How do you suppose Moses felt
as he stood on the top of Mount Nebo and saw the Promised Land off in the
distance? It was so near, and yet so far! If he reached out his hand, he could almost
feel the rich soil on the far side of the Jordan River. If he closed his eyes,
he could almost taste the milk and honey that the land would provide. But he would
only experience its blessings in his dreams.
Do you suppose he was
resentful? After all, Moses had led the Israelites for 40 years through the
wilderness – for most of his lifetime! – and now, when they had almost reached
the end of their journey, he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the fruits of his
labor. We could understand if Moses resented that. Or he might have been
relieved. 40 years is a long time to lead a big group of people through new
territory and new experiences. It had been a very tough job. Just ask any
parent how she feels when the last child has graduated from high school and the
duties that come with being a band parent have finally disappeared! Oh, yes…
it’s a relief! And Moses surely must have been happy for the people he had led
for so long. Only a few more days, and they would take possession of the land
they had been promised! That is certainly an occasion for joy!
Joy… resentment… relief…
maybe Moses felt all of those emotions mixed together. But there’s one more
emotion that I’m sure he felt: a deep sadness. Moses had probably imagined life
in the Promised Land more than once. Little children would run and play in a
place of their own, place that was safe. Their mothers would bake bread with
wheat from their own fields, and their fathers would drink wine made with
grapes from their own vineyards. The soil would be fertile, and the rain would
be abundant. Even the luxuries of milk and honey would be available to
everyone. But Moses would never experience that. He must have felt like an aged
grandfather feels as he holds his first-born grandson. He can see in his dreams
that child holding a son of his own; but he knows that he won’t live to see it.
Joy for the blessings of the future mixed with the deep sadness that he will
never experience those blessings: that must have been how Moses felt as he
stood on Mount Nebo gazing at the Promised Land.
I feel a little bit like that
every year during October when I’m planning that month’s worship services. October
always begins with promise as we celebrate World Communion Sunday. My sermon
for that day always emphasizes our unity in Christ, and the welcome that all
Christians receive at the Lord’s Table. We sing music from around the world, and
even the prayers come from other countries. The first Sunday in October is a joyous
celebration of Christian unity! It offers a vision of all Christians joining
together to serve Jesus Christ. How does the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers”
describe it? “One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.” That’s what I can see
from the mountain top on the first Sunday in October.
But the last Sunday of
October always yanks me back to reality. That day is Reformation Sunday. Many
churches don’t celebrate Reformation Sunday, but those in the Reformed
Tradition do – Presbyterians, for example, and many UCC churches. Reformation
Sunday is the last Sunday in October, the Sunday just before October 31. On
that day in 1517, Martin Luther posted a list of debate topics on the door of
the church in Wittenberg, Germany. They were topics on which Luther disagreed
with church officials. Luther only wanted to discuss these topics; but church
officials threw him out of the church altogether because he dared to question
Roman Catholic doctrine. And so, the Reformation began. It has that name
because it was a movement to “reform” the church, which Luther believed was off
on the wrong track about many, many things. But instead of reforming the Roman
Catholic Church, Luther’s efforts led to a split in Christianity: Protestants
went one way, and Roman Catholics went another. It has taken nearly 500 years
for these two sections of Christianity to even talk to one another, let alone
work together!
So much for the view of
Christian unity that we can see from the mountain top. The reality is that we
Christians have a long, long way to go before we are really united in ministry.
We still throw one another out of the church now and then. More commonly, these
days, we throw ourselves out! UCC
congregations do that regularly if they take exception to a stand that the
national church takes on an issue – they just leave the denomination.
Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists do the very same thing! Almost every
week I read of congregations withdrawing from a denomination because they don’t
like the action of other people who are in it. “One in hope and doctrine, one
in charity”? Not in our lifetimes! We get all wrapped up in who’s right and
who’s wrong, and we forget that our goal is not to judge one another, but to
serve Jesus Christ in the best way we can!
So, like Moses, I stand on
the mountain top in October, and I can see what blessings might be realized if
we would all work together. At the same time, I know that I’ll probably never
experience those blessings. But in the midst of my sorrow, I can see signs of
life in the Promised Land that are already starting to appear around us.
They’re like the little snowbells that pop up in our gardens in January. Even
though the world looks cold and dead, these little flowers remind us that
spring is on the way. The signs of the Promised Land are like that, too. In the
middle of the reality of church arguments and splits, and some Christians
refusing to talk to others, these signs give me hope that one day, we might get
where we’re going.
One sign is the history of
our own denomination. 57 years ago, the Evangelical and Reformed churches
joined with the Congregational Christian churches to form the United Church of
Christ, because they were all convinced that they could do more together than
they could do alone. Our denominational seal contains a phrase from one of Jesus’
prayers in the gospel of John: “That they may all be one.” Our ancestors
dreamed of Christians uniting to serve Jesus Christ. After 57 years, we’re
still trying to do that. Another sign is as close as the Milton-Union Council
of Churches. The Council of Churches to which we belong is made up of a lot of
different kinds of churches: Brethren churches and Nazarene Churches and
Methodist churches as well as UCC churches. All of us believe a little
differently and practice those beliefs a little differently; but we all join
together to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Ohio has a Council of
Churches, too. There is a National Council of Churches, and even a World
Council of Churches! We may not be one in doctrine, but some of us certainly try
to be one in hope and one in charity! Finally, I take heart in the work of
organizations such as Church World Service. Donations to One Great Hour of
Sharing as well as proceeds from the CROP walk go to Church World Service. The
mission of Church World Service is to “work… to eradicate hunger and poverty,
and to promote peace and justice around the world.” It is active in over 30
countries, and works with 37 Christian denominations, as well as Jews, Muslims,
Hindus, and members of the B’hai faith. Surely that is a sign of God’s kingdom
springing up among us!
But most of all, I hope in
the future that is in God’s hands alone. If we stand on the mountain top and
look beyond even the dream of Christian unity in this world, we can catch a
glimpse of a unity that will never be fulfilled in this life. It is a unity
that joins Roman Catholic and Protestant, Russian Orthodox and Pentecostal,
Quaker and Methodist and Baptist, all in one great hymn of praise and worship.
It is the unity that will be realized around the table of Christ when time
itself comes to a close, and all God’s people join in one final, grateful feast
of fellowship. We’ll celebrate that unity next week when we celebrate All
Saints’ Day here in worship. Of course, we’re not there yet. That’s because we’re
all only human, and we make mistakes. We are limited by our cultures and our
customs, our backgrounds and our families, our situations and our economics.
And because we’re limited, the church on earth will never be perfect. We will
always need reformers, prophets who speak the truth in love to correct the
church when it wanders off the path. Our unity will probably never be complete
in this life. But we are headed towards the Promised Land, where all divisions
will be healed, and where Jesus Christ will be worshiped completely and
perfectly. When I stand on the mountain top and look way off, I can see it! And if you join me there, I’ll bet that you
can see it, too.
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