A Direct Connection

"...at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the Israelites with him, the whole congregation." Numbers 29:21

Connecting with God
By Rev. William Dohle

Sometimes I wish I could sit down with God, face to face, and talk with him. Don't you? To know what God knows and understand what God understands. That would be awesome!

I know it's impossible. A mere mortal talking to the divine. Such a feat wasn't even possible for Moses who is said to have spoken personally with God. Moses caught God's backside, not his face.

But sometimes when I'm praying it'd be nice to have a direct answer instead of an inferred one. Sometimes I'd just like someone to talk to, face to face. To know what God thinks right then.

As Moses retires from being the leader of the Israelites, the people lose this direct communication. They lose a face to face interaction with the divine.

Earlier in the Exodus and throughout the wilderness, whenever Moses needed an answer, Moses would "inquire of the Lord" and the Lord would meet Moses in the tent of meeting. From the burning bush through the encounter at Sinai, God had always spoken and interacted with Moses directly. In the wilderness, at the tent of meeting, Moses would hear what God had to say and then pass that onto the people. It was as direct of a connection as anyone ever had.

But after Moses retires, that direct connection stops. God doesn't establish that direct line with anyone else. Instead, Joshua son of Nun is instructed to hear God's word through the Urim.

"But he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the decision of the Urim before the Lord." (Num 27:21).

What is the Urim, you ask. It's a divination tool, used to discern the will of the Lord. In a way, it's an ancient Magic 8 ball. The priest inquires of the Lord and consults the Urim and the Urim reveals the will of God.

Quite a difference from the face to face interaction the people had in the wilderness, huh?

So why would God change the way he interacted with his people? Why would the people suddenly start communicating with him via a Magic 8 ball tool?

As you read the Scriptures from the start all the way through, the way God communicates changes. In the beginning, God is walking in the garden, creating things with God's voice, and hovering visably over everything. In the Exodus, God does great deeds of power and leads his people out with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

But then, starting here, God takes a step backward. God starts communicating through Prophets and priests who receive God's Word via tradition and vision.

So why the transformation from direct conversation to indirect? What's going on here?

Perhaps God was expanding the ways he would communicate with his people. Instead of relying upon the word of one person(a person whose word may be fallible) his people would have to discern for themselves what God's will was. Perhaps he was helping his people infer what to do. Or perhaps God was preparing the people for incarnation, where God would reside not in a tent or a temple but body of one man, Jesus, and thus in the hearts and lives of all.

For whatever the reason, we see the results of that decision today. For, listening closely, we can hear God incarnate in the world around us.

Ever see a sign on the road that gave you the answer you were seeking? That's God.
Ever hear a song on the radio that said exactly what you needed to hear? That's God too!
Ever get a phone call at just the right time from just the right person about an issue that had bothered you? That's God too!
Ever been hugged and feel the love and care of another human being...that's God.
Ever been told by someone you're worth something to them...that's God too!

In fact, Joshua's Urim reminds us that God may not speak audibly to us. But God still interacts with us and through us.

We are the messengers of God. We are God's angels on earth. We are the ones through whom God will speak and act in this world. We are!
We are the answers to someone else's prayers just as they are the answer to ours.
We are the answer we are seeking, the whisper in the dark, the voice that we long for.

We are the answer because of this event. Because God decided instead of communicating to one man to become incarnate, first in the Urim and then in Jesus and now, through the Holy Spirit, in us.

Speak to me and through me, God, that your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Unforgivable Sin or Natural Consequence??

"...you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes." Numbers 27:14

Unforgivable Sin or Natural Consequence??
By Rev. William Dohle

Have you ever done something so bad that someone else couldn't even be in the same room with you? Something so terrible that whenever they were around you, they avoided you, looked away from you, and, at times, ran the other way?

I have. Or at least I've got this reaction from people. I've been avoided, ignored, looked past, and made to feel like nothing. What I did to them is a mystery. I honestly can't remember the offense. But, still, I have been treated as if I have committed the unforgivable sin.

Sins are strange when you think about them. We talk about forgiveness a lot, especially as Christians. We speak about the power of God's forgiveness to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and help us live a holy life. We confess our sins on Sunday. Hear God's words of forgiveness. And then we leave it there, believing that God will forgive and forget.

We believe God forgives. But when it comes to forgiving others...that's where we struggle. We have a hard time letting go of what others do to us. So we cling to that sin. We hold onto it. We use it against our neighbor whenever we have a chance. All the while claiming we've forgiven them and moved on.

What is it about us that we can't let go of what is done to us? What about us makes us cling to the sins of others, allowing them to color our impression of them and their families?

