sermon for October 9

October 9

The reading: Exodus 32:1-14

When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears, and brought them to Aaron. He took the gold from them, formed it in a mold, and cast an image of a calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” They rose early the next day, and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to revel.

The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt! The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “OLord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’“ And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people

Summary

After sharing this sermon on Sunday, I became aware that I made some historical mistakes with the 

details and time line of this event.   This was mainly due to the fact that there are two different versions of the Golden Calf story in the Old Testament (this one and Deuteronomy 9:6-29).  There are also many different and diverse perspectives on these texts.  I wasn’t sure what to do so I started my sermon the next week by telling everyone I messed up and clarified the details. 

I want to set today’s reading in context.  This event surrounding the Golden Calf happens after the exodus, after the people of Israel are freed from slavery in Egypt.  They go out to wilderness where they set up camp and try to figure out what’s next.  Moses goes up the mountain where he will receive the law, 10 commandments and instructions on building the tabernacle directly from God.  Moses is on the mountain for 40 days.  During this time, the people get anxious, think Moses left them, perished or was taken into heaven. (If Moses had facebook, instagram or twitter perhaps this story would not have happened. He could have kept everyone up to date, shared photos of the new 10 commandments, put up an awesome video of God writing them on stone and commented  “coming to you soon”).   None of this exists at the time . The people need a leader and something to center their lives and worship around.  They demand a Golden Calf. 

Now the Golden Calf is either an idol, a false god that the people create to worship, praise and obey or it is a symbol of the living God, who set them free from slavery in Egypt.  Even if this act was one of worshiping the living God, it is still sin.  It was done without God’s word, without God’s command, without God’s promise.   Ironically,  while the people where creating the Golden Calf as this visible sign of God among them,  God is instructing Moses on the construction of the tabernacle, the real, visible sign of God in the community.  This is the place where the word of God will be kept and carried before them.  

The lesson from this story for us is simply to remember we are grounded, guided and given meaning through God’s word.  Baptism matters because it combined with God’s promise and instruction, Communion matters because it is combined with God’s promise and instruction, welcoming the stranger into relationship with God matters because it is combined with God’s promise and instruction, loving our neighbors matters because it is combined with God’s promise and instruction.