Trinity Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Sermons 

Title:  "Signs and Wonders"

Text: Deuteronomy 34:1-12

The passage we have as our Old Testament lectionary lesson this morning is both reflective and anticipatory. It brings to a close Moses’ long life of 120 years, while looking forward to the leadership of Joshua, his designated successor. This final chapter of Deuteronomy – the last scroll in the Five Books known collectively as the Pentateuch – begins with Moses once again going up a mountain to be with the Lord.

This brings his career full circle. What began at the burning bush on Horeb, the "mountain of God" (Exodus 3), and was sustained through other mountain-top experiences in the journey through Sinai, comes to its end here in Moab. The significance of mountains to Moses’ successes and failures as a leader of Israel is easy to measure. The Hebrew word (har) usually translated as "mount" or "mountain" occurs more than 100 times from Exodus through Deuteronomy, and rarely is Moses far away.

In the present case, Moses has gone out from the people and climbed the Mount Nebo range, to the top of Mount Pisgah. This well-known peak is some 2,700 feet above sea level, while the valley of the Jordan and, beyond it the Dead Sea, goes as low as 1,300 feet below sea level. On a clear day, Moses would have been able to see forever – not only the Mediterranean Sea far to the west, but also the promised land far in the future.

What is curious about Moses’ encounter with the Lord on Mount Pisgah is that the Lord does all of the talking, and that is just a single statement:

"This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there." (Deut 34:4).

The Lord’s decision that Moses would not be permitted to cross over into the promised land goes back to Deuteronomy 31:48-52, when Moses was reciting a long poem, known in the tradition as "The Song of Moses."

Since this important passage about Moses’ fate is not in the lectionary, listen as I read it aloud:

On that very day the LORD addressed Moses as follows: "Ascend this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites for a possession; you shall die there on the mountain that you ascend and shall be gathered to your kin, as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his kin; because both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, by failing to maintain my holiness among the Israelites. Although you may view the land from a distance, you shall not enter it – the land that I am giving to the Israelites."

Reflecting on Moses’ long career of dealing with God, we might have expected Moses to engage the Lord in debate, arguing that the people needed "this" or "that" in order to take possession of the land of Canaan. But Moses said nothing at all: no complaints, no excuses, no haranguing. Instead of talking back, he silently accepted the Lord’s decision that his time had come. And then the great leader of the people of Israel died there on the mountain, high above the Jordan on the eastern side of the promised land.

At some point in the following days, Joshua and the rest of the people of Israel noticed that Moses had not come down the mountain. This time the people did not approach their designated leader to build a golden calf (cf. Exodus 32). In fact, the text merely says "He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day" (Deut 34:6). And then the text goes on to proclaim, "The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses ended" (Deut 34:8) These verses reflect a significant time shift within the narrative – from the present tense of the Lord’s speech to Moses to the past tense in what follows.

In this way, the text shifts from narrative to obituary. Nearly all Old Testament scholars see these verses as evidence that this chapter was added by an editor at a much later date. The text in verses 11-12 also reflects this later editor’s appreciation of Moses’ role as a leader of the people of Israel. Listen again to these words:

"He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel."

Did you notice the distinction here? The obituary writer distinguishes between the "signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land" and " all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel." At the simplest level, this would seem to be a chronological distinction. First, in Egypt, came the "signs and wonders;" later, in the wilderness, came the "mighty deeds and terrifying displays of power." Another, perhaps more useful, way to see the difference is to relate the "signs and wonders" to others and the "mighty deeds and terrifying displays of power" to the people themselves.

This brings me to what I believe is the central message of this text for us, here at Trinity in the twenty-first century. I trust that none of us expects to go up a mountain, see the promised land, and die soon after without coming back to our people. More than that, few of us think of ourselves as being the kind of leader who does "signs and wonders" among others or does "mighty deeds and terrifying displays of power" among our kin. And on the first and last of these three points we might be correct.

However, when it comes to doing "signs and wonders" out in the community we do more than we think. To be sure, I trust that none of us has let loose a single plague – much less ten plagues – on the people of Dallas. On the other hand, our "signs and wonders" certainly do come into play in places where the "pharaohs" of Dallas, Austin, and Washington, D.C. seem incapable of acting wisely and with compassion.

Every day, according to Google.com, our congregational web site (http://trinitypresdalls.org) – which "includes [a] welcoming statement, visitor information, church calendar, worship services, sermon texts (3-year lectionary cycle), church history, and community [involvement]" – proclaims who we are to the world at large. Last night, when I looked up the two words trinity presbyterian on the Google search engine, we were listed in 9th place among nearly 2 million hits.

Every week, our ads appear in the Oak Cliff Tribune and in The Dallas Voice, declaring to the world that Trinity Presbyterian Church is a "welcoming congregation."

Every month, our members provide an evening meal at the Hillcrest House, we make contributions to a variety of good causes (e.g., the Oak Cliff Churches for Emergency Aid), and – through the Samaritan Fund – we assist needy individuals in the community.

Every year, we make substantial contributions, especially when measured on a per-capita basis, to the mission projects of Grace Presbytery, the Synod of the Sun, and the General Assembly of the PC(USA), including the Theological Education fund that assists students in seminaries. We also support Good Shepherd Community Center in West Dallas, the Presbyterian Children’s Homes, and the Caring Fund at Grace Presbyterian Village. And, through the Manton Scholarship program, we provide funds to assist local students attend college.

This year, we also sponsored two concerts – the first, at the end of January, for the victims of last year’s tsunami in Indonesia and the Indian Ocean region; and, more recently, a second to help those who suffered from Hurricane Katrina. The funds raised at these concerts (and matched by our mission fund) are administered through the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance program, an internationally respected organization.

Yes, you say, these are good "signs" of our connection to "others." But what about the "wonders," you ask? Perhaps, the "wonder" (a word that Old Testament writers also understood as "miracle") is that we continue to be involved with our broader community, even as the total membership and the number of persons attending worship services has declined in recent years.

Perhaps the greatest challenge in a congregation like Trinity is that of leadership succession. I do not refer simply to what happens when pastors come and go – which was the topic of the feature article in yesterday’s "Religion" section of The Dallas Morning News. Instead, I have in mind the importance of integrating new persons with new ideas into positions of leadership on the Session and among the Deacons.

Moses went up the mountain, and from its peaks witnessed the promised land. But he did not come back down to rejoin the people of Israel. In recent months, the leaders of Trinity have been climbing a mountain, one that many hoped would lead to a merger with the Bethany Presbyterian congregation of Oak Lawn. This week, members of both congregations have received letters that the merger talks have been abandoned. In effect, we went part way up the mountain but now have returned to our respective people on the plains. By the grace of God, we will continue our separate journeys toward the places that God has promised us.

At this moment, on our little hill here in Oak Cliff, it is not a clear day when we can see forever. Looking out our front door across the Trinity River, we see downtown Dallas – and, for some reason, it does not look like the promised land. So, in the end, as Moses understood, it comes back to listening for God’s voice and following the Lord’s commands. In our journey as God’s people in this place, we simply need to remain open to the Lord’s "signs and wonders." Thanks be to God. Amen.