The Scripture Readings this week are:
- Psalm 106 (we are actually using Jim Taylor’s paraphrase, p.134 of Everyday Psalms)
- Exodus 32:1-14
The Sermon title is What Is Your Golden Calf?
Early Thoughts: What idols might intrude into your life? What things might seem more important than others?
The problem of idols, of putting something before the God who led them out of Egypt, is a central piece in the history of the Israelites (as we read about it in Hebrew Scripture at least). In fact both the first and second of the 10 Commandments address that very question. And yet, here almost right after they have fled Egypt into freedom we have a story where the people as a whole make an idol and worship it.
Moses, the one who defied Pharaoh and has led them thus far, is missing. He went up the mountain and there has been a lot of noise and flashing but Moses has not yet come down. Will he come down? If he doesn't come down what will we do next?
The people have an understanding of what religion and worship *could* look like. They saw statues and idols when they were in Egypt. They may well have taken part in Egyptian-style worship. Moses has been leading them with the promises of a different kind of god. A god you can not see. How do you know that this God is with us? So they seek to return to what they know, what is comfortable.
And Aaron, apparently, is all too willing to agree.
God's anger is awoken and the destruction of the people is at hand. Moses intercedes on behalf of the people, reminding God of the promise God made. God's destructive intent is averted. The people will be reminded of the promise and challenged to live into it. The incident leaves a mark (if you read the rest of chapter 32 you will see some of that in action) but the story continues.
But I think the possibility of idols remains a problem. There is always the chance that when we don't understand, or when we are anxious, or when we are unsure of the path forward, we will go back to the comfortable and familiar. We may not melt our jewelry and build a statue but we still make an idol or idols in our own way.
Which brings me back to the title question. What are your golden calfs? Sometimes following God's Way through an uncertain world can be confusing. Sometimes, almost always out of sincere desire to do what seems logical and comforting, we might lift up an idea or a system or even a 'thing' as the most important without realizing that we are supplanting God. And sometimes, in our hearts at least, we know that we have made an idol of a thing or an idea or an understanding of how the world works but we do it anyway because it is comfortable and familiar. When following God's Way leads us into unfamiliar or uncomfortable places we might want to escape, and our idols can give us a way out.
The first step is almost always awareness. We have to be made aware when we have created an idol or two. The next steps include listening, confessing, changing, and trusting (I am not always sure which order those take).
At some point in our lives we will create an idol. As individuals and as communities we will face our own Golden Calf moment(s). Will we recognize them when they happen? Will we let others point them out to us? Will we be ready and willing to confess, repent, and live into the promise of the uncertainty that God's Way might bring?
--Gord
No comments:
Post a Comment