St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Pictou, NS

 

Risking for Holy Ground

 

Exodus 3:1-15

Romans 12:9-21

Matthew 16:21-28

 

Typical Protestant theology says that there is no such thing as “holy ground;” all ground is holy.

 

Roman Catholics are more for saying that one place is holy and one is not. In a Catholic Church all of the area from the altar rail to the wall is called “the sanctuary,” while we Protestants would call the entire inside of the church, “the sanctuary.”

 

“Holy Ground” is where we meet God; officially we meet God in Church with the sacraments. Unofficially, Holy Ground may be where we meet God in the woods, when we see a glorious sun set, or when we hold our child for the first time.

 

We find Moses on very ordinary ground: tending the flock of his father in law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. Moses has fallen a long way from this exalted position as a prince of Egypt to a mere shepherd in the wilderness, but there is a progression; Moses is moving forward.

 

“…he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”

 

So Moses is moving towards an encounter with God; he is moving towards the experience of walking on Holy Ground, as we all are in our lives. We are all walking towards that encounter with God; the journey to Holy Ground.

 

“The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.”

 

In this passage of scripture, you have both the symbol and the motto of the Presbyterian Church in Canada: the burning bush which you see here on the pulpit fall and the Latin motto meaning, “burning yet not consumed.”

 

It was not unusual for a bush to spontaneously catch fire and burn in desert conditions. What was unusual for Moses was that it didn’t burn up! It just kept burning and he wanted to know why, so he investigated further.

 

What happened was that God called Moses from the fire in the bush, “Moses, Moses!” and he “stepped up to the plate” and said, “Here I am.”

 

We might like to consider how and if we each answer when God calls us.

 

God responds, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

 

God identifies himself to Moses: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

 

Moses was scared and was afraid to look at God.

 

Then God says that words that all people in pain and distress hope to hear:

“I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey,…”

 

God tells Moses, “I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

 

When Moses is awestruck at such a huge task, all the assurance that God gives him is, “I will be with you.” And that seems to be enough. The sign for all will be that the people will worship God on this same mountain.

 

When Moses asks for God’s name so that he can tell others, God answers, “I AM WHO I AM.”

 

Moses was a man who took risks:

-he killed an Egyptian, who killed an Israelite, risking his powerful position with the Egyptians,

-he worked as a shepherd in the danger of the wilderness,

-he faced God, listened and responded in a way that could cost him his life.

 

Moses was a man of integrity and character and risked to walk on that Holy Ground.

 

There are two kinds of risks: risks that offer life in return and risks that offer death in return.

 

Moses risked in Egypt to protect his people and had to leave town for killing an Egyptian.

Moses risked in the wilderness to cloth, protect, and feed his family.

Moses risked approaching Holy Ground to hear the Word of God for life and liberty for his people.

 

Modern day risks that people take that promise death would be:

-skiing in an avalanche area with high risk conditions,

-NASCAR racing where they have the ambulance and doctors ready to try and save you when you are mortally wounded. Dale Earnheart was killed going 200 km an hour when he crashed into a cement barrier, trying to win a race for the eighth time. His son, Dale Jr. is still looking for his wall,

-drinking and driving, taking drugs,

-extreme sports like parachuting off high rise buildings, or climbing up the side of them.

 

In writing to the church in Rome, Paul gives us a list of what a True Christian is and many of them involve personal risks:

-we are to bless those who persecute us;

-live in harmony with one another,

-associate with the lowly,

-do not replay evil for evil,

-never avenge yourselves,

-feed and give drink to your enemies,

-overcome evil with good.

 

In the Matthew reading when Jesus is telling his disciples about the risks he will be facing, including his suffering and death, Peter jumps up to claim that he hopes that this will not happen to him.

 

Jesus is outraged at Peter’s inability to acknowledge the risks involved in following the will of God. Rarely do we see Jesus get so angry: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things, but on human things.”

 

Jesus was adamant and clear that there are risks involved in following him:

“If any want to become followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

 

Nothing much ever changes in life, just like Peter 2,000 years ago; we want a risk free life.

 

Jesus Christ says that you may want a risk free life but you won’t get a life at all if you do that. He is saying that if you want to risk for him you will get your life, but if you want to play it safe and risk free… you get nothing!

 

“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the Glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.”

 

If you want to have a life you are just going to have to risk for Jesus:

-you see someone in church that don’t recognize, go and talk to them; introduce yourself; develop a genuine interest,

-you know of someone in need, put some money in an envelope and give it to them or ask your elder of the minister to go and see them or go with you,

-someone dies and you don’t know what to say, go to them and say, “I don’t know what to say, but I am here.” Give them a hug.

-you see millions dying in Africa from AIDS, send a gift through our PWS&D and help a few of them,

-you feel guilty because you haven’t been in touch with someone for a long time, call them and tell you that you miss them,

-you see someone down and out and you want to walk on by, acknowledge their existence and just say, “Hello.”

-join the choir, volunteer to read scripture, teach Sunday School, volunteer the next time we have an event, invite a friend to one of our breakfasts.

 

If you are having a hard time focusing on Jesus and what to do, pretend that you have two weeks left to live, and you will discover exciting things to do.

 

There are people killing themselves to take risks that promise a trophy if they are not killed in the process. You can go over to “Big Al’s” in New Glasgow and buy yourself a trophy and have it engraved in safety without risk. Put it on your mantle, make up a story and live!

 

You have to question the sanity of people who voluntarily participate of their own free will in events where they have ambulances and doctors standing because of the high probability that you will be badly injured or may die.

 

“For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?” Jesus said.

 

There are risks to be taken to walk on Holy Ground, but the reward is worth it because it is life; eternal life.

AMEN                        Rev. Alan Stewart