by Parrish W. Jones, Ph.D.

©2005 All rights reserved.

 

Psalm 145:1-8

Exodus 16:2-15

Matthew 20:1-16

 

We have been working through the journey of the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt through the plagues, the passover, and the escape. Today's lesson takes us to one of the points in the journey through what is commonly referred to as the wilderness of sin. There is much in this text worth our noting that we do not have time to talk about. This journey of Israel is, for the most part, the journey of each of us and the journey of the church.

The common elements are clear. The people are led away from Egypt with the hope of freedom. They little appreciate what the true cost will be. They cannot understand in advance the danger of the desert they must cross because it is unlikely many have crossed it. For those who had to tell them about it is like us trying to conceive the trauma and horror of what Hurricane Katrina did on the Gulf Coast. Words simply do not suffice.

The people predictably begin to get dissatisfied, especially so because they have little history with this God and despite the amazing feats of Moses, he and Aaron appear so ordinary. God intentionally did not pick super heroes because the glory of this quest is reserved for God.  So the people complain and gripe at Moses. We read that God heard their complaint. Moses did not need to mediate it. And God responded.

God provided for their daily needs: bread and meat. What else could they want? We will see that they will time after time fail to be faithful and to trust. They will persist in dissatisfaction. And so it is with us and with the church.

Today, we have asked you to turn in your survey. The Interim Task Force has been at work meeting every week on Sunday evening to get ready for this day and to prepare for four church-wide conversations to take place in October and November. In the mean time the session has discussed and will discuss further at its next meeting and come to a conclusion what to request presbytery in regards to the appointment of the Pastor Nominating Committee.

Some of you are anxious about some things. Some have even expressed that they feel the church is sort of wandering in the wilderness, a notion that makes some of you uncomfortable and others agitated. I understand that. However, there are some factors in that regard that need to be worked through. To do so we must be honest.

There is still lingering distrust and anger between some of you over the departure of the former pastor and over changes that occurred in church programming during his ministry. In most cases that is manifested in the discussions over the future path of Summit regarding a number of subjects. The last two weeks our gospel lesson spoke of conflict reconciliation and forgiveness. While those of you who feel a part of the conflict feel it deeply, there is no high level conflict here at Summit. On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the worst, Summit may be about a 2 or 3. Whether it is any comfort to you or not, there are few if any churches that do better.

Conflict is a part of life. It is a part of family, work, play and the church. The Bible is full of church conflict. Conflict is predictable. How we deal with it as God's people is what matters.

The church is trying to do a unique thing in the world. We are seeking to bring together people who are vastly different to be the body of Christ. Our mission implies conflict. That does not mean we accept and ignore conflict because the Bible tells us that if we feel injured by another, we are to go to the person and work it out. It is to be done personally and face to face. In many cases I guess a phone call will work.

The fact is 90% of what causes conflict in a church can be worked out with 10 or 15 minutes of gracious, kind and patient discussion. Clearly, it is through being the church that we learn to live by the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) just as in our families we first learn to share and cooperate.

Finally, I recognize that some of you will disagree with me. Some apparently have decided that I am what's wrong with Summit and the only cure for Summit is going to be an installed pastor. "So," you say, "let's get him, her or them as quickly as possible." I do not take offense at that. I hardly think of myself on the level of Moses or the Apostle Paul and certainly not on that of Jesus. So I simply accept with as much humility as I can that some people will not like me or want to follow my leadership or listen to my sermons. That being so, I was called to be the Interim Pastor for Summit and will do everything in my power to be faithful to that call.

The most important concern here is that each of us be faithful to God. The wilderness is not a bad place to be. As the Israelites learned, the wilderness is actually full of food and abundant water and of spiritual growth. The wilderness is a place of blessing and spiritual growth. If God did not have a purpose in it, we would not be where we are.