The
Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade
Texts: Exodus 33:12-23, 34:1-9; Matthew 5:17-20
#climatechange #racism #blacklivesmatter #drugs #consequences #hope
See if you can figure out what these three scenarios have in common:
1. I read recently in the
news that Exxon Mobile Corporation – the global conglomerate of the fossil fuel
business – knew about the dangers of climate disruption from fossil fuels
almost 40 years ago. According to Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/exxon-knew-about-climate-change-almost-40-years-ago/),
a new investigation shows the oil company understood the science of climate
change before it became a public issue and spent millions to promote
misinformation to protect their profits. Now here we are, two generations
later, and we are dealing with the consequences of that cover-up as our world
is inundated by warming temperatures, drought, disappearing island nations,
mass extinctions, and ocean acidification. #climatechange
2. I talked with a man
recently who shared with me the saga of a family that chose to adopt a child
who was born with drugs in his system as a fetus. The child’s mother had been warned about the
dangers of doing drugs. But she had
turned to illegal drugs after suffering from an injury that left her with
ongoing pain. Now here we are, two generations
later, and the child has grown into a man who has had run-ins with the law,
been in prison, and has himself fathered a child who he never sees. That child is dealing with the consequences
of decisions made forty years ago by people she’s never even met. (And deaths from drug overdose are the leading health epidemic in Pennsylvania.)
3. On Thursday I watched a
webcast hosted by the bishop of the ELCA, Elizabeth Eaton, talking with African
American Lutherans who are dealing with the effects of racism in society, in
the criminal justice system, and in the church.
Do you know when the first slaves were kidnapped from Africa and brought
by the Dutch to America? The year was
1619 – nearly four hundred years ago.
And here we are, twenty generations later dealing with the consequences
of the decision to steal human life and trade it like animal chattel. #racism #blacklivesmatter
What do these three
seemingly unrelated stories have in common?
Moses would know: consequences! He watched his
people create an idol out of wealth, desecrate the name of God, and break just
about every commandment God had inscribed on those two stone tablets he had
brought down the mountain. His own
brother even betrayed the faith in a moment of weakness. And as a consequence of their sin, the
Israelites will spend the next forty years wandering in the desert when they
could have been enjoying the milk and honey of the Promised Land. And the real kicker is that the children born
to that generation will have had no part in the sin committed by their
parents. But they will have to deal with
the effects, as will their own children, and their grandchildren.
Our natural reaction is
to say: it’s not fair! Why do I have to pay the price of something
that wasn’t my fault? Why do I have to
clean up the mess of my elders? Why do I
have to deal with the effects of my grandparents’ decisions? Why am I being forced to confront the sins of
generations who came before me?
Maybe you know that
feeling of frustration – being trapped by the decisions your parents made when
you were a child or even before you were born, your destiny seemingly
predetermined by their lack of foresight, their selfishness, or their
ignorance. When that happens, we might
have the same concerns as Moses – God are you really with me? Have I really found favor in your sight? If so, why am I having to deal with this mess
that is not my fault?
I love God’s
response: “My presence will go with you,
and I will give you rest,” (Exodus 33:14).
God promises Moses that she will put Moses in a cleft in the rock, put
her hand on him as she passes by, and let Moses hear the divine name: I am who I am. The same name that Moses heard at the burning
bush so long ago which gave the assurance that God had heard the cries of the
Israelite slaves in Egypt (incidentally, another example of 400 years of slavery as a result
of decisions that were not their fault).
God promised then and God promises now that he will not abandon them,
even though there are consequences that have to be dealt with.
So God puts Moses in that
protected place between the high walls of the mountain peak, and just as God’s
hand lifts, Moses catches a glimpse of the Divine presence passing – just the
back side before passing out of sight.
And God declares his name: ‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful
and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness, 7keeping steadfast love
for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents
upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth
generation.’
There it
is – the warning from God. The
consequences of sin will have negative effects rippling out 20, 40 years and
longer. It reminds me of something a
recovering drug addict once told me: When
you use drugs today, it takes a little bit of happiness out of tomorrow. In other words, whatever pleasure you’re
getting right now from your sin will rob your future of joy, and the future of
consequent generations.
