"Would that the Lord Would", June 12, 2011

Numbers 11:24-30
Acts 2:1-21
REMEMBER this day. Not because of some terrorist attack, or cataclysm of the Stock Market. Remember this day. Not because of some great birth, or some tragic loss. Remember this day! Because in about seven to nine months, we will be whining and complaining about the cold and snow, and many will have forgot that we had a week last June when the temperatures in CNY were at 100 and we cried out that it be cooler. The great difficulty is that God has No Modulation. Faith in God cannot be controlled. There is evidence God heard the people's cry and responded. There is evidence of God setting the people free. God dispersed the people of God to the ends of the earth. God became human, demonstrating what it is to be neighbor to one another, using neighbor as a verb-form of how to live/act and the human response was “But which neighbors? Who is my neighbor?” God is an All or Nothing. We cannot be devoted to God and also have other equal priorities. Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary could not be a little bit pregnant, there was only barrenness, or being filled with the holy spirit.

There are those who read the Bible, self-assured that every passage has a particular answer, and all we need do is to be taught to have the proper questions when reading, to have the right answers given to us. But the beauty of Scripture, like a painting of one of the Great Masters, is that beholding the story, we glimpse minor stories in the crowd as well. The Book of Numbers describes the Wilderness Wanderings, as the escaped Slaves from Egypt are multiplied to become a great Nation. Numbers is the personal revelation of Moses, being changed from the Shepherd of his Father-in-law's flocks into the Archetype of Leader, who was Prophet and spokesperson for God, recipient of the Commandments, the leader of the Nation of Israel, who guided the people of God for 40 years, guided them from Slavery and Oppression to the Promised land. Here in the 11th Chapter, there is description of the miracle food of the Wilderness: MANNA. Manna was gritty and seed like, the size of coriander seed, and the consistency of gum resin, but dried it could be ground like flour, Manna was naturally filled with protein and nutrients. What Manna truly was, know one knows, for it was the food of the wilderness.

Like flour, manna could be made into pancakes and tortillas, doughnuts, and bread, cakes and pie crusts. Manna was the ubiquitous food that could become anything, and used to hold or compliment any meal... but therein was the difficulty, because there were no other foods. Manna was like eating Hotdog buns, without the hotdog. Like a multi-layer cake without icing, a piecrust without filling, a tortilla with nothing inside. So it was that the people were not satisfied and complained of wanting more, wanting meat, where's the beef. Moses heard their complaints and whining, and Moses did some complaining of his own. Being alone as Leader was no fun. The responsibilities were more than any one person could do. In addition to the expectations of the Job, there were people's other expectations, and his expectations of himself. Certainly there was with him Moses' brother Aaron, the first priest, but the last time Aaron was left alone to lead, there was that incident with the golden calf and idol worship. There was Moses' and Aaron's sister Miriam, but she had a rather vicious side, watching from the riverbank without saying a word as Baby Moses floated down the river Nile, dancing and singing over the dead bodies of Pharaoh and the Egyptians and their horses, the morning after the Red Sea. Pentecost emphasizes that as a people of faith none of us can be that community alone. No one of us can have faith for a lifetime, can change the world, can cope with the loneliness of life, alone.

The great difficulty is that God has no modulation, faith is an all or nothing proposition, where if we choose to believe in God, then God must be allowed to be God and we cannot try to be God ourselves. Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary found they could not be a little bit pregnant. We had over 200 inches of snow, an accumulation approaching 20 feet and many of us complained wanting warmth, wanting sun light, wanting an end to snow. Whereupon in May and June here in the northern-most climates the heat rested in the 90s and approached 100. The people of Israel complained of the lack of anything but Manna, when suddenly they found quail, not just a few birds for 20 miles in every direction, three feet deep, there was quail. Like one of the Plagues of Pharaoh suddenly they had quail until it was coming out their noses! Moses had whined about the lack of leadership, the need to have others to share responsibility with; and at God's command he appointed 70 elders who went out to the Tent of Meeting to receive the Holy Spirit, but Eldad and Medad who had not gone out to the Tent but remained in the Village received the Spirit as well. Like quail 3 feet deep, like 100 degrees in the Spring, Moses recognizes God's gift of leadership cannot be controlled, and this is not an attack on his authority, but rather “WOULD THAT GOD WOULD APPOINT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY TO BE PROPHETS TOGETHER.”

We are very blessed as the Church in this place this day. We have one of the most gifted Sessions and Board of Deacons, any Church has ever known. This Church has continually had strong leadership, the distinction of this moment is that Session and Deacons each seem to recognize the gifts each possess and the enormous responsibilities of faith. In many ways, the tasks before the Church today are as monumental as any we have faced. No longer do we need to raise millions of dollars. No longer do we need to be displaced, with offices in the narthex and dust everywhere, because of renovations. But as a Church, we have invited and welcomed and broadened the Church, now needing to deepen commitment, to challenge involvement to accept the all or nothing of God.