Be Strong and Bold

Sermon Deuteronomy 31:1-8 February 9, 2020

Be Strong and Bold

I have a dream.

I have a dream, is a speech written and spoken by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in 1963.

Portions of that speech have been repeated many times since. It was a speech that turned the tables of history. It was a speech considered strong and bold.

Once a year in schools across America, Black History is celebrated. It is a reminder that there was a time in our history that we did not celebrate any accomplishments of minorities in this nation. 

As people of God we preach and teach that we are all God’s children. In the Christian church we teach and preach that Jesus loves us. He loves all, not a few, not just the cute ones, or just the blond ones, or just the ones with dimples.

Jesus loves everyone, he came to save the world.

 As people of God we live in the world. We are not isolated from the events that surround us. The news of this week and next week affect us. The news sometimes rocks us to our core, our faith is rattled. At other times the news lifts us high and we rejoice in our freedoms and successes.

In the church, we often celebrate the joys of our religious freedoms by sharing in Thanksgiving worship. We celebrate our religious freedoms by offering hymns of national significance such as ‘My Country Tis of Thee’ on Sundays prior to our holiday of national independence. We celebrate our youth in faith by observing Scout Sunday.

There are times in our world history and our nation’s history that are so intertwined with our faith story that to not mention them as we seek God in worship is perhaps an injustice itself. We celebrate the joys of victory such as the end of WWII and we pray with gratitude at the end of other wars, whether they were won or not. Veteran’s Day is important to us. As preachers, these are great honors to lift up those who have sacrificed and those who have lived their lives for the sake of freedom.

We gathered as a nation in worship in times of great tragedy, at Pearl Harbor, the explosion of the shuttle Challenger, the fall of the Twin Towers of 9/11. We gathered to offer hope, in a world where hope escapes us. We gathered to unite over a grief that gripped us all.

There have also been many times in our Christian history where preachers preached, proclaimed from pulpits all across the globe messages just to maintain the social and political status quo. There were many times when the messages preached were in favor of the cultural injustice taking place within inches of the church doors or even from within them. 

There were many times when the Christian message preached was in direct violation of the message of Jesus.

Can we think of those times and name them?

There are very few who would or will speak out against injustice. There are very few who can afford the risk of stepping into the Lion’s den not knowing if God will close the mouths of the lions or if it will be the day they will be devoured. There are very few who can speak out against injustice and still be favored among one’s own people. When we consider Jesus and the prophets before him, we realize speaking the truth comes at the price of death. It happened to Martin Luther King Jr. It happened to Bonhoeffer. It happened to many a priest in South America. It happened in Rawanda. It happened. It happened…

What was it that happened in the hearts of our ancestors when they chose to rebel against the king of England? 

What was it that happened in the hearts of the slave traders to say, enough, this is wrong? 

What was it that happened in the hearts of people in America who declared women should have the right to vote? 

What was it that happened in the hearts of those in America to say segregation was an injustice? 

What was it that happened in the hearts to those seeking reform of many laws in this nation? 

Was it that only they were correct? 

Only they were thinking clearly; only they had their hearts right with God? 

If that’s true then, in the annals of history, are we to look on those of opposing views as the enemy, the ones with evil in their heart? 

How do we think about our ancestors who fought for the south or the north in the Civil War? 

How do we view those who fought for Hitler? 

How do we view those who fought for prohibition? 

How do we view those who fought for the King of England during the Revolution?

If the wrong had been so easily seen, 

wouldn’t all have tried to do 

what history has deemed right?

                                                If that could only be true. 

But, it’s not. 

It takes a lot to change the human condition.

There was a time that electricity was considered the work of the devil. There was a time that reading books other than the bible was the way to hell. There was a time when it was against the rules for girls to wear anything but dresses. There was a time when it was illegal for women to vote. The reason being that women didn’t have the rational thinking capabilities to cast a valid vote.

Where are we today in America in our human condition?

Are we to the point that anyone who opposes our ideas is of the devil? Are we really evil if we don’t agree? Is our thinking rational or irrational? Do we really cast hate across social and political and religious lines? Are we going to attack those who, because of what was happening in their heart, stood up and gave a different view of our own? Do we really wish to ruin the lives of our friends, families, and neighbors over differing ideals?

Are all of our thoughts and ideals only true in one direction? Is Jesus really only on MY side?

Friends and pastors, we have a responsibility to proclaim the gospel message of JESUS. We have a responsibility to speak HIS Truth.

