Stuck in the Middle With You

(Scriptures: Exodus 17:1-7, Philippians 2:1-13, Matthew 21:23-32)

What a glorious anniversary celebration we enjoyed last Sunday! What a joy it was to see our church full, to greet so many people connected to Emanuel Church who are no longer with us on a week-to-week basis, but still feel a connection to Emanuel! What a glorious testimony to all that God has done in this place over the past 150 years. It was a special joy to see the video that Kris had put together of all the old photos from Emanuel – the many confirmation photos and photos of the Women’s Guild and photos of the Memorial Day tributes and all manner of other photos, with Florence Werner’s beautiful organ music in the background setting the mood. “Remember God’s Wonderful Works!”, Geneva preached, and we certainly did that last week!

Of course, there are those other moments from Emanuel’s history, the ones that didn’t make the anniversary booklet or the video collage, those moments that don’t get written down anywhere, but that come up in conversation now and then during our Bible study and at other moments when we’re reminiscing – the occasional pastors over the years that didn’t quite fit, the moments when a big decision had to be made and not everyone was on board, the church fights, the folks who left with hurt feelings over the years, the times when we were, as the saying goes, not quite ready for prime time, not at our best. Those moments don’t find their way into the anniversary booklet or the video collage, but just the same we remember them in conversation decades later – and I think we do so, at least in part, because the fact that God got us through those moments of tension and discord and disagreement and even pain in the past gives us hope that as God got us through painful times in the past, God will do so now and in the future.

Fortunately, in both the Old and New Testament, God’s people were willing to confess and write down for future generations not only their moments of heroism, but their moments of weakness; not only the moments when they were united in singing God’s praises, but those moments when they were divided into opposing factions and shouting at each other. Both our Old Testament reading from Exodus and our reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians give a snapshot of God’s people, caught in difficult circumstances. In Exodus, we see Moses leading the children of Israel through the wilderness, on the way to Mt. Sinai. Many centuries later, Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, is writing from prison to one of his favorite churches, the congregation at Philippi, to bring them encouragement, even though his own future is uncertain. And God is present, even in these very difficult circumstances.

On Mt. Sinai the children of Israel will encounter God in the form of smoke and thundering, and Moses will receive the law. But for now, they are in the wilderness, escaped from captivity in Egypt, but not yet in the promised land. And they’re tired, and it’s hot, and they’re thirsty. And they take their frustration out on Moses – “Have you led us out here in the middle of nowhere to die of thirst?” And Moses cried unto God – “Help! They’re ready to stone me!” And God provides! – Moses, together with some of the elders, is instructed to go to a certain rock at Horeb and strike it with his rod, and water comes out of the rock for the people to drink. Moses names the place Massah and Meribah. These names have significance – the Hebrew word Massah can mean “despair”, but it can also mean “testing”. Meribah means “quarrel”. And so these names are appropriate for a place where Moses cried to God from a place of despair, where the people quarreled with Moses, asking “Is the Lord with us or not?”

This place, Massah and Meribah, comes back at various places in the Old Testament. In Numbers chapter 20, the story is retold, with a difference – God commanded Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock and command it to pour out water, but instead Moses and Aaron struck the rock and failed to give glory to God for the water, and so they were not allowed to enter the promised land. In Psalms 81 and 95 and 106, the Psalmist invokes the memory of Massah and Meribah – “do not rebel against the Lord, as you did at Massah and Meribah.” Just as, for Americans of a certain age, the name “Watergate” is not just the name of a hotel in Washington DC, but a symbol of government corruption, for Israel, Massah and Meribah become a sort of shorthand for a time of despair and rebellion, a time when the people of Israel fought among themselves and tested God’s patience with their lack of faith, and even their leaders, Moses and Aaron, fell short. For generations to come, God’s people would look back on that moment and say to themselves, “See what happened when we quarreled and put God to the test. We don’t want to go back to that place again!”

Paul’s letter to the Philippians, written many centuries later, comes at a time when both Paul and this church he had founded were going down a difficult road. Paul is in prison, either in Rome or in some Roman prison elsewhere in the empire, uncertain of his fate. The church at Philippi, meanwhile, is going through difficult times, facing opposition from without and division from within, with two church leaders, Euodia and Syntyche, at odds, and the church split into factions, supporting one and opposing the other. It is notable that these were female leaders, and there’s nothing in Paul’s letter to suggest that this is anything unusual, and unlike some of the conservative churches of our day, it speaks of the greater status women had in at least some congregations of the early church. But, for now, the church at Philippi was in the midst of a squabble. Later in the letter, Paul notes that Euodia and Syntyche had struggled right along Paul and others for the cause of the Gospel. For now, though, they’ve fallen to struggling against one another.