That’s what
we’re seeing with climate change. That’s
what the child of drug-addicted parents discovers. That’s what our country is realizing even 20
generations after the prosperity brought about the brutal enslaved labor of
Africans and the consequent decades of Jim Crow laws, and the current rising
tide of racism and the racist structures of our society.
It can be
tempting, then, to feel hopeless about your future. Sometimes it seems as if our only option is
to give up in frustration. What’s the
point in doing anything if everything has been predetermined, if the course has
already been laid in and the ship’s already headed for the iceberg? Why even
try to fix things when so many factors are working against us? And why is God punishing us for something we
had no part in creating?
It’s true
that there are consequences to our decisions and our actions. But it’s not necessarily that God is
intending to punish the children for their parents’ sins. It’s simply a logical follow-through for what
happens when certain attitudes are in place, when certain words are spoken,
certain actions are taken, and a pattern of habits and behaviors become embedded
over time.
But here’s
the thing that people often forget – there’s another part of this verse: “The Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow
to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast
love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin,” (Exodus 34:6-7).
So yes,
there will be ripple effects out to the children, and the grandchildren and
even great grandchildren. But what’s
three or four in the face of a thousand generations of forgiveness and steadfast
love? In other words, there is reason to
hope and not give up. There is reason to
look at your own life and your own generation and say: God’s forgiveness starts here. With me.
Whatever mistakes my parents made, whatever they did to me, whatever
previous generations did to land us in this situation, let’s keep the long view
in mind. The tablets with the
commandments still stand. The covenant
God made with Moses is the same covenant God made with Joseph, and Israel
before him, and Isaac before him, and Abraham before him. A thousand
generations is a long time!
How long
is a generation? Depending on the
source, it’s anywhere from 20 – 30 years.
That means God’s love is good for 20,000 – 30,000 years! And that’s not just from Moses’ time. That love is renewed whenever the
commandments are upheld, whenever someone makes a new start, whenever a person
makes a decision for peace, whenever someone takes action to be healthier, and
preserve this planet for the next generation.
That’s why Jesus has no problem reminding people to hold the
commandments sacred: “Whoever keeps the commandments and teaches others to do
the same will be called great in the kingdom of heaven,” (Matthew 5:19). Whenever that happens, we can bank on God’s
steadfast love for the next 20,000 years!
No matter
what challenges you are facing, keep listening for that voice of God. And tell others to do the same. When you hear others bemoaning the mess
they’re in or giving in to despair about the future, remind them: God knows your name and is giving you a moment of clarity in a protected
space so you can see a way forward. Like we’ll sing in that old familiar hymn, "Rock of Ages":
Rock of Ages, cleft for
me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure – the cure of the sins of the past, and my own sins –
Be of sin the double
cure
Save from wrath and make me pure.
So if you
are feeling frustrated by the state of our planet – take heart and nestle into
the “rock of ages, cleft for you.” Hear
God promising that, yes, you have to live on a new planet that is not entirely
your fault. But do the work of following
the commandments and honoring the planet I have created and teaching others to
do the same. And my presence will go
with you and I will give you rest.
If you are
feeling trapped by sins of your parents, caught in a nasty web of
dysfunctionalism, addiction, mental health issues, or long-simmering family
conflicts that go back generations – take heart and take refuge in the rock of
ages. Hear God promising that, yes, you
have to do the hard work of going to counseling or family therapy, and keeping
your life on the straight and narrow in order to make up for the sins handed
down to you from your elders. But do the
work of following the commandments and honoring your father and your mother –
even if they don’t deserve it – and teaching others to do the same. And my presence will go with you and I will
give you rest.
If
you are feeling overwhelmed by the seemingly intractable challenges of systemic
racism – peak out from that space in the rock of ages and see the hem of God’s
cloak passing by. White folks: follow the commandment
against bearing false witness against your neighbor. This means that we need to refrain from perpetuating
racial stereotypes, telling racist jokes, or posting xenophobic memes on your
Facebook page. Do the hard work of
engaging in racism awareness training, educate yourself on the realities of
white privilege, and be assured that God’s presence will be with you and you
will receive rest.
The
double cure is already working on the past and the future. So live in this present moment, right now,
doing the right thing, having the right attitude, saying the compassionate
words, taking the route of justice and peace, letting God work on you and through you to
cleanse your hearts, minds and actions. The thousandth generation starts with
you.
Amen.
