Exodus 15: 19-27

This is the story of the Exodus, the escape from Egypt. I would bet that, as those words are read, there are many here who can easily recall the scene from the Ten Commandments when the waters of the sea came crashing over the mighty Egyptian army. Years ago I watched the movie with my niece D?Ann, who must have been around four at the time. Spellbound by the drama she swayed anxiously back and forth in the little red rocking chair that was mine as a child and sits in my living room today. As the Hebrew people - men, women, and children alike ? made their way through the parted waters, in the distance was heard the sounds of chariots and horses bearing down on the escaping group. The closer the Egyptians came, the more furiously D?Ann rocked. As the waters began to roll over the Pharaoh?s troops and the people of God made their way beyond the torrent, with a great deal of enthusiasm, she yelled out, "Go, God, go!"

The people were safe. And on the other side they found, well, the other side. At first, there was wild celebration. The verses in this 15^th chapter leading to today?s text compose one of the oldest examples of poetry from the Ancient Near East. An epic poem proclaiming God?s greatness, triumphantly reveling in this most unlikely victory

In this morning?s text Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, joined the processing with singing and dancing.

But then the let down hit ? the reality that this was only the beginning of their journey. No one among them had ever seen this Promised Land. It had been well over 200 years since the people had escaped to Egypt from the drought in Canaan. There was no individual nor collective memory of it in any way. All they had were the stories told them by their ancestors. So now what?

In these few verses we find a summary of the entire theological basis for the book of Exodus. God saves, the people whine and groan, God rescues them again with a miracle, the people do something stupid, God remains faithful. Quite a dance there. When you stop to think about it, though, that is the pattern for the relationship between God and God?s people as well.

This had not been a sudden unexpected departure at all. There had been round after round of negotiations between the Pharaoh and Moses. A series of ten plagues had left destruction and death throughout Egypt. Ten! There was even time for the observance of the first Passover, an observance filled with much detail. Yet no one, including Moses, had any idea their excursion would take 40 years. A direct route from Egypt to Canaan would have only been about 200 miles. Still not an insubstantial journey ? especially walking. But not 40 years! So they should have been ready; this trip, even at its ideal, would be an undertaking.

Three days into the trip they had no water. Three days. No water. Now I have traveled enough to know that there are certain things you always plan for when traveling ? fuel (not so much a problem for these folks), food, and water. Those are the essentials. I?m not sure who was responsible for packing the water, but obviously someone goofed big time!

When at last they found water, how excited they must have been! Only to discover the water was undrinkable, bitter. "And the people complained against Moses." Now the stage is set for the Exodus journey. Grumbling, complaining, nothing was ever right. On more than one occasion Moses ran to God, "What am I to do with these stiff-necked people?" Perhaps that?s why it took 40 years. Who knows?

Most impressive, or at least, I think it would have been, was their first-hand experience of God?s presence. God had spoken to Moses through a burning bush. They had already been led out of Egypt by pillars of cloud and fire. Now the Lord showed Moses a piece of wood, which he threw into the water, and the water was sweet, ready to drink, to parch their thirst on this wilderness journey. And then God gave them an option, a choice on what to do next:

If you listen, if you do what is right, if you obey, then I am the Lord who heals you, your healer, your savior.

Again, the covenant, like the one with Abraham. "I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you." A covenant repeated to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, a covenant repeated once more to the Hebrew people in the wilderness.

How quickly they forgot! For just a short time later they would be complaining about being hungry. Then God sent manna from heaven, each day all they needed. Still they griped. Yes, indeed, this was going to be a long journey for everyone.

"For I am the Lord your healer, your savior." How quickly we forget. We have a wonderful Thanksgiving, one filled with reminders of God?s provisions and blessings. When Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863 establishing Thanksgiving as a national holiday, he wrote, "No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these things?. [yet] we are prone to forget the source from which they come." And we are grateful, no doubt about that at all.

Then we descend into the black hole we?ve come to call Black Friday (which extends through the entire weekend at the least!). The driving need to get more stuff at the best prices ? whatever the cost may be. People camping out in store parking lots so they can get in first and get the best. Wouldn?t it be something if people waited that eagerly for church, or for God? Store employees stand around like guards hovering over the merchandise and directing traffic. People even are trampled; pepper spray is wielded to ward off threatening interlopers. Don?t we remember our prayers of Thanksgiving just the day before? Which is the real us, anyway?

This is the first Sunday of Advent, a time of waiting for God?s coming. Like the Hebrew people who stopped by the oasis at Elim, we, too, pause to wait. To wait and to ask, "When will God come? Where is God leading?" At least, that is an option for Advent ? to wait, to watch, to listen.

I don?t know about you, but my calendar is already filling up with Christmas activities ? concerts, parties, and the like. Decorations have already begun to appear on homes and businesses proclaiming the season to all who pass by. Here at church we have our own traditions to mark this holy time: the Advent wreath with candles lit each Sunday, the hanging of the greens next Sunday; a pageant that is always fun and memorable; two Christmas Eve services. We are busily preparing for the coming of God. Busy, busy, busy.

"If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God?" If. But how can we listen at all, much less carefully, when we are constantly moving at breakneck speed? How do we do what is ?right in God?s sight? if we don?t slow down enough to discover what that is? How can we come to know the God who heals? Pretty near impossible on our present course.

Yet, God is always, always faithful. Even when we join in with the litany of complaints thrown around by the people in the wilderness, even when we wander around in circles, even when we think God has forgotten us altogether. God is faithful; God is the one who heals us from all our skepticism, our misgivings, our defiance, our brokenness.

Advent is our Exodus journey, a journey of exploration, a time to rediscover God and God?s faithfulness once more. Advent is a time to encounter and confess our own grumblings, our doubts, our stubbornness, not so we will beat ourselves us because we are so very bad, how much we have failed. Instead, Advent is the time when we step out into the journey of God?s people knowing that God is always leading, always present. We are moving toward the Promised Land. We are looking to the incarnation, God become human, one of us, so that we can find our way once more. All along the journey God cradles us like a loving parent, gives us all we could possibly need, picks up all the broken pieces to create new life, and then keeps nudging us homeward.

But we have to choose that option. It is not forced upon us in any way. "If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, for I am the LORD who heals you." The choice is ours. What kind of Advent do we want? As a church, what kind of Advent do we want to proclaim to the world?

As we prepare for the coming of this very holy day, it is vital that we slow down and get our bearings. Slow down long enough to recall why we are doing all this. As we decorate this sanctuary and our homes with our best Christmas finery, as we sing, practice for plays and concerts, as we prepare and wrap presents for loved ones, we need to remember the story, the story of a people who were lost for so very long, a people who were so human with their complaints and grumbling, a leader who was less than perfect, and the story of the God who brings us all together as part of the continuing story of God and God's own.

And yes, the journey continues. From the stories of the ancestors and their families to the stories of the Hebrew people to the stories of us all, we look at where God has led us in the past, we look for God's presence among us now, and we look to the future, to that Promised Land to which God is bringing us, to the true Christmas, to Emmanuel, God with us now and forever.

To God be the glory. Amen.

Melodie Long

United Presbyterian Church

Sackets Harbor, New York

November 27, 2011