Paul began his letter by sharing that some good had come even from his imprisonment; characteristically, Paul responded to imprisonment by taking the opportunity to preach the gospel to his captors, leading at least some of them to faith in Christ. And then Paul reframes the suffering undergone by the Philippian church by saying that what they’re going through is a privilege – the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well, in sharing in the same suffering that Paul is undergoing. It’s much easier to go through times of suffering if we can see some purpose, if we can find meaning in our situation. It’s not necessarily suffering, but meaningless suffering, that can break our spirit.

Paul urges his followers at Philippi to be in accord, of one mind, for his followers to look, not after their own interests, but to the interests of their brothers and sisters. And then Paul gives them the ultimate example of grace under fire, the example of Jesus. Paul’s words about Jesus are known among Scripture scholars as “the Christ hymn.” They are thought to be a fragment of a hymn or a part of the early church liturgy, perhaps part of a creed or affirmation of faith used in a service of baptism. Hear once again these words, used in the worship of the early church:

though he – that is Christ - was in the form of God,
he did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

What is striking is that Christ, in the form of God, did not exploit or even grasp onto his divine status, but emptied himself. The greek word for self-emptying is “kenosis”, and Paul sketches out several stages of self emptying – from existing in the form of God to taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And not content to take human form, Christ empties himself still further, humbling himself to be obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Having emptied himself, having given up all divine privilege and even life itself, Christ does not exalt himself, but is exalted by God, and given the name above all other names, not to his own glory, but to the glory of God the Father.

Years ago I heard this explanation of the word “grace” – “God’s riches at Christ’s expense”. And the Christ hymn speaks of Christ’s self-emptying, and of the riches of God’s grace for us. But that grace is not for us to hold for ourselves, but to pass on to others. Paul seems to be saying: since we follow Christ who emptied himself for our salvation, how can we his followers insist on our having our own way and insisting on our own priorities. Rather, we are to live in the same spirit Christ did, being willing to care not about ourselves, but about our sister and brothers in Christ, and about our neighbors. This isn’t about being a bunch of phonies or pretending to be something we’re not, but allowing ourselves to be guided by the spirit of Christ.

It is said that suffering can make us bitter, or better. Remember that the name Massah means both “despair” and “testing”. We all have those times in our lives when we feel like we’ve hit bottom, our spirits are dry, crying out for refreshment. Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, we may well ask, “Why is all this happening to me, to my family? Is the Lord with us or not?” I would never discourage people from going to God in prayer with our questions, our doubts, our fears. Far better to lift up our doubts and questions to God, to bring them to the Lord in prayer, than to give into despair, better to bring our pain to the Lord rather than to follow the advice of Job’s wife to curse God and die. While we may not always get answers – or we may not like the answers we do get - God is big enough to handle our questions. As God did not abandon the children of Israel in the wilderness, God will not abandon us, even at our worst.

And we are led to an oasis of refreshment now and again. I see last week’s anniversary celebration as such an oasis. A packed church – wow, what a joy to see a packed church - beautiful music, a chance to talk with friends from far away, friends we haven’t seen in years or decades, recognition from the Conference and a great sermon by our Associate Conference minister, a chance to remember God’s past blessings….what a great way for God to refresh our spirits here at Emanuel. Many of our members and friends shared testimonies of what Emanuel has meant to them. I especially remember one of the Bethany Children's Home alumni, getting choked up as he shared his experience as an orphan, raised at the Bethany Home. This man who grew up without a mom and dad found (I think he said) over 800 family members. That’s a man on a mission. And because of Bethany’s roots at Emanuel, Bob feels a powerful sense of connection to this church. We're part of his extended family. He shared over and over: “This church matters. Emanuel Church matters. What you do here matters.” He sent me an email after he got home to Virginia, and I wrote him back, telling him how much his words meant to me, when week after week we struggle with attendance and resources – that it’s important that we keep on keeping on.

So now we’re setting out on another year of our church’s history. As our history booklet put it, our 150th anniversary celebration was not a goal in itself, but a waystation on the journey. Once again, God is leading God’s people forth. God has led us forth from despair, but we’re not yet in the promised land. We’re stuck in the middle – with you, with me, with each other – most importantly, with God, with the Spirit leading us on. So long as God is with us, it's a good place to be. And God – Emanuel, God with us – continues to stand by us through thick and thin. While we journey, with God as our guide, may the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
*********
Please join us for worship at Emanuel United Church of Christ on Sundays at 10 a.m. We're located on Fillmore Street (off Thompson) in Philadelphia's Bridesburg neighborhood. www.emanuelphila.org