June 8th,
2014 “Sharing the Burden” Rev. Heather Jepsen
Numbers 11 with Acts
2:1-21
Pentecost Sunday is one of those
wonderful high holy days of the church.
Of course, we have our bigger holy days like Christmas and Easter which draw
much more attention but I believe that Pentecost is as an equally important day
of worship, and it carries a special message for the world at large. Plus, it’s the one day a year that I get to
wear my red stole!
Usually I craft my sermon around the
Acts text as it is the main story of the day of Pentecost. It is there that we read about the arrival of
the Holy Spirit on the multitudes, and the birth of the church. But this week I was really drawn to the
passage in Numbers. It is a great story,
and one we don’t read very often. Plus,
I could really relate to the character of Moses.
The lectionary only calls for us to
read a short portion of this text, but since I was making it the focus of the
sermon, I thought it better to read the whole chapter today. Plus, I am always curious about what the
lectionary leaves out. In today’s story,
the people have been wandering in the wilderness and as usual they are
complaining. The text speaks of a
craving that the people have, they are dissatisfied with their Manna-only diet
and are wanting, craving, something more to eat. They are craving variety, and they are
craving meat.
There are a lot of emotions present in
the story but the main one is anger. The
people are angry with God and Moses.
Moses is angry with the people and God.
And God appears to just be angry (and annoyed) with everybody! The Israelites are just getting started on
their 40 year sojourn and already everyone hates everyone else. It sounds like a bad family vacation!
Moses cries out to the Lord for relief
from his burden, and I love the female language he uses here. Moses says, “Why have you treated your
servant so badly? Why have I not found
favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say
to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone,
for they are too heavy for me.” Moses
knows that no one carries a burden of care like a mother, and that he is too
physically exhausted to carry his particular burden of care any longer. In fact, Moses pleads with God to kill him,
so he would be free from his burden and frustration.
Like many pastors, there have been
plenty of times in my ministry when I have felt like Moses. I have felt like I am carrying a burden of
people who are consumed by craving; a heavy people who are driving both me and
God crazy. These past few weeks though,
I have been under a different sort of burden.
Many of you are well aware that the load of caring for this congregation
and community has compounded exponentially over the past few weeks, and like Moses,
I have thought, “I can’t carry these people alone, the burden is too
great. Lord, in your mercy, help me.”
Thankfully, like Moses, the Lord heard
my cry. In Numbers, the author tells us
that God agrees to spread the burden out.
Moses goes and calls 70 elders and God plants on them a portion of the
spirit that is planted on Moses. God
calls on the community to share the load of leadership. In fact, God’s Spirit is so generous that it
overflows into the camp, and even men not part of the chosen 70 are given a
gift of the Spirit.
So too, God has marked people in this
church to help me carry the burden of pastoral care that has been needed these
past few weeks. Yes, I had to do the
primary work, but there were plenty of friends here to set up for the funerals,
run the sound system, help clean up and lock doors, and even someone to make
dinner for my family so I wouldn’t have to carry the “mom” load too. Even more powerful, God has surely marked 70
and more in this community to lift me up in prayer. Like Moses, I feel called to lead this band
of travelers through the wilderness, but I can only do it if you help me. These have been the hardest weeks of my
ministry career, but I have survived because you have carried me.
In many ways, the structure of the
Presbyterian Church is derived from scripture passages like the one in
Numbers. Seventy elders, chosen from
among the people, and gathering together to share in the leadership of the
camp, sure sounds like a Session to me.
(Boy, would I hate to moderate that group!) Presbyterians have always been good at
sharing the load and sharing the leadership.
That is why members of session are called ruling elders, and pastors are
called teaching elders. We are both
elders in the church, and we share the responsibility and the burden of
leadership together.
Today, we are going to gather for some
fellowship and potluck and talk about the Malawi Mission Trip that is coming up
in the next few months. This too, is an
opportunity for us to help carry each other in ministry. Although only 5 people are physically going
to Malawi, the spiritual journey is for everyone. Everyone is invited to participate by
learning about the trip, and lifting up the travelers in prayer. This is a great opportunity for the spirit of
mission to change the lives of all the members of this church.
Although the Numbers text is a bit of
a strange story, of the grumbling of people, of an angry God, and even of quail
coming out of your nose; it is a wonderful story of the abundance of God. Although the people are not aware of it, the
abundance of God is everywhere in their lives.
An abundance of Manna so that none go hungry. An abundance of quail, 10 donkey loads per
person. An abundance of Spirit,
overflowing on people inside and outside of the camp. And an abundance of skill and ability, as God
spreads the workload of Moses out on to others.
Our God is always a God who works in abundance, not scarcity.
Of course, we see the abundance of God’s
Spirit confirmed in the traditional Pentecost reading from Acts. God pours the Holy Spirit out on a multitude
of people and they all are filled and begin to speak. People from all known places gather, to
witness and participate in the event.
Peter speaks of the breaking down of boundaries and divisions when he
tells of the day that sons and daughters both will prophesy, and old and young
both will be called to have vision for the community. God is always working in abundance. God is never limited by our ideas of
scarcity, as if there weren’t enough Spirit to go around, as if we had to
decide who is in and who is out.
This morning we are gathering at the
communion table and this too is a place where we experience the welcoming
abundance of the Spirit of God. As we
have talked about before, there is always enough here for everybody. This table has been laid and set for you
personally, and for all others on this earth.
As I remind us each time we celebrate, we gather together to look
forward to the kingdom of God where people will come from North and South, from
East and West and gather together at table to feast. People will come from everywhere, all will be
welcome, and there will be more than enough for everybody. It is a picture of the abundance of God.
Another reason I chose the Numbers
passage today is that it provides a great segue into our summer sermon
series. Last year you may remember that
I preached on readings from 1 and 2 Kings in an entertaining series called
“Kings of Summer”. This year, I am once
again planning something special, “Genesis: A Summer Sojourn” (with thanks to
Cheryl Landers for the title).
This summer we will read texts in
Genesis and then discuss them here as a group in worship. I will study the texts like I do every week,
but I won’t write a sermon. Instead, we
will come up with the sermon together. I
will prepare ideas to share and then open the time for questions and
discussion. Like the reading from
Numbers reminds us, I am not the only one qualified or even called to talk
about the scriptures each week. This
summer, I am inviting you to study the text ahead of time, and prepare some
thoughts or questions to bring to the group.
Even if you are shy and don’t want to share out loud, I am confident
that our time together will be fruitful.
I am eager to see what we will come up with next week as we discuss the
creation story in Genesis chapter 1.
This wonderful and strange story of
Moses and the Israelites in the book of Numbers reminds us that God never
intends for one person to carry the load.
Rather, we are called to carry each other. Like the human net idea I shared at Jacob’s
memorial, we need to gather together and lift each other up in this
community. Personally, I am truly
grateful that God called me to such a supportive church. I certainly feel the abundant outpouring of
God’s love and Spirit in this community today.
I am thankful that God has blessed me by calling me here to share the
leadership with you. And I look forward
to the many other things we will do together from summer sermons, to trips to
Africa, to whatever other adventures God has in store for us. We can do it when we carry each other. Amen.
