Moses says, Do Not be Afraid

Jeanie Duck is a single mother with a three-year-old daughter. One day a friend gave Jeanie a two-pound box of See’s dark chocolate nuts and chews. Being a chocolate lover, Jeanie was in heaven! As she was oohing and aahing over the box her daughter, Jennifer, joined in the excitement. This was a bad sign. If Jennifer was excited, it was because she expected to share in Jeanie’s newly acquired bounty. Clearly the only way Jeanie could get rid of her was to share some of her precious chocolate, so she gave Jennifer a piece and sent her to bed. Then she had “just a few” pieces for herself, and went to bed.

Later that night, there was a terrible storm. Jeanie got up in the dark and went from room to room, closing the open windows. As she did, she stepped on something crunchy in the hallway. When she turned on the light, she saw that the floor was covered with little round pieces of dark brown paper. She followed the trail of candy wrappers and found a totally empty box of See’s candy!

Jeanie was stunned. She thought, “She’s only three, for goodness sake! How could she possibly polish off two pounds of chocolate?”

She found Jennifer sound asleep in her bed, looking angelic.

Waking her daughter she said sternly, “Jennifer Duck, you ate all my candy!”

“No, I didn’t,” Jennifer replied with a look of earnestness and fear on her face.

“Oh yes, you did.” Jeanie said. “Only two people live here you and me and I didn’t do it!”

Jennifer hung her head. Then, quietly, she mumbled, “I wish I had a baby brother!” (1)

We like to play the blame game. We like to others and point the finger and say it was “their” fault not mine. Even as we begin talking about this, we might be tempted to start thinking of people or groups of people who we think do just that sort of thing.

“Hey! I know who pastor is talking about. Those so-and-so’s are always pointing out the flaws in other people. Always complaining about how it’s someone else’s fault.”

“Those Democrats” or “Those Republicans” or “Those popular kids” or “Those people on social security” or or or those those those…

We like to look at the problems in life and find a reason that it is someone else’s fault that our life or that society is not the way we would want it.

Earlier in the Book of Exodus, the Israelites who had been freed from slavery in Egypt began complaining about how tough life was. And they started pointing the finger at Moses and at God. “Why bother bringing us out of Egypt only to let us die here in the wilderness”

The very action that they had yearned for, for several generations, this act of God intervening and rescue God’s people from the yoke of slavery… within such a short time they moved from being thankful to God to blaming their rescuer.

And as things did not go the way they wanted them to, discord broke out within the vagabond Israelite nation. As they were trying to understand themselves apart from Egypt, as they were seeking to recognize who they might be as a people when the rule of Pharaohs no longer governed them, they found disagreement. They found frustration with one another. And… they found themselves frustrated with God.

And as the people find themselves struggling to make sense of who they are outside of Egypt’s rule, we get this encounter at Mount Sinai. This gift of commandments to give the people direction, guidance, and a chance toward introspection of their lives in light of God’s Will for them.

Toward the end of our reading today, there’s this interesting moment that was not included in our lectionary reading on Sunday but that we did include for tonight… let me read it one more time:

Exodus 20:18-21

18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

As the people of Israel heard God’s commandments… they heard very clearly that these were not just commandments for their neighbors… but for them. There was no younger brother or sister to point to and say it was their fault.

God spoke with the “Thous” or, as someone from Wisconsin might say, “Youse guys” or down here in Oklahoma “All Ya’ll.” This is for -you-, my people.

And so when these commandments have been given and Moses tells the people that this is for -you-. It’s no wonder that the people “Stayed at a distance.” As we hear in verse 18. You talk to us, they said to Moses. We feel safer with you. You don’t have the power to judge us the way God does. We know who you are. We know what to expect.

And even after Moses tells them in verse 20, “do not be afraid” we see right afterward in verse 21 “The people remained at a distance.”

