Monday, September 18, 2023

Sermon (September 17) “Defining Moments” by Rev. Robert McDowell



September 17, 2023

   Our Old Testament reading this morning is one of the most famous stories in the entire bible. This story of how God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by parting the Red Sea is an incredible story of new life and freedom. Some bible scholars have said that this story is as critical to the Old Testament as the Easter story is to the New Testament.

     I would call this story of the parting of the Red Sea as a defining moment for the people of Israel. Without God freeing the Israelites from slavery and leading them through the wilderness and eventually into the Promised Land, they would not have been able to be the people of God.   

     This was a defining moment for them because the rest of the Old Testament refers to this story of freedom again and again as a way of reminding the people that God had saved them. Many of the psalms celebrate this story of freedom in their psalms.

     Every time that we hear that long Great Thanksgiving prayer before we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we are reminded of this Exodus and Red Sea story when we pray these words, “You delivered us from captivity.” 

     This parting of the Red Sea story not only reminds us of this defining event, but it also invites us to celebrate that it was God who saved Israel from slavery in Egypt. God was the initiator in delivering the people from slavery. Of course, we also have The Ten Commandments movie that starred Charleston Heston and Yul Brynner. 

     Since this parting of the Red Sea story was such a defining moment for the people of Israel, it reminds me of how important it is to reflect on other defining moments both in history and for us more personally.

     My undergrad degree was in history, and I love reading about history to this day. I’m one of those weird people who saves important historical dates in my calendar so that these events from history will pop up in my calendar each year.

     For example, since Penny and I live near Lake Murray, we’ve read a lot about the history of when that lake was made back in 1927 and then completed in 1930. I remember first reading about William Murray who was the engineer who oversaw that massive project. 


[William S. Murray (August 4, 1873 to January 9, 1942) & Lake Murray, South Carolina]

     When it was completed, it was the largest man-made reservoir in the world. I read about William Murray and noticed that his birthday was August 4th, so I put his birthday anniversary in my calendar as a little way of staying in touch with some local history. 

     So, this past August 4th, Penny and I went to dinner at a restaurant that was overlooking Lake Murray and I noticed another couple sitting at a table near us and they were enjoying their meal while looking out at the lake. It was a beautiful evening. 

     I just couldn’t help myself, so, I turned to this couple and said, “Did you know that the name of the engineer who created this lake back in 1930 was William Murray?”And then I got really excited and told them, “And today is his birthday! He was born in 1873 so I think we should raise a toast to William Murray and thank him for this lake that we’re enjoying tonight!”

     And the funny thing about that brief conversation? They didn’t seem all that interested! They just said, “oh, ok.” The whole time, Penny is looking the other way feeling bad for me. It was kind of an awkward moment. I just think that history is important for us to remember especially the more defining moments that have happened in the past. 

     Like today for example, which is the 161st anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, which was a Civil War battle that was fought near Sharpsburg, Maryland and to this day, remains the bloodiest day of battle in American history claiming almost 23,000 casualties. The three-day battle at Gettysburg would claim more casualties than any of the other battles, but Antietam is known for the most casualties in one single day of fighting.

     Every year on September 17, I just know that this is the anniversary of that significant battle during the Civil War which ended up being a defining moment for the North because it helped Abraham Lincoln, just five days later to issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation that would take effect later on January 1st

     Defining moments.

     Just six days ago, we observed the 22nd anniversary of 9/11. Some of us can remember where we were and what we were doing when we first heard about those terrorist attacks on that Tuesday morning. I remember getting ready to go to the church that morning for a weekly staff meeting when the news broke out on TV.

     During that staff meeting, our staff spent time in prayer for our nation and our world. And during our meeting, we were also able to think through what our church could do to reach out to our community following this devastating news. So, we decided to put a sign out by our church’s front entrance that invited people to come in and pray. 

     We recruited volunteers to be available if anyone wanted to talk or if they wanted to sit in silence. And we gave each person a small sheet of paper that included appropriate bible verses as well as some prayers to use as a guide and take with them. I was so proud of our church for responding in the way they did to that terrible tragedy. 

     Defining moments are times that can lead us to turn to God for strength and comfort and share God’s light in our community, especially where there is so much fear and worry. 

     And that’s because we are a people of faith who are shaped and informed by our defining moments like the Exodus story when God rescued the people of Israel from slavery and led them into the Promised Land, and like the Easter story where we celebrate the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. 

     Speaking of the 9/11 anniversary, soon after the terrorist attacks, I found out from my church’s lay leader that her brother who had worked in one of the Twin Towers was one of the 2,753 people who were killed when the two high-jacked planes crashed into the towers. 

     Every 9/11 anniversary, Barbara posts a tribute on Facebook to not only her brother but to all who were killed by those terrorist attacks.

     This church member loves the Lord, her church, her country, is very patriotic, and believes in justice. But she also is a woman of tremendous faith.
     It’s always been amazing to me that she hasn’t allowed this terrible terrorist act to turn her into bitter person. Instead, a year after her brother died, she and her family traveled to an impoverished community in Mexico to build a home for a needy family in loving memory of her brother. 

     This is how she responded to 9/11 and that defining moment in her life.  Instead of anger and bitterness, she used her faith to help find new ways in making this world a better place.

     This story of the Red Sea is a story that can help us to live out our faith, because it reminds us of not only how God saved the people of Israel from slavery, but of how God used Moses to help lead the people to freedom. These defining moments that we read about in the Bible are not just stories of how God can bring life out of death, but of how God includes us in the process. We all have a part to play in helping to make this world a better place, a place where there is peace, justice, goodness, and love.

     God called Moses from the burning bush to lead his people to freedom and Moses was reluctant to do so because he felt ill-equipped for the task, but God told Moses that he would give him the words to speak. And God did by having Moses stand up to Pharaoh who had refused to let the people go.

     And notice that even here in the Red Sea story, Moses isn’t just a bystander. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea which led the Lord to push the sea back, turning it into dry land for the God’s people to escape. 

     Maybe we can look at it this way: As people of faith, we are shaped by defining events that we find in scripture like the parting of the Red Sea and the Easter story. We are shaped by these defining moments that we read about in scripture so that we can in turn allow the defining moments that happen in our lives to be opportunities to share God’s healing love with others.

     And one last thing about 9/11. Several years ago on a 9/11 anniversary, it was a weekday, my brother called me on the phone to let me know that he was at that very moment, driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and was just a few miles north of where United Airlines Flight 93 had crashed there in western Pennsylvania. 

     We then began to reflect during that phone call on how the 9/11 anniversary has a different feel as each year passes by. And here he was so close to where that plane had crashed and where there is now a memorial.

     It was a sobering moment as we both thought about his location during that phone call. But then my brother said something that I will never forget. He said, “But isn’t it something how Jesus’ death on the cross and then his resurrection that happened 2,000 years ago is also something that we are called to remember as people of faith.” He said that what Jesus has done for us has its own unique and enduring quality to it.

     He’s so right! I’m so glad that we aren’t just left with the defining moments of history like a bloody battle that happened on this day 161 years ago, or terrorist attacks that happened 22 years ago. We’re not just left with anniversaries of heartache and pain. 

     We as people of faith also have other defining moments that offer us hope because of what God has done for us. A God who parts Red Seas and frees us from our bondage to slavery and sin. A God who leads us through the wilderness of our lives and into the Promised Land where we can find rest and be at home with God. A God of resurrection who raises us up to new life.

     These defining moments are more than just anniversaries to remember on a calendar each year. They are what remind us of the good news of our faith and the hope that God is calling us to share with the world. 

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