Sermon Details

“I have been to the

Mountain top”

 

A Sermon preached at the Mint Methodist Church, Exeter

on Sunday 23rd Oct 2011 - the start of One World Week -

by the Minister Rev Andrew Sails

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land— from Gilead to Dan….

(Deut 34:1)

 

FUTURE DREAM AND PRESENT REALITY

 

If you have been watching the BBC series Spooks for the past 10 years you will not need me to tell you that tonight is last episode ever.

Will Harry and Ruth finally walk away happily into the sunset? Given the track record of Spooks story lines, it seems unlikely -

The BBC website talks about Harry having to make a great sacrifice -

A bitter sweet finale is probably the best we Spooks fans can hope for.

 

Over the last couple of months here at the Mint we have been following the story of Moses

 

over 5 books of the Bible and 40 years in the wilderness -

and now today we reach the final episode in the Moses saga - and this is certainly a bitter sweet finale.

 

Moses stands on the mountain top and at long last sees with his own eyes the long promised land flowing with milk and honey.

But here his personal story ends - he is to die on the mountain - he himself is not to reach Canaan.

 

Moses betwixt the desert and the promised land

is a good passage for today - the start of One World Week -

a week when we look at our planet and the human race inhabiting it.

 

And for us - as for Moses long ago -

there is a stark contrast between our dreams for the future and the reality of the present -

between present wilderness and future hope for our world.

 

Using words from Stephen Daedalus in Ulysses,

right now we live not in a land flowing with milk and honey, but in a land blighted by bitter milk and money.

 

Or if you prefer Blake to Joyce, you could say that - far from living in the new Jerusalem of our dreams,

we are still clearly coughing amidst the toxic emissions

(literal and metaphorical) of this world’s dark satanic mills.

 

As a world community, we can identify only too easily with the Children of Israel making their way through the barren land of the  wilderness. Question: Have we held on to the vision of the future given us by God?

 

Last week a huge memorial statue to Martin Luther King Jr was finally unveiled in Washington.DC

 

It was in his very last public speech that Martin Luther King referred directly to the passage we are looking at today.

He spoke of going, like Moses, to the mountain top.

 

But he also spoke of the threats to his life: like Moses, he might not live to see the dream fulfilled:

 

“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't really matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now.

I just want to do God's will.   And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land.

I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight.

I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

 

And as we know, next day, Martin Luther King lay dead, shot by an assassin’s bullet.

 

Moses and Martin Luther King say the same things to us -

Never despair in the desert - we are heading for the Promised Land

We may not live to see the day, but still we work for it.

 

David Bendon from the Nettlecombe Estate on Exmoor

is apparently this country’s only professional acorn collector - he reckons that by the end of this month

he will have hand harvested his 10 millionth acorn -

acorns which are sold on to plant oak forests for generations to come.

 

I am reminded of Greek proverb -

“A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in”

 

Barak Obama made a speech last week at the opening of the Martin Luther King memorial.  He said: “Nearly 50 years after the March

on Washington, our work, Dr King's work, is not yet complete."

Well he might say that, when modern Western states - including the US & UK - by and large eulogize Dr Kings teaching on racial harmony

whilst frequently ignoring his teaching on the abuse of military power.



It can be a long long journey through the wilderness, from Egypt to Canaan, from dream to reality,

from acorn to the tree of life which is for the healing of the nations.

 

THE POWER OF PRAYER AND THE NEED FOR ACTION

 

We need to hang on to the vision of God’s coming rule

We also need prayerful trust in him as we journey towards it.

 

I am delighted that here in the Mint we are looking to enhance and develop our ministry of prayer - if you want to know more about this, please talk to Elizabeth Webb, who is our new Prayer Co-ordinator.

 

When you look at the lives of Moses and Martin Luther King

and countless other holy men and women down through the ages, time and again you see how they trusted God, and like Christ himself, brought their concerns to God in prayer -

This was the powerhouse for their lives.

A life of prayer complemented, focussed and empowered their human action - But it did not replace it.

 

Maybe you have seen this week deeply disturbing stories about Nigerian Evangelical preacher Pastor T.B. Joshua. Pastor Joshua has advised members of his Churches

who suffer from HIV/AIDS to stop their medication and trust to the power of prayer.

Sadly there have been reports this week of Church members dying as a result of following his advice.

 

God does work miracles of healing - but normally he works those miracles

through the skills and commitment of health professionals and carers.

 

Oak trees are God’s miracle gift -

but still we need to plant the acorns. Prayer does not obviate the need to sow -

 

rather it strengthens the arm and the resolve of the sower. Prayer is not an alternative to our journey,

but a lamp and a signpost to help us on our way.

 

HOPE FOR THIS WORLD AND THE WORLD TO COME

 

Our dream and God’s promise are located both in this world and in the world to come.

 

As you sing our last two hymns this morning, you might like to reflect on the differing location of the future hope they present.

 

The first hymn is a modern piece

which draws closely on Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech - reinforcing our commitment to build one world of peace and justice for all God’s children - a land flowing with milk and honey in this life.

One World united for the good of all God’s children here on this earth..

 

Compare that with the last hymn (maybe the inevitable conclusion to two months in the company of Moses - “Guide me O thou Great Jehovah” .

It also looks forward to the future - to the day when we will “tread the verge of Jordan” and land “safe on Canaan’s side”. The hope of the Promised Land for us.

 

But the focus now is not simply on this life, but on the life to come, and God’s ultimate promise to see us safe home beyond the grave. Crossing Jordan now becomes a symbol

of our journey from earth to heaven.

 

We need to sing and pray and live both hymns.

 

CONCLUSION

 

So please - climb the mountain to get a better view -

Survey the Promised Land - and never ever settle for a desert wilderness whilst this fractured world of ours is crying out

for the milk of human kindness and the sweet taste of justice

 

shared by all in this one world of ours. Hang on to the dream.

Then pray for strength - this is God’s work and we need his guidance & power.. But if, perchance, we are still working for that vision

when death comes - well fear not -

For though our earthly journey may end in the wilderness or amidst the bleak mountain heights, our journey goes on beyond the grave.

For in Christ we celebrate death of death and hell’s destruction, and trust him to land us safe on Canaan’s side.

For come what may, we have seen the promised land - and, praise God, our eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!