Perspective: Burning Up Our Excuses

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

Burning Up Our Excuses

The plea of Israel's children has come before Me, and I have observed the cruel treatment they have suffered by Egyptian hands.  So go.  I'm sending you back to Egypt as My messenger to the Pharaoh.  I want you to gather My people - the children of Israel - and bring them out of Egypt.

Exodus 3:9-10 (The Voice)

So, if You say move

It's time for me to follow through

And do what I was made to do

And show them who You are

From "I Refuse" by Josh Wilson

A man named Jacob once traveled with his family to the land of Egypt to buy food during a famine.  Generations later, the descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, found themselves enslaved in the same land where their ancestors found refuge.  Through a strange series of events, an Israelite child named Moses grew up in the household of the Pharaoh.  One day, Moses witnessed an Egyptian slave driver abusing an Israelite, and, enraged, he killed the slave driver.  Moses fled to the land of Midian where he started a family and worked as a shepherd for his father-in-law.¹

Meanwhile, God took notice of the suffering of the Israelites and decided to take action.

One day, Moses was out tending his flock when he noticed a bush that was burning but, oddly, wasn't burning up.  When he stopped to look at the burning bush, God called out to him and told him that he had been chosen for a special mission.  Moses would return to Egypt, confront the Pharaoh, demand that the Israelites be released from their bondage, and lead the Israelites through the wilderness into the Promised Land.²

At this point in the story, Moses starts making objections and excuses.  Interestingly, these excuses parallel some of the same excuses you and I might use from time to time.

Excuse #1
"I am nobody."

Reluctant and insecure, Moses asked God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"  God replied, "I will be with you."

Sometimes, like Moses, we find ourselves stopped in our tracks by feelings of insecurity and inadequacy.  Sometimes, we might even feel like a nobody.  One writer has called low self esteem "Satan's deadliest weapon."³  Low self esteem keeps us from pursuing our dreams and keeps us from doing the great things God calls us to do.  The truth is that we are not nobodies, for we are all beloved children of God.  A person cannot be any more important than that.  God wouldn't put dreams in our hearts or call us to do great things if God didn't believe in us.  As a loving parent, God promises to be with us every step of the way.

Excuse #2
"What if...?"

Moses then began to consider all the different contingencies he might face upon returning to Egypt, and he began to ask himself, "What if...?"  He asked God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?"  God gave Moses two answers to his question.  The first name, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, is usually translated into English as "I AM WHO I AM."  The second name is transliterated into English as YHWH.  This name is usually represented with the word "LORD" in English Bibles.  The Jewish people hold this name with the highest respect, refusing even to attempt to say it.

Typically, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh is translated "I AM WHO I AM" or "I AM THAT I AM."  Some will say that it actually means "I WILL BE WHATSOEVER I WILL BE."  Theologian Tony Jones argues that the closest translation is actually "I WILL BE WHAT I HAVE YET TO BECOME."⁴  There is also a lot of debate about what the name YHWH means and how to pronounce it.  Sometimes people add vowel sounds and pronounce it "Yahweh."  This name is believed by some to be derivative of the Hebrew word ehyeh, which means "to be."⁵

So what does all of this theology have to do with "What if...?"

Ultimately, God's answers to Moses' question would only serve to raise more questions.  Thousands of years after the story was put into writing, these names still leave people mystified.  My point is that there is always another contingency to consider.  Moses' next question very well could have been, "What if the Israelites ask me what Your names mean?"  I wonder if maybe God's answers were, in part, meant to get Moses' mind off of the question entirely.  Notice that both of these names of God are related to the verb to be.  Maybe we don't really need to know God's name or what God's name means.  Maybe we only need to know that God is.

Sometimes we hesitate in fear that something might come up for which we are not ready, but when we start asking "What if...?" we could potentially go on forever.  If we try, we can always find another "What if...?" to consider.  It's always good to be prepared, but the truth is that we cannot possibly prepare for everything that will come our way.  When the unexpected arises, all we can do is to trust God and to do the best we can.  Maybe we don't need an answer for every "What if...?"  Maybe all we really need is faith.

Excuse #3
"I might fail."

Moses then asked God what he should do if the Israelites wouldn't believe him.  God told Moses to throw his staff onto the ground, and, when Moses threw his staff, to his shock, it transformed into a snake.  God then told Moses to grab the snake by the tail, and, when Moses grabbed the snake, it immediately became a staff once again.  God then told Moses to put his hand into his cloak and then to pull it back out.  When Moses pulled his hand out of his cloak, he saw that it had become white as if he had a skin disease.  When Moses repeated the process, his hand was restored to normal.