And how does HIS Truth fit into the way we are behaving as a nation, as a people of God?

Perhaps its time to learn a little bit about our God from the Old Testament.

The last two chapters of Deuteronomy speak to a nation about to be born.

Perhaps these chapters are a good place for us to return to learn a little bit about our God.

Often the end of the story provides the full meaning of the story. The end of Deuteronomy is not just the end of this book of the Torah but it is the fullness of the whole five books of the Torah, the Pentateuch, our first five books of our Bible.

It is the summary of the meaning of the people of God.

It is their story.

It is our story.

Two things come to me from the movement of the people of God into the Land of Promise. (By the way it is the Land of Promise-not the Promised Land. The difference is one is theological and the other geographical-a sermon for another day).

First-the people will decide who they will be as a nation by the choices they make.

Second-the people will determine how they will be as people of God by their behavior.

These last two chapters of Deuteronomy deal with the transition of a desert people wandering lost and waiting, to a people with a purpose to fulfill.

“The Torah, (William Moran) does not just simply recount history, it opens up a path for each new generation.” This ending, this standing at the threshold of the Promise, is the critical plumb line for the future-the beginning of this Hebrew nation and for all nations. To return to the threshold of a new beginning provides the promise of how it began. It becomes the place of return every time a judgment needs to be made. It’s the place of return every time a purpose needs reevaluating. This final message of Moses holds all things in the balance for future generations.

What choices are the people making for the nation; and how are the people of God behaving?

God reminds the people and us as we look back to the text, that GOD is ALWAYS with us.

It might seem like the end because Moses is saying goodbye.

It might seem like the end because the desert-the familiar-is no longer home.

It might seem like the end because what lies ahead is new and scary and different.

But, God reminds us as we look back at the people standing at the threshold,

that we too have a future.

It’s up to us to decide how it will be.

Moses encourages Joshua to be strong and bold.

He encourages him to go forth and lead the people to build a new nation.

This is not a time for timidity.

It requires Joshua to live into his calling, his commission.

He cannot doubt the position God has given him through the words of Moses. 

What will matter for the future of the nation of the people entering into the Land of Promise is whether or not they too will be bold and strong.

It will matter if they will obey the Torah, the commandments of God as they settle in the land. There is a clear purpose for them in the uncharted territory ahead.

Arrogant pride or paralyzing anxiety have no place in the future of the people.

How that future unfolds will be determined by the choices the people make and the attitude in which they carry out their calling.

The adherence to the Torah will be essential for the people as they go forward.

What happens in their hearts will be pivotal for their future.

All the prophets after Moses looked to the Torah as their source.

God’s Word given in the first five books of the Bible were the guide for faith and life until the incarnation of Jesus and continues today.

The book of Deuteronomy is the summary of the Law of God. It is the guidebook for the faithful. It is necessary for faithful living. As Christians it is essential for us to read the Torah to know our past, to understand the roots from which we came. It is essential to know who and why we are. When we read the story of the transition of life from the leadership of Moses to that of Joshua and God’s claim on the people as they go forward, we realize how God chooses us! 

God chooses a life of purpose for us. 

God chooses a life of integrity and honor. 

God chooses a home where his name can be glorified. 

God has serious goals for the future. 

The choices we make and how we behave matter!

And that is why we find ourselves in this story of Moses at the end of his life.

It is the summary of the meaning of the people of God.

It is their story.

It is our story.

Our story is open ended. We are all part of our past, our present, and our future.

Our identity is a combination of the ‘chronicle of memory and the scenario of anticipation.’

As we are sitting at the threshold of the rest of our lives, we can heed the words of Moses, be strong and bold.

We can hear the words of God, go forth.

Because we know that,

as we rest just beyond the Jordan,

we too are at the end of our wilderness

looking to the future of an adventure.

Where are we today in America in our human condition?

I would speak the words again of Martin Luther King Jr-I have a dream.

I have a dream that our voices will be strong.

I have a dream that we will no longer be timid.

I have a dream that a stirring will happen in our hearts so we will understand, care, and listen to one another.

I have a dream that there’ll be a happening in our hearts that will create a safe place for people to come together.

I have a dream that God will remove evil from our hearts and the hearts of all mankind.

I have a dream that the church will speak the truth.

I have a dream that Jesus will come again and find that we have been faithful.

I have a dream that we can live the words of Jesus, when all the world will be as one.

Friends, what will our choices and our attitude be in the days ahead? Let us be strong and bold.

May God be our wisdom. May God be our vision. Amen.