| January 17
Providence, Rhode Island - January 17, 2010 “When the Cloud Won’t Move” (Numbers 9:15-23)
We follow signs for direction. And our Bibles for guidance. But those lucky children of Israel had a cloud! Think of the luxury of certainty. For every thorny decision: When to leave? When to stay? How to behave? What to say? To have your own God-filled cloud to guide the way. No detours, questions, no ifs, no anxieties, or surprises. No need for insurance. Just go with the cloud. When it moves, you move. When it stops, you stop. But ... its never that easy, is it? We wish.
Today’s scripture is an epiphany story about somebody trying to follow God. That isn’t easy either. As the Hebrews plodded through the wilderness to the promised land, they didn’t have to wander aimlessly thru a trackless waste. Nor did they have need of a flashlight, compass or a map, because they were led by the hand of God -- a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Day after day it faithfully appeared above the tabernacle, housing the ark of the covenant; the movable Hebrew gathering place where God showed up for worship. The cloud was like the Wise Men’s star, another visible assurance that God was their Chaperone -- to remind them that a scary place need not be a God-forsaken place.
We too, have known similar times, though maybe not as obvious--when God called us to something new, opened a closed door, or provided us with a necessary warning. Those lively times when God wants us to “break camp,” leave behind what is and follow him into what is yet to be. When the cloud begins to move, there will be predictable varied reactions. Some want to go back. “It isn’t like it used to be, back in the old days.” Others prefer to stay put. “I’m not leaving, because we’ve never done it that way before.” And a few look forward to forging ahead and the cloud is on the move again. “Hot dog! I can’t wait to see what’s coming next!” And you can count on each of these impulses being present in a congregation like ours. Which one is predominant, of course, depends on the make-up and outlook of the members. But it’s in keeping with the only direction the disciples received after Easter: “He goes before you and I will be with you.”
Clouds are ephemeral. I could take off after a lot of vapor trails, if I knew God was doing the leading. With clouds, there’s always that vexing bit of uncertainty whenever it moves. It comes with the territory. So what happens when the cloud doesn’t move? The Israelites followed God away from everything familiar into a strange and lonely place. And then nothing moves. Through Moses, he led them out of the depths of slavery; parted the seas with his mighty arm; rescued them from Pharaoh’s army in hot pursuit.
They had experienced God’s clear deliverance and providence; providing manna and quail and water--all that. But “what have you done for me lately?” Stranded out in the middle-of-nowhere, and the action stops. The cloud isn’t moving. Where’d God go? Now what? The old what ifs? -- that’s what. Life’s ambushes. What if an earthquake hits? What if your marriage falls apart? What if you lose your job? What if you get sick? What if your problems have no good solutions?
The cloud is stuck in neutral. And you’re stuck out in the desert on your own. What do you do when the will of God makes no sense; when it looks like God’s doing something irrational, illogical.....unethical? Some people panic in those times; left to their own devices. We may ask others who’ve been there before for the advice of their experience. Or we might just have to learn from our mistakes. That’s what often happens when the old rules of survival and being good no longer apply. What has proved to be successful in one day, may not cut it in another time. If we just had a cloud to show us the way!
When our expectations of a quick little jaunt from Egypt to the promised land turns out to be 40 years; much longer and a lot more troublesome than we previously envisioned, we must improvise. I don’t care how strong our faith is, when the darker aspects of life threaten to engulf us, it’s natural to be afraid, depressed, or resentful. “Why me? Why now? Why here? “Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, resting upon it, the Israelites would remain in camp and would not set out. But when it lifted they set out. At the command of the Lord they would camp, and at the command of the Lord they would depart. They kept the charge of the Lord...” (v. 18).
Notice though, that the cloud didn’t leave them. It just stopped. But our rapid-pace, glitzy cultural expectations don’t lend themselves to our seeing how this too can be God’s direction for us. God decided the people needed to rest awhile. Just stay in camp and worship and pray. Take a break. Sometimes what’s called for is not being on the move.
Cloud-following, like star-gazing is temporary. Eventually they would enter the land of Canaan, inhabited it and multiply therein. Then it would be appropriate to build a permanent temple in Jerusalem, for the day would come when they no longer needed a movable tent. And once they arrived they waited not for a cloud to move, but for a messiah to come. They waited a long time too; through wars and idolatry, and destruction of their permanent temple, deportation into foreign captivity.
