Labor

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
September 3, 2023

17 Proper A 

          Growing up, my siblings and I spent a good bit of time at Kanuga, the Episcopal Camp and Conference Center in North Carolina.  Our grandparents had retired there, and we spent hours exploring the mountain, the lake, and the woods.  One of my favorite places was a shallow stream and waterfall that we discovered by following a trail through the woods, ignoring a “no trespassing” sign, and listening for the sound of the water to come closer.  The area around the waterfall was one of the most peaceful places on earth, away from the sights and sounds of civilization and away from the cares and concerns of everyday life.

          I think of that waterfall when I read that Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law out beyond the wilderness.  Beyond the wilderness seems like an equally peaceful place, beyond the cares and concerns of Moses’ life, of which there were many.  Much has happened in Moses’ life since he was plucked out of the Nile by Pharoah’s daughter last week.  Moses has grown up in Pharoah’s household, so he was raised as an Egyptian despite being a Hebrew.  Now, Moses has grown up, fallen in love, gotten married, and is working for his father-in-law. That’s a lot of growing up in a week!  And between last Sunday and today, Moses has killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew and fled for his life.  So, when we find Moses out beyond the wilderness this morning, he is in hiding from  Pharaoh who is ready to exact revenge for the murder of an Egyptian.  Moses’ plan for his life is to stay out of harm’s way, work for his father-in-law and put the past behind him.

          But God has other plans.  God has heard the cry of God’s people. God knows their sufferings, and God has a plan.  God is going to deliver the Hebrew people from the Egyptians.  And, in fact, God is going to send Moses to lead the charge.  God is going to send Moses to the site of Moses’ crime, to the very person who is after Moses’ life, to ask Pharoah to release the Hebrew people of whom Pharoah is desperately afraid.   Need we mention Moses’ hot temper, lack of leadership skills, or inability to speak in public?  What could possibly go wrong? 

          This morning, Peter would probably like some time out beyond the wilderness.  Last week, Peter was riding high after correctly identifying Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  Last week, Peter was told that he is the rock on which the church will be built, and that he holds the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  This week, Peter objects to Jesus’ prediction that Jesus must go to Jerusalem, undergo great suffering, be killed and on the third day rise.  This is not in Peter’s Messiah job description.  Peter’s plan for his own life does not include following a Messiah who will die a humiliating death.  But Jesus responds “Get behind me, Satan!  You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

          Ouch!  Jesus’s words are harsh words and Peter does need a time out somewhere.  But Jesus needs Peter to understand that following Jesus is not about glory and power, but about service and sacrifice.  Whatever Peter thinks Jesus means by being the rock on which the church is built, Jesus has other plans.

          Moses and Peter have two things in common.  Both are flawed people who are asked to do big things by God.  Moses killed someone and Peter is so totally wrong about who Jesus is that Jesus calls him Satan.  Those are pretty serious offenses, and we would be justified in thinking that their job offers would be revoked.  Yet God knew about Moses’ murder change long before God called to Moses from the burning bush.  Jesus may call Peter “Satan,” but Jesus does not ask Peter to return the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Secondly, both are setting their minds on human things rather than divine ones.  Moses cannot wrap his head around the idea that he should be the one to lead the people out of Egypt, not understanding the power of God to work through him.  Peter cannot imagine that the Son of the Living God would suffer and die, not understanding what God will accomplish through Jesus’ suffering and death.  Both are focused on human limitations rather than divine possibility.

          We can easily think of Moses and Peter as the superheroes of the faith with some super faith power we don’t have, so that we can believe that God does not ask extraordinary things of us.  But that is not what the story tells us and that is setting our minds on human things rather than divine things.  On this Labor Day Sunday, we stop and stand on this holy ground, figuratively barefoot if not literally, fully present to God as we ask God to bless the labor of our lives.  Here, we open ourselves to divine possibility.  The reading from Romans reminds us what God asks of us so that God can accomplish extraordinary things through our ordinary lives.  “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor….rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer, contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.  Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”  When we do small things with great love, God’s love, things that seem small become extraordinary.  God calls us to set aside our concerns about human limitation and open ourselves to divine possibility.

                                                                             Amen.