God instructed Moses to perform these two miracles for the Israelites as proof that God had indeed sent him.  God then gave Moses a third miracle to perform if the first two weren't convincing enough.  God instructed Moses to take a cup of water from the Nile and then pour it out on the ground.  If he did this, the water would become blood.

Sometimes, like Moses, we fear failure or rejection.  I don't like to make promises for God, so I will not tell you that God will give you miracles to perform in the same way that God gave Moses miracles.  Still, I believe that sometimes miracles actually do happen, so I also will not tell you that God won't give you miracles to perform.  What I will tell you is that you have no idea what incredible things might happen unless you step out in faith.  Sometimes we simply have to do what we are called to do, give it all we've got, and then place the outcome into God's hands.⁶

Excuse #4
"I can't..."

Moses then said, "O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."  Basically, he eloquently told God what a bad speaker he was.⁷  God then reminded him that every person's abilities ultimately come from God and then promised to give Moses the words to speak when he confronted the Pharaoh.

Sometimes we feel as though we are not cut out to do what we feel called to do.  Sometimes these feelings aren't even based in reality.  As much as I dislike Christian clichés, there is one I think is helpful for people who are experiencing feelings of inadequacy: "God does not call the equipped; God equips the called."  If you are truly called to do something, then the only credential you need is the fact that you have been called.  A God of love would not call us to do something without giving us the ability to do it.  Sometimes we have no idea what we are capable of doing until we try.

Excuse #5
"I don't wanna!"

Moses then said, "O my Lord, please send someone else."  God then became somewhat perturbed with Moses and his excuses.  God said to Moses, "What of your brother Aaron...?  I know that he can speak fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you...  You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth...  He indeed shall speak for you to the people..."  God then told him to take his staff and go.

Sometimes we have to do things we really don't want to do.  Perhaps we have to confront somebody.  Perhaps we have to get out of our comfort zones.  Perhaps we have to face an experience that will be either physically or emotionally painful.  For these cases I pass along to you a piece of advice from the Beatles: "I get by with a little help from my friends."  I know from personal experience that difficult situations can be made easier if we seek out guidance and encouragement from other people, especially other people who have faced similar circumstances.

---

Moses stopped that day to look at the burning bush because he noticed that the bush was not being consumed by the fire.  All that was consumed by fire that day was Moses' excuses.

Moses said, "I am nobody."
God said, "I will be with you."

Moses said, "What if...?"
God said, "I AM."

Moses said, "I might fail."
God said, "I will do wondrous things through you."

Moses said, "I can't..."
God said, "I will give you the ability."

Moses said, "I don't wanna!"
God said, "I will send you help."

I am beginning to think that the ultimate killer of all excuses is faith: faith in God, faith in each other, and faith in ourselves.  Whatever you are called to do at this time, may you find the faith to go out and give it your best.


Notes:

1. Exodus 1-2
2. I will refrain from footnoting every part of the story.  The entire story of Moses' encounter with God at the Burning Bush can be found in Exodus 3:1-4:17.  Quotations are taken from the NRSV unless otherwise noted.
3. David A. Seamands.  Healing for Damaged Emotions.  1981, David C. Cook.  ch. 4
4. John Caputo and Tony Jones.  "Caputo and Jones Subvert the Norm."  Homebrewed Christianity's Theology Nerd Throwdown, 07/08/13.
5. Wikipedia: Names of God in Judaism
6. See my sermon "The Measure of Success."  See also Rob Bell's sermon "Broken Bottles," which inspired my sermon.
7. At least that's how it appears in English.  I once heard Shane Hipps read Moses' excuse as a Shakespearean actor might read it.  It was hilarious.

The painting featured in this perspective was painted by Eugène Pluchart and can be found in Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Sermon: Take Courage!

Delivered at Bethel United Methodist Church in West Greenville, South Carolina on November 10, 2013.

I share these thoughts hoping they are of help to someone else.

Comments are always welcomed.

Take Courage!

In the second year of King Darius, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Haggai, saying: Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory?  How does it look to you now?  Is it not in your sight as nothing?  Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the LORD; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the LORD; work, for I am with you, says the LORD of hosts, according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt.  My spirit abides among you; do not fear.  For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts.  The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts.  The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts.

Haggai 1:15b-2:9 (NRSV)

I've been on a losing streak

Hit so hard I couldn't speak

But when I hear Your voice it fades away

From "Brand New Day" by Fireflight

Once day, the prophet Ahijah met a taskmaster named Jeroboam by the side of the road just outside Jerusalem.  The prophet removed his robe, ripped it into twelve pieces and gave ten pieces to the taskmaster.  The glory days of Israel had come to an end.  King Solomon – the very same king who prayed to God for wisdom and oversaw the construction of the temple – had let his power go to his head, and he was leading his kingdom down a very destructive path.¹  In 930 BC, that same taskmaster led an uprising against King Rehoboam, and Israel was riven in twain.²  Ten tribes seceded to form the northern Kingdom of Israel, while the two remaining tribes became the southern Kingdom of Judah.  Each kingdom fell under a long line of corrupt leadership.  A host of prophets tried in vain to turn the two kingdoms back to God, but, for the most part, all they could do is watch helplessly as the two kingdoms spiraled into chaos.

Divided, they fell.  In 720 BC, King Sargon II of Assyria, conquered the Northern Kingdom's capital city of Samaria and took the population of the city captive.³  In 587 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon breached the walls of Jerusalem, captured and blinded the King of Judah, burned down the Temple of the Lord, leveled the city, and took many of the people into captivity.⁴  The Jewish exiles found themselves by the river in Babylon, weeping over the downfall of their homeland and seething with anger against their captors.⁵  The story of the Jewish people was not yet over.  "I know the plans I have for you," God said through the prophet Jeremiah, "plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."⁶

The exile of the Jewish people came to an end nearly fifty years later in 538 BC, after the Babylonian Empire was conquered by the Persian Empire under the leadership of Cyrus the Great.  Cyrus, who is remembered by history as both a conqueror and a humanitarian, sought a peaceful coexistence with the peoples he conquered.  In what is considered to be one of the world's earliest declarations of human rights, he allowed the people who had been displaced by the Assyrians and the Babylonians to return to their homelands to rebuild their homes and religious centers.⁷  The Bible suggests that it was God who put it in the heart of Cyrus to allow the exiles to return to their homes and rebuild.⁸  Believe it or not, the Book of Isaiah actually refers to Cyrus the Great as the LORD's anointed - in other words, a messiah.⁹

Among those who returned to Jerusalem were Zerubbabel, the man who would serve under King Cyrus as the governor of the province of Judah, and Joshua, the high priest.  These two men were to oversee the construction of a second temple.  Their first objective was to rebuild the Brazen Altar so that the people could resume the ritual offerings and celebrations prescribed by the Torah, even before the temple was completed.  After the altar was completed and the people had resumed their religious practices, work began on the foundation of the temple.  Once the foundation was completed, the people rejoiced; however, many of the people who were old enough to remember the glory of the first temple cried out in despair at the sight of the new temple's foundation.¹⁰

After the foundation was laid, the Jewish people began to face resistance from the Samaritans, the descendents of the Israelites who married Assyrians.  First, the Samaritans offered their assistance in a veiled sabotage attempt, but, when their assistance was refused, they began to bribe government officials in order to frustrate the efforts to rebuild the temple.¹¹  After the death of Cyrus the Great in 530 BC,¹² the Samaritans wrote a letter to the new king of Persia, saying that the Jewish people intended to revolt once they completed work on the temple.  To maintain control over the province of Judah, the king sent his deputy to Jerusalem and ordered that all work on the temple be stopped immediately.¹³

In 522 BC, King Darius I, ascended the Persian throne.¹⁴  The former king was gone along with his cease-and-desist order, but the people were hesitant to resume construction on the temple.

In the book 11: Indispensable Relationships You Can't Be Without, Methodist theologian Leonard Sweet argues that each of us needs a butt-kicker.  Sometimes, on our journeys, when obstacles block the path ahead of us or when disappointment knocks us down, we might find ourselves tempted to throw in the towel.  At times like these we need someone to kick us in the rear end and get us moving down the path once again.  Sweet writes, "When you're spiritually neutered, or when you've become complacent and complaisant, when you begin to shrink from your mission, you need a [butt-kicker] to keep you loyal to your dreams."¹⁵  The Jewish people had been through a lot – civil war, political turmoil, the destruction of their homes, exile in enemy territory – and, just as they began to make some progress in rebuilding their temple, their culture, and their lives, their efforts were quashed by the powers that be.  The Jewish people needed someone to spur them on to continue on the journey they started.

Enter Haggai.

Like any good butt-kicker, the prophet Haggai calls his audience to move forward.  At the insistence of Haggai and his fellow prophet Zechariah, the people of Judah resume work on the temple,¹⁶ and, once construction is underway, Haggai continues to encourage the people.  "Take courage!" God says to Zerubbabel, to Joshua, and to the people of Judah through the prophet.  "Work, for I am with you... according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt.  My Spirit abides among you; do not fear."

The journey of faith is a journey into the unknown at the call of an invisible God to do things we would have never thought possible.  Haggai's prophecy reminds us that the journey of faith requires courage.  It takes courage to set out on a journey when the path ahead of us is hazy, when we do not know where the journey will take us, when we do not even know how we'll complete the journey.  Haggai's prophecy echos the words that God has said so many times before: "I am with you."

