Good Morning Friends,
Perhaps you have seen some of the great Cathedrals of Europe built by generations upon generations of stone masons. They began and worked on projects that they knew they would never see to completion. Every stone they laid in its place was for the benefit and blessing of generations yet unborn. Sons picked up where their fathers left off, grandsons began to lay stones where their grandfathers had begun. Great grandsons laid even more stones. Yet some of these Cathedrals are now more like museums that have eroded away. But there is a remnant who believe and that is why so many cried with the fire at Norte-Dame Cathedral. Moses, I think, understood this kind of reality as well. He would have known about the Egyptian edifices of the Pharaohs, but then also he had spent much of his life leading people in tents to the edge of the Promised Land. He would have understood what lasts and what lives on. Moses lived and died having hope for the future of others and having never entered the Promise Land. Yet we still remember the stories of his life and the work that he did. Some think Moses was lifted into heaven body and soul much like what Catholics believe about the Assumption of Mary. But that topic is not the focus of today’s message. The message is about standing on the shoulders of others to build the future. And history shows us that leaving such a legacy that really lasts is not so easy. We most likely will not lead a nation, however we might be led in the Spirit to help lead someone to Christ and a relationship with God that might divert them from disaster. We might just help a lost sheep return to the flock of those called by God. So together we gather with others and pray for the Kingdom to come on Earth as in Heaven. And that is more fulfilling and eternal than we might at first think. And when we do it one person at a time in the hopes that they be moved by the Spirit and put prayer into action, it is a beautiful experience. This is how it is done. Would You Like To Outlive Your Life?
Scripture: Then 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, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The 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.” Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended. Joshua 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. Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He 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, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (NRSV)
“If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Matthew 18:15-20 (NRSV)
Message: In today’s story and lectionary readings we have Moses handing the reigns over to younger Joshua to carry on his life work. And we have a passage from Matthew from a Hebrew perspective on how in the church to bring lost sheep back to the fold. And the message I find in them both is that what we do for God and with God in love outlives us. Moses outlived his life because he lived his life with hope for the future of other people. So too the Church is to serve this purpose. Both Moses and the Church demonstrate that we are to live in a way that shows we want others to be blessed in the future by the way we live in the present. Both are designed to entrust others with this work who have had a strong relationship with God. Perhaps this is to prepare us for not just the birth and life of the church but also in some cases its death and resurrection. Moses lived in such a way that when he died people were saddened by his death. They mourned for thirty days and remembered him but continued the journey for they were excited about entering the Promised Land. In Romans 8:11 it says: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.”
And So, God with Christ as the cornerstone is building in each of us something that is meant to last. And, as we mark the passing of people and events and even some institutions in our lives with sadness, we do so also with the hope that something of our experience will live on. There is to be a resurrection that brings excitement and power. So too we begin outliving our lives when we comfort others with our hope of eternal life…the hope of entering the Promised Land. We are to be overflowing vessels used by God. Our job as Christians is to be the Body of Christ and to do good community work as well as help support meaningful worship in all we do. We are to allow Jesus to connect our hearing and doing of the Word in this regard and in support of what the Spirit is doing in the lives of others. We are to be missional in a Spirit that lives on and on. So, submit yourself to the family of believers and experience the joy and wonder of a supernatural community. That is how we win hearts. That is how we win minds. That is how we win lives. That is how God builds a community of love that lives on. This is how people are set free. This is how the promise lives on.
Pray we have the hope of the future for others. Pray … remembering that what we do for God and others outlives us. Pray we live so that people, though saddened by our absence are gladdened by the hope of our presence and memory. Pray we entrust ourselves to others who will continue what we do in mission and service. Pray we continue to celebrate what God has done in us and through us as a way of worship. Pray we live in a way that demonstrates we want others to be blessed in the future by the way we live in the present. Pray remembering that what we do for God and others outlives us. Pray others pick up the challenge of gathering together in Jesus’ name to worship and serve each day. Pray we relate to others in a way that prompts in them a hope to continue the work for God’s glory. Pray we begin to outlive our lives through the life of Jesus in us and in the Spirit, that spills over into the lives of others continuing a work that outlives our earthly life. Pray we realize the importance of emulating the Christian people we know best for the health of the church and the work for the Kingdom of God.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 