Sermons
"The Second Set of Tablets"
Gracious God-you love us-over and over and over again. And for this we
give thanks-in
your Holy Name we pray; Amen.
Moses came back down the mountain a second time-with another set of tablets
in his
arm. And his face glistened.
A second time-with another set---
Do you remember
the story of the Ten Commandments?
Many of us
certainly remember the movie
as one of Charlton Heston's
great moments on screen
before he became
the poster child for the NRA.
But do you know the story?
I thought I did
-but my friend Jeannette DeFriest
helped me see something
very different in it
last night.
"The Lord said to Moses,
"Come up to me on the mountain,
and wait there;
and I will give you the tablets of stone,
with the law and the commandments,
which I have written for their instruction." (Ex 24:12).
So Moses goes up the mountain
with his assistant Joshua
and he leaves his brother Aaron
in charge.
Blithely telling the folks
- hey--if you have any problems
- while I'm away
Ya'll go see Aaron
and he'll take care of things.
Then Moses and Joshua climb
on up the mountain.
And as they move toward the summit
the glory of the Lord
in the form of a cloud covers the peak.
From down below-
all the people can see
is a dense dark fog
that looks to contain
a raging, devouring fire.
For six days Moses stays
just below the firey cloud
and then on the seventh day
-God calls to him.
Invites him to enter that cloud.
Moses leaves Joshua
-swallows his fear
-protects his eyes
and ventures forth to that
dark burning mystery that clearly contains God. Moses enters the cloud
and does not emerge for forty days.
During that time,
those forty days in that cloud,
God invites Moses
to contemplate every aspect of life.
And gives him
directions and commandments
on everything.
Advice ranging from
---building altars to
-------- designing priestly vestments.
Forty days-Moses and God face to face.
When the Lord God finishes speaking
-God reaches down
and hands Moses
two stone tablets.
Two stone tablets
upon which
God has written the Ten Commandments.
God hands Moses
-a physical
-literal summary and synthesis
of their time together;
an outward, visible sign
for Moses to bring to the people.
***** ****** ***** ***** ***** *****
Might you
put yourself-
for just a moment--in Moses' place.
Now in your hands are two tablets
-not ordinary tablets
run of the mill tablets-
these are holy tablets,
stone tablets
handled by God, written by God
-inscribed by God-touched by God
now cradled in your arms.
Is that or is that not
the ultimate
keepsake reminder & take-home souvenir?
The likes of which e-bay has not yet seen.
So you go down the hill
-Joshua says to you
-what's that? Oh this--
it's just a little something
God whipped up for me
-to remember our time together.
A gift from God- that God wants you
to share with everyone.
How's that for a present?
In your arms-direct from God--Imagine.
****** ***** ****** ******* *****
So Moses and Joshua
-begin their journey back to camp.
But halfway down
-they hear-a roar.
For it seems
that the Israelites have gotten restless.
Moses is the one
they count on
to convey God's presence
and he's been gone for more than a month.
So they've petitioned Aaron--
Moses' brother and second in command.
Saying,
"We need a God to lead us."
So Aaron
a take charge kind of man
says,
"Absolutely
give me your gold-
we'll melt it all down-make a cow-
that will be the perfect place for a god to sit.
Then-whether or not
Moses ever returns
a god will be with us.
Moses-almost at the base of the mountain
-finds a cliff from which
to survey the camp.
What does he see?
Israelites dancing around,
prostrating to the ground
bowing before a molten calf
-the perfect place for a mythical god to perch.
What does he say?
What does he do?
Moses shakes, stutters and he spurts.
These are the people-
these are the ones for whom
the Lord has done everything.
God spared them the plagues,
freed them from slavery,
split the Red Sea,
gave them water from a rock,
manna from the sky
and pheasants in the wilderness
and still it's not enough.
It is as if
they are constitutionally,
incapable of being faithful.
So Moses swears-he cusses,
he says every foul word there is
twice-in a different order the second time.
In fury and might and disgust
he hurls those precious stone tablets
off the cliff.
They crash and crumble
and lay in ruins at the base of the Mountain below.
***** ****** ***** **** **** ***** *****
And then it hits him.
He's just thrown away
his hand-crafted, homemade gift from God.
That precious testament
to his 40 days
with the creator of the earth and all stars
now lies in pieces smashed below.
The Tablets-his gift from God
-are no longer suitable for framing
or
display in a Southern courthouse.
At best now-they could be used
as high-grade gravel for his driveway.
****** ****** ***** ***** ***** *****
Have you ever done that?
Gotten so mad-so angry-so carried away
that you've discarded
an amazing gift from God?
Have you ever found yourself
with your foot half-way over the line
tablets mid-air
-with no idea how you'll ever cross back?
Have you ever screwed up
and known you've thrown away
something that is precious and Holy
-a hand carved gift from God?
I know-- that I have.
And I'm pretty sure
that I'm not alone.
But that's the thing-that's where this morning's part of story fits in.
"When God says to Moses,
'Cut two tablets of stone
like the former ones, and
I will write on the tablets
the words
that were on the former tablets,
which you broke."(Ex 34:1)
Over and over again-
God is relentless
in giving us a second chance.
Moses doesn't get one set of tablets
-he gets two--
all handwritten by God.
Most of us-
having thrown something precious away
-most of us do not have
the nerve to return to God
and ask for the gift again.
Yet God calls us-invites us
-welcomes us-to feel free to begin again.
That's what this approaching time of Lent
is all about-one more chance
-one more invitation
from the Holy of Holies-to look at our lives
-let go of the missteps of the past
and begin once more-all over again.
For when Moses came down from the Mountain
a second time
-with the new tablets
-his face glistened-
the skin of his face shone-
because he had been talking to God.
In these next forty days
-feel free to go back up the mountain
-to receive the precious gifts
that God is giving to us once again.
"He came down the Mountain with the two new tablets in his hands-and
his face shone
because he had been speaking with God." (Ex 34:29-30)
Amen.