Echo Points

Lisa Rzepka, October 23, 2005
Scripture: Deuteronomy 34:1-12; Matthew 22:34-46

	Text: "Moses was 120 years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigor unabated." (Deuteronomy 34:7)

This morning I'd like to start with a question: Have you ever felt set up? It's like there was some sort of pre-plan that you stepped into. Well, I'd like to share with you that I think Al set me up! In a good way, that is. As I mentioned, this Scripture reading this morning is a recommended lectionary reading for this Sunday. Before I left for my trip to Jordan Al asked if I'd like to preach on October 23rd. Then with a certain twinkle in his eye he suggested that I might have a Mt. Nebo sermon to come home with. He also paved the way, so to speak, by preaching on the life of Moses for the past two Sundays—some of you may remember Flirting with the Golden Calf and Looking into the Face of God. So, how could I not delve into this final chapter of Moses' life?

This is not your typical superhero kind of story. If the meaning of a story is most often determined by the way it ends, what are we to make of the fact that the Book of Deuteronomy concludes with its hero dead and lost and his followers standing on the other side of the Promised Land? There is an even bigger question mark on this story because it not only marks the end of Deuteronomy but it is also the end of the Hebrew Torah, Israel's first Bible. One wonders, why close the canon here? Why wouldn't a story so filled with promise (he's leading the people out of slavery) not end with fulfillment? You would think that whoever decided what's included in Holy Scripture and what isn't would've chosen the Book of Joshua to end the story. There, at least, is fulfillment in that the people make it over to the Promised Land. (Brenneman, 2004, 101)

What we often remember from this story is an echo of judgment. Our memories tell us that Moses didn't make it over to the Promised Land because of disobedience to God. It's not clear, however, who disobeyed. Early on in Deuteronomy it refers to people's disobedience and says no one will cross over (Deut. 1:37 and 3:26). Later, Moses gets the blame himself (Deut. 32:50-52). The slightly different explanations remind us three things that

(1) leaders are limited by their followers,
(2) even great leaders are not perfect, and
(3) laying the blame is not an exact science!

n any case, judgment is a muted echo in this story and the text has no interest in determining blame. So what are we to make of it? Something I learned on my recent trip to Jordan helped shape my understanding of this foundational story of Israel's history. They are called echo points. Now you might think that echo points have something to do with standing at the top of a desert mountain, maybe Mt. Nebo, in the land once known as Moab. Perhaps you've climbed to the top of a mountain and shouted and heard the echo come back to you? We used to do that as children in upstate New York anytime we got to the peak of a particularly high hill or mountain. At 2500 feet Mt. Nebo provides a spectacular vista where you look out and see The Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Qumran, and Jericho. As I stood on that sacred mountain I recalled a quote I had heard earlier in the spring: "Everyone needs a balcony from which to see the big picture and a sanctuary where you can get alone and consult with God." Standing there I imagined that was true for Moses. This was one of God's balconies.

But that is not where we learned of echo points.

We were in the town of Jerash where we visited an ancient Roman theatre dated 165 CE. It was a magnificent structure that was in relatively good shape despite the fact that many of Jordan's ancient sites have been toppled due to a devastating earthquake in 749 CE. To this day festivals are still conducted in this theatre. As our guide tried to enlighten us on the finer points of the theatre's architecture, Italian tourists were sticking their heads in these circular indentations surrounding the base of the theatre and chattering. (mimic chatter, what you imagined they might be saying since you don't speak Italian.) It was very comical - and noisy. Once the group moved on our guide was able explain that what they were testing were the echo points. If you stood in a certain spot in the theatre and spoke, slightly projecting your voice, your voice would permeate the entire expanse of the theatre via the echo points. Pretty soon, there was a crowd of American tourists with their heads in the echo points chattering and making all sorts of noise. That is, until we were interrupted by the Jordanians playing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on the bagpipes!

Echo points require three things: a speaker with a message, points of contact, and recipients of the message. In the theatre a speaker trusts that through the point of contact the message is carried further to the recipients. Moses delivered a message at the base of Mt. Nebo, his last sermon to a congregation that stood at the brink of the Promised Land, and this became foundational for Israel.

Since our morning reading is considered Moses' obituary, imagine with me for a moment the story of Moses as if it was being told through an obituary notice.

Moses, of Levite descent, who loved God, God's people, and sheepherding, died a peaceful death in the hills of Moab at the age of one hundred and twenty years.

Mr. Moses, nicknamed The Mumbler because of his self-professed slowness of speech and lack of eloquence, came to be known as "servant of the Lord, man of God, and prophet like no other" before his death. Understanding that great leaders are not self-made, Mr. Moses faithfully worked along side family members, wife Zipporah, sister Miriam and brother Aaron.

Born in Egypt and adopted by the Pharoah's daughter, Mr. Moses eventually left a life of comfort and returned to his family of origin. He later told interviewers, and anyone who would listen, that loving God was the greatest commandment and that one must leave one's isolated comfort zone because in order to love God one must also love one's neighbor. It's been written about Mr. Moses that he went beyond the minimalism of consent in loving thy neighbor by engaging in their very lives. He evidenced this decision by negotiating a means of deliverance for the Hebrew people and then, instead of watching from afar, he also lived life in communion with the people often interceding on their behalf. Notable in this regard are the Wilderness Wandering period and the infamous golden calf incident.

