Deut. 34:1-12: Matt. 22: 34-40
Today on this Reformation Sunday we celebrate once again the power of the Holy Spirit to Reform us - to destroy sinful structures, to restore us to wholeness, to the truths o gospel love, and to bring the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven. Reformed and always reforming, is the Presbyterian motto. Being reformed means we are “RE-formed” – made again, reshaped, renewed.
Our texts today describe the reforming, reshaping power found the scriptures: Jesus summarizes all the Law and the Prophets, in two verses: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Jesus says. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Vv. 35-40). And the passage we heard from Deuteronomy tells us if there is one prophet we just got to know, the greatest of all is Moses. “Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.... he was unequaled for all the signs and wonders... And for all the mighty deeds and terrifying displays of power.”
Today we draw upon the example of this great leader - Moses - law giver and reformer – someone re-formed over and over again throughout his life. The life of Moses is an example on how God works in our life, continually to re-form us – and bring us up to the standards of love Jesus calls us to. As we look at the life of Moses it helps us reflect on our own lives – how God has throughout our years re-formed us – and in that reforming, enable us to love more deeply, more unconditionally, more Christ-like.
The life of Moses spanned 120 years, spread over four books in the Bible – We hear about Moses in just two months of Sunday morning readings. In that time, we just touch upon the major events in his life. If all we know of Moses is what we hear on Sunday, we get at best 12 chapters out of 137 that encompass his life. We get less than 10% of the text connected with his life and work. We don’t hear that other 90%.
But we do hear the barebone facts: What do we know about Moses? Moses was born a child of slaves. He was hidden in a basket placed on the river. He was rescued by an Egyptian princess – and was raised in royalty. The first forty years of his life was a time of extreme privilege, provided on the backs of the Hebrew slaves. But then a moment of sudden conversion arrives when he murders an Egyptian taskmaster for maltreating a Hebrew slave. Moses becomes a fugitive – he leaves his life of privilege behind. At age 40 (and as an aside remember that 40 is a number of completion – new life – a transition from one great task to another) Moses flees to the land of Midean. He marries into a prominent clan headed by the Jethro the priest. Moses becomes a shepherd, settles down, raises a family – with Zipporah, his wife. From an indulged life he now embraces the hard life of caring for sheep. He is being re-formed. As he lives as a shepherd for forty years, another lifetime. Then he has yet another turning point. The re-forming continues.
Do you remember what it was? He encounters God in the burning bush and is encharged with the task of confronting Pharaoh and freeing the Hebrew people from slavery. Moses returns to Egypt a changed man, a re-formed man, a man with a mission. He returns, and through and led by the power of God, leads the people out of slavery in Egypt- crossing the Red Sea -- into the wilderness – where for the next forty years – the last forty years of his life – he leads the people throughout the wilderness on to the promised land. These are also forty years of murmurings and rebellions, slowly discarding the identity of slave and embracing the identity as the People of Israel, God’s covenant people. Moses accompanies the people to the border of the promised land, where he dies and is buried.
Moses the reformed prince, reformed murderer, becomes transformed into a shepherd and then uses them all to develop skills of leadership to become the prophet – law giver – all this - contained in 10% of the text we have on Moses. Moses is re-formed step by step – and goes from being a prince who is served – to a leader who serves
It’s interesting to note that when we look at what is left out in our Sunday readings about the life of Moses - it’s largely those long, monotonous sections: battles with foreign kings. The details of all the items of the tent of meeting. The institution of the priesthood. The rituals for sacrificing animals. The festivals that are to be celebrated. Then there are those 613 laws. And the census of the tribes of Israel. Our eyes start to glaze over thinking of it all. It is hard to sit through that 90%. But that 90% forms the nitty-gritty details of what it means to be a neighbor. The other 90% spells out how we are to live as a covenant people. The other 90% shows us how to live out our calling and love well in the mundane tasks of our daily lives. Our identity as a people of faith is forged and re-formed in the ordinary, boring, day to day running of our lives.
To love well, to be re-formed, we need to look at the bigger picture. Not just the 10%, not the 90%, but the 100% of our lives: how we daily commit to love, when we fail, succeed, and move forward step by step in our lives. Like Moses on that mountain top - We need to take it all in. God is with us in the totality, the valleys, the plateaus, the peak experiences that add up to our life in this world. Moses saw it all, lived it all. We are invited today, too, to be committed 100% to the reforming journey of love.
. If we look at the totality of the scriptures – we see that the Law contains not just 2 commandments, not just 10 – but those 613 separate commandments. Some teachers then divided the 613 into 365 prohibitions (one for each day of the year) and 248 positive commands (one for each bone of the body). That adds up to 613. Thus, they indicated that the Law of God should govern all our days and all our bodily movements. It requires our complete devotion and love. A love that reforms and re-forms us daily.
Today we stand at the mountaintop. Like Moses, God calls us to take in all our life - the past, the present, and what lies ahead. So, let’s take a moment and do a brief exercise. If you want to close your eyes. Pretend you are on a mountaintop looking back at your life. Look back at the totality of your life journey so far-- the joys or challenges of growing up. What gifts and privileges were you given? What were the difficult and enslaved moments? What had to die in order for you to move on? When or to where did you flee? What were the fresh starts? When and how did you encounter God? What has God called you to do to serve his people? Where were the moments of grumbling and regrets? Wonderings and threats? How has God provided for you during the hard times? How did and does God use you to shape your families – your faith communities – your friends and neighbors? Lots of questions, right? You may want to take some time this week to do a more thorough inventory of God’s re-forming of your life.
Today we celebrate how the church has been reformed in order to love better. So, it is with us. We have been re-formed, day to day, year by year, decade by decade –Like Moses - to love better. For love is the reforming power that fuels our lives – that guides the church. As you continue to live out your life- may love continue to be that 100% reforming power that fuels you as you serve God and God’s people – just like Moses – our reforming and reformed prophet and leader. Amen.