34:1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount
Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, and the LORD
showed him the whole land: Gilead as far as Dan,
34:2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the
land of Judah as far as the Western Sea,
34:3 the Negeb, and the Plain -- that is, the valley of
Jericho, the city of palm trees -- as far as Zoar.
34:4 The LORD said to him, "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."
34:5 Then Moses, the servant of the LORD, died there in the
land of Moab, at the Lord's command.
34:6 He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite
Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day.
34:7 Moses was one hundred twenty years old when he died;
his sight was unimpaired and his vigor had not abated.
34:8 The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab
thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.
34:9 Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom,
because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed
him, doing as the LORD had commanded Moses.
34:10 Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like
Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.
34:11 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,
34:12 and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying
displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
The Psalm 90 reading, attributed to Moses, fits so well with this
Deut. story that I've interwoven the verses for two readers on the
27th. Homiletically, I'm not yet sure of my direction, but I intend
to use both. This is Reformation Sunday -- is there a message here
about closure and fresh starts? There might also be opportunity to
transition into All Saints Sunday. MTSOfan
MTSO fan - an unrelated request:
I have friends back in Cleveland and would love to combine a retreat
/ visit with them. Can you put me in touch with any upcoming
retreats or continuing education seminars?
Sally
I do believe that this passage links with Reformation. I am struck
by the easy movement from Moses to Joshua--no transition team or
anything! Sort of reminds me of the scene on the death of a monarch:
"The King {or Queen) is dead <pause> Long Live the King!"
My plan is to talk about how reformation/change/transition is an
ongoing process,never truly beginning and never truly ending. My
vision is that true reformation allows us to honour the tradition of
the past and to keep what is still useful, it is not just change for
the sake of change. However reformation is also the tool that can
break us out of the shackles of traditionalism.
Jaroslave Pelikan said "Tradition is the living faith of the dead,
while traditionalism is the dead faith of the living". Hopefully we
can all use one and avoid the other.
Gord in Ontario
We are called to do a part of the plan-not all of it. That's up to
someone else. I am amazed at all Moses had to go through-people
complaining, no food, no water, wilderness nights-then gets as far
as the Promised Land and can only see it from a distance. It seems
to me that ministry is about doing out part, allowing people to do
theirs and having the grace to let go at times.
Jan in Pa
this is such a good example of the healthy and orderly transition of
power. Before he died, Moses had already laid his hands on Joshua.
He was not posessive of power, even though Moses was "unequaled in
sings and wonders", even though he was clearly the best one to do
any job. He trusted a younger man take over, and maybe make some
mistakes that Moses never would have. And besides Moses giving up
power, the people respected the authority of the new person, Joshua.
Two key ingredients. That's a peaceful reformation.
DGinNYC
I once had an Old Testament prof who referred to v. 5 as the saddest
verse in the Bible, "Moses, the servant of the Lord died there in
the land of Moab." Only able to view the Promised Land from afar.
Still he was faithful to God, knew God face to face and was
unequaled for all the signs and wonders the Lord sent him to
perform. What a tribute that God's discipline of Moses put no
periods on the exercise of his faith but caused Moses to know God
even more intimately. Hope the same can be said of us! Mitch in
Indiana
Sorry it took me so long to see your posting; ironically, I was at
MTSO for a few days, attending a program for alumni! They did give
me a sheet of paper listing upcoming events, but unfortunately, I
threw it away at the motel, since I cannot attend any of them. I'm
in eastern Pennsylvania, and have to limit my trips to central Ohio.
My suggestion is that you contact Diana Runyon at Methesco, drunyon@mtso.edu.
She's in charge of alumni activities, and should be able to help
you. I just checked MTSO's web site, and the only event they have
posted is the one I just attended. Wish I could help you more,
Sally! MTSOfan
I'm working on the "from a distance" theme, and even rolling it
around on my tongue for a title, except that it brings to mind a
song I happen to hate musically, vocally, and theologically. Then
again, maybe that's a place to enter into the conversation with the
sermon, telling what I disagree with - God's watching us from a
distance.
Yet, don't we all see the future, the promised land, from a
distance? Is that not the very point of, as someone reminded us in
an earlier post, of our faithfulness and discipleship?
I attended an Order of Elders meeting yesterday, with guest lecturer
Thomas Thangaraj, who spoke about dialoging and relationships with
persons of other faiths and cultures. While our conservative
brothers and sisters seemed uncomfortable, I actually didn't hear
him advocating any other than Jesus Christ as the way to salvation -
the "promsied land" of Christians & the church. One point he
reminded us of, was that no one knows what the future of the church
will look like; except that it won't look like what it does today.
It's an oversimplification, to be sure, and I can't do justice to
the depth of the talk on a little post on the DPS, but who's to say
that our tradition is the ONLY one that is correct. Seems that this
is what Luther and any other person with a reforming vision was
compelled to proclaim.
Sally in gA (far later int he process than I'd like to be_)
34:6 He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor,
but no one knows his burial place to this day.
That sounds sad on the surface, but in the big picture, maybe it's a
blessing. Without knowing where his burial place is, no one can
venerate the place above God's working through him. From relatives
buried in the church graveyard to brass plaques ont he pews, to
bigger worldwide issues, do we humans often forget that the place is
less important than the mission?
Sally (I always seem to think of something new after I post my first
post)