Do others truly commit unforgivable sins against us? Do we really need others to apologize before we'll forgive them? Or is our actions just the natural consequence of their actions? Maybe it has nothing to do with forgiveness at all. Maybe the natural consequences of them harming us in us avoiding and leaving them. Maybe its as natural of a consequence as failing is when we've ignored our school work. It's just what happens when someone sins.

Moses on the mountain as he's looking over the promised land which he will never enter, is presented with what seems to be the consequences of his action at Meribah. Or maybe its the price he pays for an unforgivable sin. For whatever reason, Moses there is told the reason why he's being held back. God says:

"After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes." (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.). (Numbers 27:13-14)

Now I've read the story of Moses at the waters in the Desert of Zin and it doesn't seem Moses did anything so wrong there. Yes, he disobeyed the literal words of God. Yes, he struck the stone instead of speaking to it. But maybe it was a mistake. Maybe he didn't mean to do it. Maybe he was so burned out and frustrated with everything that was happening that he just had to lash out. It happens...right?

And what about all the years that Moses did exactly what God wanted him to do. I mean he didn't want to go in the first place. And he went. He didn't want to love and care for the people but he did. What about all the positive things Moses did beside this one negative thing? They must count for something.

And isn't God a God of forgiveness and mercy anyway? "Slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and ready to relent in punishing."?? Isn't that who God is??

So why is Moses being burdened with this crazy sin? Why at the end of his journey does he get held back because of this??

I really can't say. Maybe not entering the promised land is a natural consequence of disobeying God at  the waters of Meribah. Maybe God isn't quite as forgiving as we think he is. Maybe Moses did indeed commit the unforgivable sin.

I can't wrap my head around this story. But I do know this. I believe in the power of forgiveness. Forgiveness starts with God. God has forgiven us. I believe, despite what this story may suggest, that God is "gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." And God is ready to forgive at a moment's notice.

As a Christian I see that forgiveness in Jesus and the way Jesus forgives others. I see through Jesus that same forgiveness in God and I believe that in Jesus we experience the full forgiveness of sins.

And I am challenged to be better than even God in this story. To truly forgive others and let them into my heart, into my promised land, even when they have committed an unforgivable sin.

Maybe that's the point of this after all. To challenge us with the limits we place on our own forgiveness. Natural consequence or unforgivable sin, we've gotta let go!

Help me to forgive my neighbors and mean it, reflecting that forgiveness in what I say and do around them. Amen.

It's not just your job!

"May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd." (Num. 27:15-17)

It's not just your job!
By Rev. William Dohle

I love to garden. I really do. In Montana, we had a good size garden full of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and even some really large pumpkins. We had raspberries and some strawberries too. Every year we'd go out and plant what we could, water it as we would, weed, and finally take in the harvest. It was a nice sized garden. Not too big and not too small.

I love to garden. But I can't imagine gardening this much. I can't imagine picking all these strawberries in the field above by myself. I can't even comprehend how much work is involved.

Gardening is great...but farming needs help. It needs people to come in on shifts, to pick the strawberries one person misses and strip the plants of their fruit. It needs more than one person at a time to work and more than one shift to get the job finished. In the end, to finish the job right, it needs a steady stream of leaders and workers.

The job of ministering to the world is the same.

I am a minister in the world. I serve a congregation of Lutherans in Peoria, Illinois. My job, though, was here before I arrived and will be here long after I am gone. My job was ably done by Pastor Tuhy and Pastor Borcherding and by other pastors before them. They shepherded the people I pastor now.

Someday my job will be passed on to another who will have the privilege of walking with these people too. Thus is the legacy of ministry and of any job. This isn't my ministry. It's God's. And I am but one worker in a line of workers.

It's not just my job.

This is what I think Moses realized too as he gazes over the land on the mountain in the Abarim range. The Torah tells us that he was gathered to his people, like Aaron was, because "both of you disobeyed me to honor me as holy before their eyes."(Num 27:14). You might think that Moses is mad at God for doing this. Or if not mad than a little sad.

But I think Moses is glad to be done with leading the people of Israel. I think he's ready to pass the mantle onto another.

After all the stress that came from leaving Egypt to all the complaints in the desert to countless times the people rebelled and had to be dealt with. All of this still weighs onto Moses, I think. And I think he's ready to be done with it. Ready to say "It's not just MY job anymore."

God, who is gracious to us, helps us do the same thing Moses did. When our time comes, God helps us pass on the leadership to the next generation and move on. God helps us let go as others take leadership of the group that WE use to lead. God strengthens us for whatever our next task is. And God gives us vision to see how our work fits in with the larger picture.

I think Moses saw what was ahead on that mountaintop. Gazing down at his people one last time peering back at their past and forward into their future, Moses saw what God had done through his hands.

And I think it made him smile.

Give us vision, Lord, that we may see our place as one piece in the puzzle of Life. Amen.