God made man in his own
Sermon by the Rev. David R. Hackett The Third Sunday in Lent, March 3, 2013 Mark Twain once said, "God made man in his own image and likeness, and man returned the complement.” Twain, with his inimitable wit, went to the heart of the matter. Humanity has, since the beginning of time, sought to know the nature of God. And almost always God turned out to look a lot like us. Ancient peoples especially thought of God in anthropomorphic terms. The gods were ambitious, they were jealous,they were lustful, and there were many of them. However, the Hebrew people, in contrast to their neighbors, maintained a faith in one God. Sometimes their God was seen with human characteristics. Sometimes God was seen as jealous, vengeful, and so on, but essentially they understood their God as transcendent, spiritual, and perfect. How did they know God was like that? Why didn’t they make God in their image? One of the trends in our society is what is called the "new atheism”. In this movement several scientists dismiss religion as just so muchfantasy because the existence of God can’t be proven. That notion reminds me of something Frederick Buechner wrote, "It is impossible to prove or disprove that God exists beyond the various and conflicting ideas people have dreamed up about him, as it is to prove or disprove that goodness exists beyond the various and conflicting ideas people have dreamed up about what is good. It is as impossible for man to demonstrate the existence of God as it would be for Sherlock Holmes to demonstrate the existence of Conan Doyle.” Much to their credit, the Hebrew people never tried to prove the existence of God. You certainly cannot prove the existence of God by using the Bible because, for the Bible, God is a given. But what kind of God is he (or she)? What kind of God is the Author of Creation? Now that is a question whose answer is to be found in the Bible. We can discover something about the nature of God. The Jewish people arrived at their understanding of God, not through a natural groping for answers, but through revelation from God himself. Judaism and Christianity are revealed religions. That is, we believe that God is gracious to the point of revealing something of his nature to us. God is good to us in that he doesn’t leave it up to us to figure it out on our own, as though that were possible. One of the most familiar stories in the Bible is that which we have in today’s lesson from Exodus: the story of Moses and the burning bush. We all recognize it right away, if not from reading scripture, then from Hollywood. My generation had Cecil B. DeMille’s version with Charlton Heston as Moses. My grandchildren’s generation has the animated version of The Prince of Egypt. Either way, I recommend reading the book. In today’s reading we find Moses minding his own business, tending the flock of sheep owned by his father-in-law, Jethro. Suddenly the amazing happens! The angel of the Lord appears to him in a flame of fire out of a bush. The bush was burning but not being consumed by the fire. And when Moses stops to see just what is going on, God speaks to him, telling him that he is
standing on holy ground, and God identifies himself, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The text says Moses was afraid to look at God. The Bible has a way of sometimes understating things; Moses wasn’t just afraid, he was terrified! But God tells him that he has a job to be done and Moses is the one to do it, "I will send you to Pharoah to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” Now Moses is a great hero in the Bible, so we might like to think that Moses said, "Of course, Lord; whatever you say, Lord.” But instead he starts making excuses. Two of the excuses are in this morning’s reading. The first is a very common one, you’ve probably used it, I have. "I can’t do it. I’m not worthy.” Moses says, "Who am I to go to Pharoah?” Sound familiar? Haven’t we all played the humility card? But God deals with Moses’ excuse, "Don’t worry, I’ll be with you.” That’s something for us to remember when God asks us to do something. If God wants us to do it, God will be with us in the doing. Then comes the excuse I want us to really think about this morning. Moses says, "All right, suppose I go to this people and tell them that the God of their ancestors has sent me to them, and they ask me what your name is. Then what shall I say?” Remember now, this was a difficult and appropriate question because God’s name was thought to be too holy to be spoken. But of course God had an answer for this too, "I am who I am.” Which may also be translated, "I will be who I will be”, or, in the third person, "He who causes to be.” This was not what Mark Twain was so caustically pointing out. God was not going to be made in our image. God defined himself as totally and utterly different from us: he is completely "other.” And so God revealed himself to Moses, "I am who I am”, or "I be”, or "I will be who I will be”, or "I am he who cause all to be.” Well, that’s perfectly clear, isn’t it. Just tell the Israelites that "I Am” sent you. And God repeats himself, "I am the God of your fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” So God is talking about his relationship with his chosen people. God not only reveals himself to Moses as the mysterious "ground of being, or "first cause”; he also reveals himself in relationship to those he loves. We must not forget that! It is essential. That’s what the Bible is telling us over and over again. The great Creator, the Author of all there is, the great I AM, is the one who is relationship with his people. And is the one who wants all nations, all persons, to be his people: for all to be in relationship with him. God is revealed in our relationships. After the burning bush how is God known? Through people. Through Moses, through the prophets, and ultimately, through Jesus. Stop and think about it. That’s what the Church is really all about. We know God through others. That’s why congregations are so essential to us and why, when relationships within a congregation are torn or disrupted, we are in trouble. We are related to one another through Christ. In a congregation we all don’t think alike, or see things from the same perspective. And that’s normal and expected. As Bishop Neil Alexander puts it in his book, This Far by Grace, "In the Anglican tradition, we got over the need to agree with one another centuries ago.” But we are brothers and sisters in our faith in Christ Jesus. And our differences pale in the light of his love and our faith in him. Your faith feeds my faith. I pray that my faith feeds your faith. We are all in this together – through faith.