"I will be with you," God said to the Jewish patriarchs when they faced difficulty.¹⁷

"I will be with you," God said to Moses when he was afraid to return to Egypt.¹⁸

"I will be with you," God said to Joshua as he prepared to led the people into the Promised Land.¹⁹

"I am with you," God said to the exiles far from home in Babylon.²⁰

The prophecy even foreshadows the message of comfort Christ leaves with the Apostles as He sends them out to proclaim the Good News: "I am with you always, to the end of the age."²¹

On the journey of faith, the road ahead of us is sometimes dark and cloudy.  God promises to be with us every step of the way, and we are invited to draw strength from the well of God's presence.

Taking a step in faith requires courage when we have been met with disappointment in the past.  The Jewish people worked hard to rebuild the temple and establish a sense of normalcy after returning home, and their efforts were rewarded with harassment and a cease-and-desist order.  It is only natural that they would be reluctant to pick up their tools and start building again.  When we find ourselves tempted to say, "We've already tried that, and it didn't work out so well," it takes courage to try again.  We hate to be let down by false hope, so sometimes we use the numbness of past disappointments to protect ourselves from the potential pain of future disappointments.  Shane Hipps compares a person who chooses certain despair out of fear of false hope to a farmer who tosses a handful of seed into the fire.  Though there is no guarantee that the seed will take root and grow if scattered on the ground, there is absolutely zero chance it will ever bear fruit if thrown into the fire.²²  On the journey of faith, God has promised to be with us, guiding us and empowering us, but we will never know what possibilities await us unless we step out in faith and hold God to His word.

Sometimes we find ourselves trapped in the past, not by past disappointments, but by nostalgia.  We long for life as it was back then:

back then in the "good old days,"

back then when life seemed simpler,

back then before everything fell apart,

back then before cynicism set in,

back then when we felt more hopeful.

Haggai's prophecy directly addresses the nostalgia of the elders returning from exile, those who had witnessed the beauty of the first temple and despaired when they saw the foundation of the second temple.  God says through the prophet, "The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former... and in this place I will give prosperity."  According to Rob Bell,
There's a certain kind of despair that sets in when we believe that things were better back then.  When we're stuck back there.  When we're not fully present.  When we're still holding on to how things were, our arms aren't free to embrace today.²³
Sometimes we think that life will never be like it used to be... and we're exactly right.  The past is behind us, but, if we are willing to put our nostalgia aside and step out in faith in the present, then we just might find that God has a bright future in mind for us.  The future will not be like the past: it might be better.

Through Haggai, God announced, "I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor."  Though the temple had been plundered and destroyed in the past, it would be filled with beauty and splendor once again.  "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine," God says.  I believe that, if God truly puts dreams in our hearts, then God would not leave us without the means to turn those dreams into realities.  If our dreams truly come from God, then we can count on God to provide the material and spiritual resources we need to achieve those dreams.  After all, the resources are God's to give.  To borrow an expression from our Quaker brothers and sisters, "The way will open."  We should not feel inadequate to pursue our dreams.  It has been said that "God does not call the equipped; God equips the called."

Haggai's prophecy is a call to leave behind both the nostalgia and the disappointment that would trap us in the past and to step boldly into the future. We can step out in faith because we know that God is with us.  Haggai's prophecy is as true for us today as it was for the Jewish people over 2500 years ago.

Take courage!  The LORD is with you.

Amen.


Notes:

1. 1 Kings 11:29-39
2. Wikipedia: Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)
3. ibid
4. Wikipedia: Siege of Jerusalem (587 B)
5. See Psalm 137.
6. Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV)
7. Wikipedia: Cyrus the Great
8. Ezra 1
9. Isaiah 45 (NRSV)
10. Ezra 3
11. Ezra 4:1-5  (See also Wikipedia: Book of Ezra.)
12. Wikipedia: Cyrus the Great
13. Ezra 4:6-24
14. Wikipedia: Darius I
15. Leonard Sweet.  11: Indispensable Relationships You Can't Be Without.  2008, David C. Cook. ch. 3
16. Ezra 5:1-2
17. Genesis 26:3 and Genesis 31:3 (NRSV)
18. Exodus 3:2 (NRSV)
19. Joshua 1:5 (NRSV)
20. Isaiah 41:10 (NRSV)
21. Matthew 28:20 (NRSV)
22. Shane Hipps.  "Miracles and Maple Trees."  Mars Hill Bible Church Podcast, 10/16/11
23. Rob Bell.  NOOMA Today | 017.  2007, Flannel. 

The painting of Zerubbabel showing his plans to Cyrus the Great was painted by Jacob van Loo in the 17th century.