Union Church

September 28, 2008
Exodus 17:1-7

Let’s remember the Exodus story we have been following off and on this fall. The Hebrew slaves have been having a difficult time wandering through the desert and getting to know the God of their ancestors.

They escape the armies of Pharaoh. They reach a bitter well at Mara. They run out of food deep in the desert and now are out of water as they approach Mount Horeb. All the while, they are grumbling and complaining.

Liberation, the journey to freedom has its terible, horrible no good very bad days and the Hebrew’s are having their share of them.

In today’s reading, as the people thirst for water, Moses strikes the bedrock at the base of the mountain and life-giving water flows forth. Another miracle has saved the day.

We struggle to understand and accept miracles in our modern Western World. We struggle because miracles happen from the bedrock of our soul and we are not used to living from that place.

An international visitor from Africa said to a group of clergy one time at an ecumenical meeting, that miracles happen regularly in Africa.
He was quite surprised when he saw our puzzlement.
He continued, “Well, maybe you don’t need miracles in North America and so don’t expect them. In Africa, we need them, we expect them, and so they occur.”

We have so many layers of affluence and distraction in our Western World that it is difficult to get down to the bedrock of our souls. It is difficult to get down to our deepest foundational self, made in the image of God.

But friends, we have all been there from time to time. We have been moved unexpectedly and responded with deep respect and profound gratitude.
We’ve experienced the amazing flow of compassion, the pouring forth of loving kindness and the welling up of tender mercy.
We know the times when the goodness of creation springs forth as we reach out to one another.

So what is the application for today?

Miracles occur when we allow the bedrock of our souls to be struck by God’s guiding grace so that the wellspring of the Spirit might pours forth.

Amazing moments, unexpected coincidences, incredible connections begin to occur.
Bitter water becomes sweet. Quails fly into camp.
Water bursts from bedrock.
New seekers arrive at our doors.
Stewardship expands.
New ways of taking Christ to the world are recognized and lives are transformed.
See it. Feel it. Taste it.
The application for today.
Miracles spring from the bedrock of our soul.

Philippians 2:12,13. Matthew 21:28-30.

I’ve learned the hard way, that when it comes to dealing with teenagers, there are three things we need to check when the howling begins:
check their hormones,
check how much sleep they’ve had in the last week,
and check their state of hunger.

So in our gospel, we have a father with two sons still living in his household. Could be teenagers or could be failure to launch - we don’t know.
Both sons are asked by their father to work for the day in the family vineyard.
One says no, then changes his mind and shows up and works.
One says yes, then fails to follow through.

Does this story sound familiar?

Has this situation ever happened to you, as a parent or as a son or daughter?

What might not be familiar is that both sons have dishonoured their father.

In the context of Jesus’ listeners, both sons have broken the social code, both have offended the family structures, and acted disrespectfully.
One by failing to fulfill a simple and reasonable request.
The other by refusing to consider a simple and reasonable request.

Both sons are in the wrong and in need of redemption.
They have each run their family relationship into the ditch.

Now, there is no indication that the father disowns his sons or even punishes his sons for their shabby behaviour. There is no indication that one son is excused while the other is not. Both sons are in need of redemption, both require their father’s forgiveness. However, only one son goes on to work out his own salvation.

Anyway you cut it, we are like the two sons.
We all have our selfish, lazy, ungrateful moments.
We all have our reasons why, or why not.
And it might be lack of sleep, it might be hormones, it might be hunger, and it might just be being human.

Truth is, we all from time to time, run our relationships off the road and into the ditch. We all are in need of daily redemption.

So what is the application for today?

God redeems us in every moment.
God redeems us in every necessary moment like a loving parent redeems a teenager, whose hormones, or sleep patterns, or hunger pangs block them from reasonable family interaction.

So our loving God removes our offenses and redeems us in every moment, that we might then, in Paul’s words, “Work out our own salvation in fear and trembling.”

Like the son who changes his mind and goes out to work in the family vineyard, working out our own salvation is what we do when we recognize God’s love and acceptance even in our difficult moments and then act accordingly.

So here it is again in a nutshell:

Redemption is what God does for us.
Salvation is what we do with God’s gift of redemption.