Moses Still Speaks: 7. The Death of Moses

Dr. Jon Burnham preached this sermon from Deuternomy 34:1-12 called "Moses Still Speaks: 7. The Death of Moses"
on November 2, 2008, at St. John's Presbyterian Church in Houston

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (NRSV)

34Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan, 2all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, 3the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. 4The Lord said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there."

5Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord's command. 6He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. 7Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. 8The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.
9Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses. 10Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. 11He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, 12and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

~*~

This is a week of transition in America as we elect a new president this Tuesday. I understand there is some anxiety about who will be elected this Tuesday. The question for Americans is not who will be our next president. The question for Americans is what kind of people we choose to be as a nation. Vote on Tuesday and wake up on Wednesday knowing that many of the same people will be still be in charge in Washington regardless of who is elected as president. Some say that Obama is too young to be president and some say John McCain is too old to be president. Yet age should not be the determining factor.
After all, according to the Bible, Moses was 120 years old when he died.

Moses had made it all the way from being rescued from a basket in the river and being reared in Pharaoh's court. 
He was a sheep herder in the desert.
He saw God in the burning bush.
He returned to Egypt to lead the people of Israel out of their slavery.
He wandered with the people for 40 years in the wilderness.

Today we find Moses standing on Mount Nebo where he sees the Promised Land laid out before him in all its glory. The Lord then says to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants'; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there." (Deut 34:1-4) What a let down that must have been. Then again, when you are 120 years old, how much longer do you want to keep having to deal with the pressure of leadership? Yet, we get the impression from the text that Moses was ready to continue, as we read there that his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated.

That reminds me of a story. An elderly man went to the doctor complaining of aches and pains all over his body. After a thorough examination, the doctor gives him a clean bill of health. "Hymie, you're in fine shape for an eighty-year-old. After all, I'm not a magician – I can't make you any younger," said the doctor.
Hymie responds, "Who asked you to make me younger? Just make sure I get older!" [Courtesy of Alan King's Great Jewish Joke Book (New York: Crown Publishers, 2002, page 96)] Younger people tend to underestimate the vigor of older folks.

I wonder how the people of Israel felt at the time of Moses death? Were they energized and ready to claim God's vision and move forward into the Promised Land? Or were they fatigued, worn out from wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, and needing rest and new energy before they could continue to claim the vision? I wonder where St. John's is today? Are we ready to move forward with God's vision or are we exhausted and in need of a vacation before we are ready to move forward? This congregation may be needing some rest, having experienced some heart ache in the past several years, or we may now be ready to move forward. During the recent Vision Brunch, I got the feeling that the congregation is ready to move forward again. I've heard some of you say you are tired of hearing about the New Wind choir. You don't want to hear about how many members the church had 20 years ago. You are ready to move forward.
Moses, in this congregation, is spelled M-c-P-h-a-i-l. Rev. McPhail is the one who brought the people of St. John's into the promised land on West Bellfort. This area was then flowing with milk and honey. Children and young families were everywhere. In the years since McPhail's retirement, the neighborhood around this church has become extremely diversified. It has come to the point now that when I am walking my dog around the neighborhood and I come across another person, I cannot predict which language that person will be speaking.

Last Sunday evening we had a Trunk or Treat party in the church parking lot. Christine and David Nelson did a great job or publicizing and organizing this event. Lots of children showed up  wearing costumes from cute to frightful. Several unchurched families from this neighborhood stopped by and joined in the fun. One thing I noticed about the crowd was the diversity. There were people of many different races at Trunk or Treat. The neighborhood surrounding this church is highly diverse. As we learn to intentionally engage the diversity of the population around us we will become more and more relevant and energized in our ministry. We may be ready to realistically assess where we are as a congregation now, in this time and place, and move forward from here. This congregation is making the transition from the glory days of the 1970's to a mission driven vision of ministry in the diverse climate of 2008.

Moses was replaced by Joshua son of Nun. Joshua was no Moses, but even so the people followed him, because he was the leader whom God had provided for them. Nations and congregations do well when they follow the leadership of the person whom God has called to lead them. So let's move forward together into the vision God has for this congregation regardless of whom is pastor. Let's move forward together into the vision God has for this nation regardless of whom is elected president.

There is one final twist to the story of the death of Moses. The Bible shows us that the death of Moses is not the end of Moses. Let's remember that on this All Saints Day. After his death as recorded in the Old Testament on Mt. Nebo, Moses shows up again in the New Testament on another mountain. Moses appears on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Prophet Elijah and Jesus Christ. So we see that death is not the end of a person. Death is a transition to a new beginning. This election on Tuesday is not the end of this nation, it is the transition to a new beginning. The racial and cultural diversification of the neighborhood surrounding this sanctuary is not the death of this community, it is simply a transition to a new beginning. The question that remains for each of us is whether we will wake up and seize the opportunities that lay before us as individuals, as a congregation, and as a nation. With God's help, we will rise to the challenges before us and lay claim to the new promised that God has placed before us. While it may look a little different than we thought it would, this new promised land of cultural diversity is also a land flowing with milk and honey.

We are moving into a new promised land. Our congregation has an invitation to dinner at the new Turkish community on West Bellfort next Sunday evening. A Ghanian Presbyterian group is worshiping here on Sunday afternoons and they seek a closer connection our church. The Session is exploring what it means to be an intentionally multicultural congregation. Step by step we are moving forward, owning our past, trusting God to show us the next step into the promised land of Meyerland and Westbury and surrounding areas. God has brought us to this time and place. This is our promised land. Let's step forward in faith together. God will meet us half way. God will show us the way forward. Thanks be to God. Amen.