Remember this: the good news is caught more than taught. It isn’t an intellectual exercise, it is a matter of the heart. It is what C. S. Lewis called "the good infection.” That is, we expose others to the love of God and God is revealed through us. Think about how you came to know God. Someone, somewhere, somehow exposed you to the love of God, passed on that "good infection” which you and I now pass on to others. Maybe it was a parent, a friend, a teacher. I was reminded of this during our Lenten Program when we were asked to identify and list people we most admire. And all of a sudden a name and a face came to me. She was my high school senior English teacher who exposed me to poetry and literature. And through her life and witness I saw the goodness, graciousness, and love of Jesus. Through her I was exposed to "the good infection.” Who exposed you to the love of God in Jesus? Our God is a gracious God who reveals himself in the lives of his people. For Moses it was a burning bush and then the chosen people. For the children of Israel it was through the Red Sea waters through which they were brought by his hand and outstretched arm and then through Joshua. For Jesus it was in the waters of Baptism and then through the disciples. God reveals himself over and over as the loving being who is in relationship with his creation and his creatures. And, …and…God reveals himself in and through people. He even reveals himself through you and me. Amen.
standing on holy ground, and God identifies himself, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” The text says Moses was afraid to look at God. The Bible has a way of sometimes understating things; Moses wasn’t just afraid, he was terrified! But God tells him that he has a job to be done and Moses is the one to do it, "I will send you to Pharoah to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” Now Moses is a great hero in the Bible, so we might like to think that Moses said, "Of course, Lord; whatever you say, Lord.” But instead he starts making excuses. Two of the excuses are in this morning’s reading. The first is a very common one, you’ve probably used it, I have. "I can’t do it. I’m not worthy.” Moses says, "Who am I to go to Pharoah?” Sound familiar? Haven’t we all played the humility card? But God deals with Moses’ excuse, "Don’t worry, I’ll be with you.” That’s something for us to remember when God asks us to do something. If God wants us to do it, God will be with us in the doing. Then comes the excuse I want us to really think about this morning. Moses says, "All right, suppose I go to this people and tell them that the God of their ancestors has sent me to them, and they ask me what your name is. Then what shall I say?” Remember now, this was a difficult and appropriate question because God’s name was thought to be too holy to be spoken. But of course God had an answer for this too, "I am who I am.” Which may also be translated, "I will be who I will be”, or, in the third person, "He who causes to be.” This was not what Mark Twain was so caustically pointing out. God was not going to be made in our image. God defined himself as totally and utterly different from us: he is completely "other.” And so God revealed himself to Moses, "I am who I am”, or "I be”, or "I will be who I will be”, or "I am he who cause all to be.” Well, that’s perfectly clear, isn’t it. Just tell the Israelites that "I Am” sent you. And God repeats himself, "I am the God of your fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” So God is talking about his relationship with his chosen people. God not only reveals himself to Moses as the mysterious "ground of being, or "first cause”; he also reveals himself in relationship to those he loves. We must not forget that! It is essential. That’s what the Bible is telling us over and over again. The great Creator, the Author of all there is, the great I AM, is the one who is relationship with his people. And is the one who wants all nations, all persons, to be his people: for all to be in relationship with him. God is revealed in our relationships. After the burning bush how is God known? Through people. Through Moses, through the prophets, and ultimately, through Jesus. Stop and think about it. That’s what the Church is really all about. We know God through others. That’s why congregations are so essential to us and why, when relationships within a congregation are torn or disrupted, we are in trouble. We are related to one another through Christ. In a congregation we all don’t think alike, or see things from the same perspective. And that’s normal and expected. As Bishop Neil Alexander puts it in his book, This Far by Grace, "In the Anglican tradition, we got over the need to agree with one another centuries ago.” But we are brothers and sisters in our faith in Christ Jesus. And our differences pale in the light of his love and our faith in him. Your faith feeds my faith. I pray that my faith feeds your faith. We are all in this together – through faith.
Remember this: the good news is caught more than taught. It isn’t an intellectual exercise, it is a matter of the heart. It is what C. S. Lewis called "the good infection.” That is, we expose others to the love of God and God is revealed through us. Think about how you came to know God. Someone, somewhere, somehow exposed you to the love of God, passed on that "good infection” which you and I now pass on to others. Maybe it was a parent, a friend, a teacher. I was reminded of this during our Lenten Program when we were asked to identify and list people we most admire. And all of a sudden a name and a face came to me. She was my high school senior English teacher who exposed me to poetry and literature. And through her life and witness I saw the goodness, graciousness, and love of Jesus. Through her I was exposed to "the good infection.” Who exposed you to the love of God in Jesus? Our God is a gracious God who reveals himself in the lives of his people. For Moses it was a burning bush and then the chosen people. For the children of Israel it was through the Red Sea waters through which they were brought by his hand and outstretched arm and then through Joshua. For Jesus it was in the waters of Baptism and then through the disciples. God reveals himself over and over as the loving being who is in relationship with his creation and his creatures. And, …and…God reveals himself in and through people. He even reveals himself through you and me. Amen.
