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"The House of the Lord" Exodus 35: 4-9, 20-24 |
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Location: Blogs Brad's BlogBrad's Sermons |
 | | Posted by: Brad Miller | 11/18/2007 12:00 PM | This reading we just heard Carolyn read would make a wonderful Advent scripture. The main idea is of the Hebrew people under Moses direction responding to God by building a wonderful tabernacle of gold and acacia wood. This tabernacle is designed to honor God, to give the people a chance to worship God properly, to recommit themselves to what it means to be God’s people. But, if we were looking at this scripture with an Advent lens, we would see that there is a deep importance and meaning in the preparation for God’s coming. Just as we use our Advent season to prepare our hearts to celebrate the wonder of the Christ child’s birth, so are the Hebrew people preparing themselves for the coming of God to the tabernacle, always to be with with, never to leave them.
But it is not yet Advent so we will not spend our time on exploring those themes.
The reading we just heard would be a wonderful treatise on the subject of repentance and forgiveness. Just prior to the gathering of the materials and building of the tabernacle, the nervous Hebrews, under Aaron’s direction, had built a golden calf for their worship. Unsure of God’s presence and power, they had fallen into a routine that had been common in Egypt, the worship of idols representing other gods. But, this building of the tabernacle represents a turning back to their true God. Repentant and contrite, they seek to honor God.
They understood that in building the calf, they had gotten it all wrong, and now seek to ask God’s forgiveness through their actions. They understood that the golden calf was their initiative, but the tabernacle was God’s initiative. Aaron commanded that they bring their gold to make the calf, while Moses asks for a free will offering. The golden calf took no planning to speak of and was thrown together hastily. The tabernacle, on the other hand took painstaking planning and construction, which befits the importance of the task. The golden calf was an impersonal, inanimate object, while the tabernacle helped connect the Hebrew people to a personal, active diety. With humility and repentance, they sought God’ forgiveness.
But, we are not concentrating on repentance and forgiveness today, so we won’t dwell on those themes either.
The scripture we heard read this morning would make a wonderful scripture if we wanted to emphasize stewardship. An unruly people, finally convinced of the goodness of God, willingly bring their most precious gifts of gold and fabric and beautiful wood as an offering to their God. And then they take all the skills they posses, skills of weaving and sewing and carpentry and they make an additional offering of themselves and their time in the building of the tabernacle. In the realization that God is a gracious God and is the author of all the good gifts we share, they sought to honor that grace and give what they could. And so when Moses, the stewardship campaign chair for their community suggested that they to contribute, they stepped up, without hesitation or doubt.
But we aren’t spending time on stewardship themes today, so we won’t talk about that either.
So what, are we going to talk about today? Today we seek to understand this story as one that helps us understand what it means to be thankful. Today the emphasis is on thanksgiving and the model laid out for us by our Hebrew forebears.
The first question that comes up is what exactly is this tabernacle that the people are planning to build? It is a place where the Ark of the Covenant, that sacred receptacle that held the stone tablets containing the 10 commandments, will be housed. It will be a place of worship. It will be the place where God resides, always near, always present with God’s people. It will be, simply put, the house of the Lord.
Up to this point, God was a distant entity. God met people on God’s terms. Moses went up the mountain to stand in God’s presence. Only a few were ever afforded this opportunity.
But now, there is a difference. With the building of the tabernacle, God’s very self can be present in the world. When the Hebrew people move their encampment from one place to another, God’s house, God’s very being will go with them.
Most Christians believe that God is present everywhere. Most of us agree that God’s Holy Spirit is all around us, seeking to guide us, comfort us and be present for us, if only we will listen and accept that guidance and comfort. In other words, we do not believe that it takes a tabernacle or temple or ornate gathering place for God to be present. Rather, what is needed are open spirits, thankful hearts and willing servants.
But this movement from an almost entirely inaccessible God to a God that is present with God’s people is a sea change in Hebrew thinking.
This tabernacle is more than just a place of worship. It is a sign that the community is inhabited by holiness. It is an acceptance by the Hebrew people that they truly are God’s people and as such, respond by honoring their God with thanksgiving in their hearts. And in so doing, they have set up the possibility that they will also serve the people of God by giving them a place to worship, to bring their offerings, their sacrifices. They serve the people of God by giving them an opportunity to be constantly reminded of their special relationship with God.
Does this sound familiar at all? Jesus told his followers that the greatest commandment is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.”
Too often we try to draw a contrasting line between the ancient Hebrews and ourselves. But more than we sometimes understand, we are more similar than different.