By the power of God, it is documented that, he did many signs and wonders, not least of which was parting the Red Sea, saving his people from poisonous snakes and death by lifting a bronze serpent on a pole, and in bringing water from a rock. His relationship with his God is well documented, as he was often known to go off into cloudy mountains for forty days and forty nights to be alone with God. His people knew of his trust in the LORD and they trusted Moses to bring them God's message. Mr. Moses is legendary in that he knew God face to face and as a result, his vision of God's promise was unimpaired and his vigor had never abated. Before his death, Mr. Moses prepared longtime congregation member Joshua to be his successor.

A thirty day memorial service was held in his honor. Interment is unknown but rumored that God alone buried the faithful servant Moses.

Garrison Keillor says it's too bad we miss our own funerals because people say such nice things about us and we miss it by about three days. What about your obituary? What would it say your relationship to God and the two greatest commandments? Personally, I pray for the unabated vision and vigor of Moses, and the integrity with which he lived to the very end.

It is integrity that psychologist Erik Erikson said is the difference between dying a good death and an unsettled death—one of despair. Erikson developed a theory of human development where he states that we have eight life stages that we all travel through in order to lead a life of wholeness—a wholeness we Christians know in Jesus. Each stage offers a choice and a task, and depending on each choice we make - we either grow toward wholeness or we grow toward dysfunction. Our choice in stage eight is the choice between integrity and despair, between acknowledging and embracing and affirming the way our life has really been lived. Or whining and grieving about what could have been, the "if only" syndrome: If only I'd been smarter, wealthier, never married, done something differently.

In stage eight there is the choice of celebrating a life well lived, imperfections and all, and offering it as a gift to God —or clinging to a fantasy of what could've been better, yielding a final sense of despair and failure. How we live stage eight—the choice we make in later years between integrity and despair, in many ways becomes our legacy, our echo point, if you will. It is the final lesson we teach our children and our grandchildren. Moses died with integrity trusting in the face to face relationship he had with God.

Time and time again when Moses went up the mountain to be alone with God I think he was peering out from the balcony in order to repeatedly take in the Big Picture. He trusted God with God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and even at times held God to task. Moses lived what he most deeply believed and knew about God - that there is a Promised Land. There is a Promised Land -- which we often refer to as The Kingdom of God. We get glimpses of it, when we take the time to go to God's balconies.

I say the word 'balcony' in the plural because God has more than one view of the Promised Land. And, we saw more than one while we were in Jordan. While in the capital city of Amman, we had the opportunity to visit the Theodore Schneller School. The Schneller School is headed by Fr. Hanna Mansour, an Episcopal priest of Israeli-Palestinian descent, who attended VTS in Alexandria. The school is located on the border of one of the largest Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, where 80,000 people live in crowded, often impoverished buildings. From this location, The Schneller School is a view into the Promised Land and is a witness to the reality that God is at work in the world. Founded originally in the 1800s by German Lutherans, the school is home to over 200 boys from 1st grade on up, who board there in groups that function sort of as a family. Most of the boys themselves are Palestinian refugees and some are orphans, and without the Schneller School, would most likely be on the street. The school trains the youth in a traditional academic track for kids from 1st to 9th grades, and then the boys choose—either continue on in academics with a focus on university, or choose among one of the 3 vocational tracks: metalworking, carpentry, or auto mechanics.

The school is a home, a haven, a place of nurture, challenge, and hope. At present, the placement rates for the vocational graduates is 100%, and some of Schneller's alumni work at NASA, and are business men in the Middle East and Europe. But beyond the training the boys receive, Mansour and his staff are committed to dealing with the root cases of hopelessness and despair. Talking with the boys about things like—what makes a person bomb himself? or how do you have hope in the midst of pain? or how can we transform the past for a successful future? Talking this way and grappling with the real stuff of life gives the Schneller students some sense of self respect, hope, and faith.

And as Fr. Hanna reminded us, we can do one of two things when faced with the seemingly impossible task of holding onto the vision of the Promised Land in the midst of war and terrorism. We can stay in our perceived comfort zone, and hope that everyone will go her or his way and things will get better. Or we can, like Moses, leave our comfort zone and engage with the people because God's Promise depends on it.

Moses' message, experience, and life have found significant echo points in history. His experience of deliverance, wandering, and rebellion resonated with God's people especially during their times of Exile. And, in the life of Jesus, Deuteronomy is the most oft quoted book by our Lord. And even still—we hear echoes of these experiences and carry the message of God's Promised Land, in our neighborhoods both near and far, trusting as Moses did in God's providence and guidance throughout our lifetimes. Live into the Promise and be at peace.

Amen.

Bibliography

Brenneman, James E. On Jordan's Stormy Banks: Lessons from the Book of Deuteronomy.

Scottdale: Herald Press, 2004.

Brueggemann, Walter. Deuteronomy.

Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2001.

Smith, Laureen E. Inshallah: A Sermon by Rev. Laureen E. Smith.

Sunday, 23 November 2003. Western Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC. Facts about the Schneller School, which the author also visited, were gleaned from this sermon.

© Copyright, 2005, Rev. Lisa Rzepka
All Rights Reserved.
Providence Presbyterian Church
Fairfax, Virginia