our Authority. The question of the Temple Authorities to Jesus, and his reply to them, questioning where the Authority of John the Baptist came. Do we consider these options because of our own desires, out of concern for the community, are they motivated by evil, or by God? We must function according to sound business practices, but we are not simply a business, we are “The Church in this time and place”, so we must question whether the things we take on and those we delegate, the wars we fight and the offerings we make, are done in response to God, as an offering and prayer, a sacrificial commitment of who we are, or out of a lack of trust, a lack of confidence and fear?

Often, especially within the Church, we celebrate commitments, but the demonstration of our faith comes when our confidences have been challenged, our trusts and convictions taken out from under us. Then, can we be thankful, can we trust? Belief is not so much a statement of Sunday morning, but the daily struggles to raise our hands to volunteer when you have been wrong before, and the fears in the dark of night.