The truth is, we don’t like being confronted with our sins. We don’t like looking in the mirror and seeing where we don’t measure up. And we especially don’t like to stand in judgement for our sins before God OR in front of our peers.

Back in Martin Luther’s day, it was -required- that a person attend confession before they could receive the sacrament of Holy Communion. And I don’t mean the confession and forgiveness that we do on Sunday mornings where we do what’s called “corporate confession” where we as a congregation admit that each of us all come up short… no.

Individual confession of enumerated sins was the order of the day. While the Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper was offered regularly, many people would just sit on the sidelines in the back of the church because they hadn’t gone to confession. In fact, for many people they would only receive Communion once or twice a year.

With the Reformation, that changed. Martin Luther made the radical suggestion that people should receive communion at least -four- times a year.

And, further, the reformers decided that individual confession would no longer be -mandated- to receive communion. That we move away from the idea that we must perform works in order to receive grace.

However, let me read a small section from the Augsburg Confession, part of the Book of Concord:

[1] Confession has not been abolished by the preachers on our side... …At the same time, the people are diligently instructed how comforting the word of absolution is and how highly and dearly absolution is to be esteemed. [3] For it is not the voice or word of the person speaking it, (in other words when we hear that word of forgiveness it isn’t the pastor who is saying it) but it is the Word of God, who forgives sin. For it is spoken in God’s stead and by God’s command

And jumping ahead a little bit…

In former times, the preachers, while teaching much about confession, never mentioned a single word about these necessary matters but instead only tormented consciences with long enumerations of sins, with satisfactions, with indulgences, with pilgrimages, and the like. [6] Moreover, many of our opponents themselves confess that our side has written about and dealt with true Christian repentance more appropriately than had been done in a long time.

[7] Concerning confession, it is taught that no one should be compelled to enumerate sins in detail. For this is impossible, as the psalm [19:12*] says: “But who can detect their errors?” [8] And Jeremiah [17:9*] says: “The human heart is so devious that no one can understand it.”158 [9] Miserable human nature is so mired in sins that it cannot see or know them all. If we were absolved only from those sins that we can enumerate, we would be helped but little. That is why it is not necessary to compel people to enumerate sins in detail. (in other words, we talk about asking for forgiveness of sins known and unknown.)

The point that Luther and the reformers of the age made with confession is that while individual confession… standing and enumerating our sins before a peer or many peers… is not necessary… it can be good for one’s personal sense of guilt.

In essence, Luther said, “While individual confession is not mandatory… why wouldn’t you want it?” Confession was gift. A chance to offer up the sins that were individually causing you pain and grief and to hear that word of God’s forgiveness on those particular sins that caused us to wonder if we were separated from God.

For those Israelites who stood at the foot of Mount Sinai, who were afraid to approach the presence of God because of potential Condemnation, what would it have meant to them to hear the promise of forgiveness?

Moses called out to them, “Do not be afraid!” And yet they remained afraid. They remained distanced. They did not want to face their sins in the presence of the Lord Most High.

Perhaps we feel that too at times. When we take the Law seriously and look at the sins in our life, we recognize the nails that were driven into Christ’s hands for OUR sake. When we ponder our mistakes and failures… we see the spear jabbed in Jesus’ side and the blood and water within poured out that we might have life despite our sins.

“Do not be afraid!” Moses tells the people who quake over their faults. I want to offer up the third verse from the hymn, “Come to Me, O Thirsty Pilgrims,” which will be our sending hymn tonight.

Come to me, believers burdened;

find refreshment in this place.

Come, receive the gift I offer,

turn to me and seek my face."

Jesus, ever flowing fountain,

give us water from your well.

In the gracious gift you offer

there is joy no tongue can tell.

I invite you tonight, with burdened heart, to find refreshment in Christ’s words of promise to the weary. Receive the gift of grace from Christ the ever-flowing fountain of life. Do not be afraid.

(Let us pray?)

Peace be with you. Amen.