In exile, they longed for a deliverer, God’s anointed, who would come and lead them like their good ol’ cloud used to do. They waited and waited for God to move. Finally John showed up in the Jordan and baptized “the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sins.” And he held their hopes ... for awhile. But they became disillusioned in the way he talked about God. He expected them to repent. They didn’t like the direction he was going or the way he was going about it. Which is why the first task of any messiah, is to get people to quit looking for one. Rather than taking up arms to overthrown Rome like King David, this Messiah looked a lot more like Isaiah’s suffering servant and said, “You must get your hearts right!” It shouldn’t come as a surprise that he ended up on a cross. When people perceive the cloud lingering too long, or taking a different route, it can get dangerous.
“What have you done for me lately,” Lord? It’s frustrating to have to wait on God. And when God finally moves, it’s not a nice cheerful cloud or a warm fire, but a servant messiah! What a downer! God showed up on Christmas and said, “Let’s go,” and they missed him. And 2000 years later, we’re still waiting for God to move. I can’t think of anything worse than having the Lord God among us and missing out on it. Jacob spoke a little punk up in Bethel, “This is an awesome place! The Lord was in this place and I did not know it!” Jesus “came unto his own, and his own received him not.” God was here in their midst and they missed him! If they muffed it then, you know we can muff it today. Sometimes it feels like the cloud hasn’t moved for a long time. Sometimes it feels like it’s even moved backwards or going around in circles.
Like Elijah in his cave, “Am I the only one left who hasn’t bowed the knee to Baal?” Or John the Baptist in jail, “Are you the one? Or should we look for somebody else?” Martin L. King pleading, “How long O Lord?” Following a Messiah is a lot harder than following a cloud. But as God would have it, Christ is our tabernacle now, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,” like unto whom there is no other. His redemptive work on the cross liberates all who believe and follow by faith. But I think, given our druthers, we prefer the cloud. It’s much easier.
Yet how can you improve on what the Hebrews did: stay in camp and wait on God and worship. Worship doesn’t require us to fix everything or to deny reality or even decide what to do next. Wise indeed are both individuals and faith communities, who realize there’s no point in moving before we have a sense of spiritual direction, that is born of worship and focusing our eyes on Jesus.
It might require a hallowed ark, a security blanket, or an old idol to fall away and leave us feeling stranded and exposed, so that we’ll stay put, and wait on the voice of God to say, “Break camp. Follow me.” The kingdom on earth and the kingdom of heaven don’t run on the same clock. We walk by faith, not by sight. We prefer the cloud, but God sends a Son. “Now we see through a glad darkly, but then face to face,” said the Apostle. We’ve just got to trust God to see better than we do.
In this time for shining-light-epiphanies, let the story of the cloud remind us that God does move us and guide us. Sometimes we’re led on a journey outward -- an exodus, away from bondage and into new and exciting lands of opportunity. But other times God wants us to stop and rest awhile along the way; to make the inward journey of prayer and worship and renew our spirits. The Bible calls it Sabbath. And we neglect it at our loss.
Few people I know like to wait for anything, but waiting is an essential part of life with God. Because we’re shaped by what we’re waiting for. When you want something badly, your whole life rearranges itself around it. For the children of Israel it was the promised land. Others might be waiting for a baby. Or a place to live. When I was a teenager all I wanted was to be independent. And it took awhile to learn that we’re really interdependent. Some wait a lifetime for a meaningful relationship with another person that will last. I’m still waiting to grow up.
What are you waiting for? How is it shaping your life? People wait for security, for surgery, for healing, for love, for recognition, for retirement, for payday. Eventually we’ll all be waiting to be reunited with a loved one who has died. Nothing is harder than that. Whatever it is that our hearts yearn for, chances are it has something to do with our vision of what God put us here for. We may be short on details but not on hope or wonder -- at this Mystery whose good hands we are in. Whatever happens to us “while we wait” for God’s cloud to move, however dark it gets before the dawn -- this is what we believe: they are good hands. (“He’s Got the Whole World”)
Providence Prayers (1-17-10)
Around here most of us are struggling just to be a good person, to hold onto our families, hold down a job, or hold our creditors at bay in order to make ends meet. May this hour remind us there’s always some light or a cloud at the end of the tunnel. Where there is hurt, give healing. Where there is pain, grant encouragement. Where there is despair, provide hope. As we follow Christ into this new year, make us more Christlike. Let the cloud by day lead us the way we should go. Let the nightly fire inspire. Give us direction in this worship, as we have stopped for awhile to thank Thee for our deliverance and the many blessings that flow from Thy good hands.
And we know that we shall receive. Guide by Thy light, the nations of this earth, that the whole world may know our Lord Christ, and keep us alert to the duties of our callings, that we may sleep in thy peace and wake in thy glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |
