Sermons

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Let Us Pray
September 16, 2001
(Sunday after highjacked planes destroy
the World Trade Center and damage the Pentagon.)
Pastor Dan Baumgartner

Exodus 17: 8-13

It’s been a week of interruptions and changes…and it seems only fitting, I guess, to interrupt the I Corinthians sermon series that we are almost finished with. We’re going to skip over chapter 14, in which Paul deals with two specific topics: the gifts of the spirit in worship, and the role of women in worship. Both are important…important enough, in fact, that we have run into both of them already in our series.

But in light of the week in this country, the hijackings and deaths and shock…I Corinthians did not seem the thing for today. I instead found myself taken to the Old Testament book of Exodus.

Maybe Moses wasn’t such a great leader. He led the people Israel out of Egypt…and yet, they rebelled, they longed to go back, they questioned, they doubted, they mistrusted him. And it didn’t stop just in Moses’ own day. Even Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel back in the ’60s doubted Moses’ leadership. She said, “Moses was the only leader in history who took his people all over the Middle East, but settled in the only country without oil!”

You need to understand the tough spot that Moses was in. He really didn’t want to be a leader. Somehow he ended up there, though. And then, miraculously, he was able to stand up to Pharaoh, to lead Israel through the parted waters of the Red Sea and into the Sinai desert…to perform absolute miracles in finding water, to find God’s gift of manna in the morning and quail at night…so food and water was provided for in abundance. Yet even through all that Moses did (or God through Moses), people kept grumbling, with Moses usually being the target…and THEN, to top it all off…they were attacked by the Amalekites.

The Amalekites were a nomadic people descended from Esau, brother of Jacob. They presented the first external threat to Israel once they had escaped Egypt. Most of the problems up to that point were internal: issues of leadership, of doubt, of not trusting that God would provide…but the Amalekites were a legitimate external threat.

Besides being scary…this might have been Moses’ opportunity to shine up his reputation, to solidify his position in the eyes of his people. Maybe he could even imagine the headlines: “Moses Leads Israel to Incredible Victory” or “Mo Comes Through Again.” What an incredible opportunity in front of Moses! His PR people were going nuts!

And Moses blows it.

Instead of taking control at the front of the army…he calls over to Joshua. Says, “Hey, Josh…got a big job, lots of possibilities for advancement…perfectly suited for your gifts…and you’re just the guy for it.” Moses tells Joshua to pick out his warriors…and then he heads up a nearby hill. Grabbing his brother Aaron, and Hur the son of Caleb, he walks up the hill…and right out of the limelight.

Why on earth did he go up that hill? Now, I think it is clear from other parts of this story that Moses was no coward; he wasn’t running away from a battle. And Moses wanted to win that battle as much as anyone. And, he was undoubtedly criticized a great deal, and had his leadership legacy smudged: “Oh, beautiful, our great leader Moses disappears right when the big battle comes.” Why subject yourself to all that? What was Moses doing?

Well, first, he was climbing a hill. In the Old Testament, that is a very, very important thing to do. Hills and mountains…were places that were somehow closer to God. Climb up towards heaven. Let the gritty details and noise and voices of earth pass away for a bit, and get close to God. Moses went up that hill…to PRAY. We don’t know exactly what he did…maybe he asked God’s blessing on Israel, maybe he went to beseech God, maybe he went to be a conduit for God’s power and presence…all things that are part of prayer. At any rate, he went to God, lifted his arms…and found that immediately, the battle began to go well for Israel down in the valley. Moses probably thought that it would be the easiest battle ever…lift your arms, your side wins. Great formula.

And so we have this great picture of the leader of Israel, Moses, on the day of the great battle…off on a hill, out of sight, behind the scenes…praying. That’s what I believe God has for us too. It is what I believe God would call us to in the light of the evil and carnage of this week in the United States: Pray.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There are other things to do as well. Praying does not deny that random violence must be stopped, that systems must be re-thought. But I believe the most important thing we can do right now…is to go find a hill, and pray.

Maybe you think to yourself, “Oh, Dan, that’s such a sissy, Christian-Pastor kind of thing… “Let’s go pray.” But let’s be clear about why we pray. Eugene Peterson writes this (in "Earth & Altar") :

“If we think that prayer is going to get us out of the conflict, we are misinformed. If we think that an immersion in the Psalms will insulate us from the abrasive news of the day, we are mistaken. If we think that looking to God fills us with undisturbed peace and unalloyed joy so that there is simply no space left in our lives for an awareness of barbarity, we are wrong. Nature is violent. Governments are violent. People are violent…Praying is a courageous act.”

So why would this be a good time to pray, if all of that is true?

The posture of prayer…helps define what kind of people we will be. Tragedy and violence want to shape who we are also. What kind of people are we…not just right now, but long-term? What will drive our actions? Are we prideful people? Has the attack on New York wounded our pride as the strongest country in the world? Should we defend our pride? Is that what God calls us to? Are we vengeful people? One poll showed two-thirds of people favoring immediate retaliation, whether or not innocent people are killed in other places. Are we angry people? Many of us have been angry this week…I have been angry this week. Is that the kind of people we should be?

Or…will we dare to be prayerful people? What we are about right now, when we are emotional, upset, etc…defines the kind of people we will be.

Why is it a good time to pray? Prayer allows us to seek God’s perspective. Prayer slows us down. It connects us with the heart of God, and we may find that as we can get quiet on top of the mountain…we may hear things we hadn’t thought about.

I’ve had several situations this week where someone eager to act has asked for advice and my instinctive reaction is to list out, right off the top of my head…why they should act in a particular way. In my best moments, I am able to say… “You know, I have some strong feelings about that…but before I answer I want to pray.” And it’s the most amazing thing…by the time I do talk to them, and had time to ask God’s presence on the decision…it has always changed in some way.

Right now, in our city, there have been multiple incidences of threats and violence to Americans who come from or look like they come from the Middle East. Police sit outside of mosques to make sure that people are safe. Those whose anger boils over inappropriately…oh, if we could FIRST pray together, and not just act, not just speak.

Some of the Christian leaders who get quoted often in the newspapers have been at it this week. I have seen some incredibly insensitive, unpastoral and theologically inept things said about the events of this week, things that have made me cringe and wish I weren't connected to the church. If we could just pray FIRST, I believe that God’s perspective might be very different from ours.

What happens when we pray? I don’t think we pray to a God whom we must convince to do good, or to try to coerce into giving us what we ask. God is at work, and longs for us to know Him. So what happens when we pray? One thing that happens is that we are changed on the inside. John Calvin claimed that the most important reason to pray is “so that our hearts might be filled with a zealous and burning desire ever to seek, love, and serve God.” It is that kind of heart that is filled with the power of God. And we need that power if we are to avoid succumbing to the powers that surround us.

Why is now a good time to pray? Because prayer often changes what we want. God is a little devious about that. You’ve heard the verse “…and God will grant you the desires of your heart.” But then, when we pray, God changes those desires!

Listen to the story of Pope Gregory, from the 6th century. Gregory had a dream: to live a quiet, contemplative life as a monk. But as he prayed, he found that God seemed to be calling him to leadership in the church. He forever after labeled himself “a contemplative condemned to action.”

He was elected pope at a time when Rome was a shambles…famines, invading armies, unstable political structure, corruption. Gregory sold off a great deal of the church’s wealth to care for the poor. He reminded the church of its mission, he reinvigorated worship, he trained leadership … he greatly affected the life of the church for the next 1,000 years. All because he started praying that God would make him a faithful and anonymous monk. God changed what he wanted.

What do we want this week? Perhaps as we sit before God, we will find ourselves wanting revenge…and moving to justice. Perhaps wanting an outlet for anger…and moving towards things that can stop violence.

But we left Moses, up on the hill, arms lifted up, finding this praying thing so easy. But there’s a problem. You try keeping your arms up for awhile…even for a few minutes. I’ve tried this in my office…it’s hard!

You know, back in the dark ages of the 20th century, school teachers used to discipline misbehaving students by making them hold their arms out to their side. And then adding books. Makes your arms throb.

Moses’ arms were tired. He puts them down. Israel starts to get pummeled on the battlefield. He lifts them up. Israel surges ahead. Back and forth. But his arms are tired. So Aaron and Hur grab a big rock for him to sit on. [Frankly, this is the part of the story I don’t understand…It was his ARMS that were tired!…so they give him a rock?!] There’s still a problem; he can’t hold his arms up. In fact, he needs some help. So Aaron and Hur each take one arm, and standing next to Moses, they help him hold his arms up…that Israel might win the battle. And so we get this other marvelous picture…of the community at prayer together. Moses couldn’t do it by himself.

Tuesday night, the day of the Trade Center destruction, we met here in the sanctuary to pray. All of us were numb and in sort of a stupor from the events of the day. Many people were crying, many were scared. But there was something so right about coming together, about being together. It was good, and right.

When we had an open prayer time, some couldn’t pray out loud because their emotions were so high. But others sitting right next to them, or right in front of them could. And so people here and here and here…lifted their voices…cried out to God, asked for His presence and protection, beseeched God on behalf of friends or family…on behalf of our country. On behalf of the world.

Friday noon was the same thing. We came together, some speaking where others couldn’t…and it was right to be together. Of course we can pray by ourselves. But, Lord, what a blessing to have a family, THIS family…to be with. To help us keep our arms raised up.

Friends, it’s time to pray. To pray to God…to pray together. When the hour is dark, when emotions are tangled, when confusion reigns…it’s time to pray.

There’s good precedent for us. You’ll remember Jesus, just before he was arrested…when things were the darkest. When it was clear that the world had absolutely no desire to receive the One God had sent, when it was clear to Jesus that darkness was ruling the day, when it was apparent that the very Son of God would meet violence and hatred…that was the time that Jesus chose to go up on the Mount of Olives, to the garden of Gethsemane…to pray…with a couple friends. To come before God for wisdom, for strength, for courage, to lay his heart bare. When the world was darkest, Jesus went up a hill to pray.

And yet that wasn’t Jesus’ last hill. He would mount one more hill, weighted down by a heavy wooden cross, and the sin of the whole world. And there on a cross, between two thieves, on a dark, dark day…with arms outspread…Jesus beseeched God…on behalf of you and of me.

This week has been dark. Violence seems to have carried the day. We want to lash back, we want to strategize, we want to plan, we want to posture. But I believe that God’s call for us right now…is to do what Moses did. Get those around you. Get to a place close to God. And pray. For our sake, for our families’ sake, for our country’s sake, for our world’s sake…for God’s sake, let’s pray.