It is easy for us to see how the Hebrews building of the tabernacle is a way to show their complete love for God. It may not be as easy to see how this serves the people.
It seems to me that we answer that question by taking time to think about the importance of place to the Hebrew people. They followed Moses out of Egypt on the assurance that they were headed for the promised land, the land of milk and honey, the land of Canaan. Their need to find their place was of paramount importance. But look where we find them in this scripture: wandering. In the wilderness. Without a sense of where their place really is. When they build the tabernacle, the issue of place became a bit more muted. By providing a place for God, they are assured that their place is secure. The comfort that must have been felt from God’s presence would make it a bit easier to move toward their own place. Because for now, their place was with God, and God was with them.
I think we still hold on to some of that, don’t we? Even as we accept the notion of God’s ever-present Spirit, we seek to set apart places where we can most effectively feel God’s presence.
I have had the experience, as I would guess many of you have, where I have found myself at loose ends. Despairing, lonely, grieving. I desperately needed God’s presence, but could not seem to find it. On more than one occasion, I found myself in the sanctuary or the chapel of an empty church. There surrounded by the symbols of our faith I somehow felt closer to God, in a place where I could talk to God and know that God would hear. The comfort of knowing that there was a place for me, a place in God’s presence, was just what I needed.
We gather in this place on Sunday mornings and throughout the week in this place. This place that was lovingly planned and built to honor God and provide a place for future generations to find God’s presence in the worship and fellowship that takes place in this room.
So, we still build ornate houses of worship. We still call them “The House of the Lord.” All in the spirit of Thanksgiving for what God has done for us.
But there is something slightly different today than there was at the time our Hebrew ancestors were planning and building the tabernacle.
We have found our place. We no longer have to build movable sanctuaries. We give thanks to God for planting us in this place: our place, God’s place.
With the blessing of our own place comes other responsibilities: to reach out to others so that they might find their place in God’s presence. With thanksgiving in our heart we are called to move beyond the walls of this place and serve others.
Which leads me to a time some 45 years ago when the people of the Christian Churches in Georgia sought to find a way to honor God, to serve others, to help others find a place of their own.
The plans were set. Rev. Jim Sosebee was one of the catalysts for this movement. He would later become a minister here at Brookhaven, but then he was working toward helping to found a place that would serve our retirees, our senior citizens. A place that would, by it’s very existence, honor those who paved the way for so many of us in our lives. A place that would honor God through God’s people seeking to serve others. A place that would eventually become the Campbell-Stone Christian Centers.
And in the building of that first set of apartments; in the expansion of the number of apartments and services available through that ministry; in the continuing work to make senior living affordable and comfortable, we discover something in common with the ancient tabernacle: in the building of such a place, we have discovered a community where God is present, we have discovered another definition of “The House of the Lord”, we have discovered another holy place.
And we give thanks.
By all accounts, the tabernacle was a beautiful structure which honored God with it’s beauty. So certainly was the temple built by Solomon in Jersualem. So is this building that houses our congregation. And so are the various buildings of the Campbell Stone Christian Centers.
What? Apartment buildings of brick and mortar that are mentioned in the same breath as the tabernacle and the temple and the sanctuaries of our modern day churches? Absolutely. Because of where they all started: with thanksgiving to God.
This week we will celebrate the national holiday of Thanksgiving. Many of us will travel to be with family and friends. In the midst of our celebrations I hope we will remember that thanksgiving is not simply a day; thanksgiving is a state of being. Thanksgiving is not simply about preparing and sharing a big meal; thanksgiving is about putting our gifts to work for others, in big ways and small.
I am thankful for the witness of Moses and my Hebrew ancestors. I am thankful for Jesus Christ and the life giving and sustaining power of his divine ministry. I am thankful for those who reside in places like Campbell Stone for what they have done to pave the way for each of us. I am thankful for those who make their life work the operation of such a wonderful ministry. I am thankful for each of you and your presence in my life.
Just like the Hebrew people, just like the founders of this church and of Campbell Stone, there is only one question left: how will I show the world just how thankful I am? And just like the Hebrew people, just like the founders of this church and of Campbell Stone, there is only one acceptable response: to honor God in all that I do. Amen and Amen.
Let us pray: Loving God, the depth of your grace and power overwhelms us. We come with grateful hearts and we sing our thanksgiving songs and we say our thanksgiving prayers and we celebrate you goodness and mercy in our lives. Now, empower us to boldly declare our thanks through all our actions, in every way, on every day. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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