Exodus 32:1-14 on October 6th, 2024
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
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The story of the golden calf. It is one of the most dramatic and complex stories in the entire Bible. We've got an idol of gold, an upset God, a desperate Moses, and a whole lot of drama. There is so much packed into this passage raising plenty of questions about God's nature and God's relationship with people. I promise that we will not answer all of them today. But this story does have a lot to tell us about ourselves and about God.
So let's start by catching up to where the Israelites are. They have been through a lot. The God has led them out of slavery in Egypt, parted the Red Sea, and guided them through the wilderness with pillars of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. And now they are camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, the mountain of God, and God has made a covenant with them, a covenant of promises and responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is no idols. Don't worship any other gods. Sounds simple enough.
But suddenly it all falls apart. Moses goes up the mountain and he is gone for a while. So what did the Israelites do? They start to get nervous and impatient. They melt down their jewelry, make a gold and calf, and before you know it, they're bowing down to this thing that they just made. It's like when you leave a room of kids for just five minutes and you come back to absolute chaos. But instead of crayons on the walls, it's idolatry.
God and Moses both see what's going on and neither of them seems eager to claim ownership of the Israelites. They each keep calling them your people. To continue the kid analogy, it's like coming home from work and hearing just wait until you hear what your son has done today. God is ready to be through with this. Moses though pushes back and pleads with God not to wipe them out.
And here's where the first big question comes up. How did Moses do that? Did Moses actually change God's mind? The text says that God responded to Moses's plea and chose not to destroy the Israelites. But this starts to get real slippery, real quick. If we say yes, Moses changed God's mind, it might seem like God isn't all knowing or all powerful. And if we say that God already had planned out every action and decision that God knew what was going to happen and God was testing Moses here in a way, then what about human free will? And then what about prayer? Some say that prayer doesn't change God, it changes us. But God does respond to what Moses says.
There isn't a neat, clean answer, but here's what I do now. The God that we see here is deeply involved with humanity, not distant, not uninterested. We see a relational God who listens, a God who is open to conversation, a God who is merciful. And that's important to know because it shows us that God is powerfully involved in our story. And prayer then is a real conversation and God is willing to listen. And that's a profound truth about who God is, merciful, relational, involved in our story. God is still God, but God is also the one who is for us and with us. Which is good news. And news for the Israelites who were just rescued from bondage in Egypt that they should know and they should remember.
So why? Why do the Israelites turn to a false God? And not just turn, but turn so quickly. Are they that rebellious, that evil, that stupid, most likely not? More than anything they are that impatient. They were given these promises. A land of milk and honey, a new beginning, everything's going to be great. But they hadn't seen it yet. And now Moses just up and leaves them. He's hanging out at the top of the mountain and no one knows when he's coming back. And so they are afraid, unsure, tired of waiting for a God. They can't see. It's taken God too long. Where is God in all this? Where is Moses? And so they grasp onto something that they could literally grasp onto. Something that they could see and touch, something tangible, something to fulfill their need for reassurance in the midst of waiting and wondering.
And that's where I think we start to see ourselves in the story. How often do we turn to things that that feel more immediate when when God feels to be taking too long? Something near when when God seems so far. How quickly do we look for something else to fill the space when we're just tired of waiting on God? Now we don't melt down our jewelry and build golden calves. We do turn to things for perceived safety and security, even in the name of God and even if it distorts who God is. We put our trust in things, ideologies, buildings, money and power leaders, things that aren't God. Can you think of any examples where we do that? I bet you can.
And here's the thing. No matter who or what you just thought of, you're right. It's not worshiping other gods in the name of the one true God. It's easy. I mean, it offers immediate gratification and feels superficially good. That festival with the golden calf was probably one heck of a party. And the knowledge that we do this, both individually and as a society, it raises important and challenging questions for all of us about what faithfulness to God means, especially when it seems that God is absent.
The real challenge for us, like the Israelites, is waiting. And those moments of doubts and fear and impatience, that that's when we're most tempted to replace God with something else, something quick and easy. But our call is not to put people and politicians on pedestals, nor is it to build idols of our own making, but to trust that God is building something better. The kingdom of God, right here in this place. And God calls us to that work too. We are called to build the kingdom, not a calf.
And while things are sometimes slower than we like. And while we aren't at any promised parking lot, I mean, promised land, while the work is hard and challenging and complex, God has been building the kingdom here among us. And we have been part of that. Over the past several years, we at St. Philip have grown so much in worship and welcome. Our generosity to support ministry has expanded so much. There's almost always something going on to reach out beyond ourselves with God's love. Together, we are laying bricks in the building of God's kingdom.
And over the next several weeks, we'll be asking you to reflect on how you can support the ongoing kingdom building that we have been tasked with. How can we continue to grow and welcome, expand how we worship and love even more beyond ourselves? God calls us to build the kingdom, not a calf. And that work is hard, challenging, and complex. But God is merciful, relational, and involved in our story. And God, God even gives us tangible signs of grace along the way.
You want something that you can touch and you can see? Look, no further than bread and wine and water. The sacraments remind us that God is not a distance. God is right here, present in our midst, building the kingdoms in ways that we can see and in ways we can't. God is deeply involved in our story. God even came in human flesh to show us directly and tangibly how far God's love goes.
So you just wait until you hear what God's Son has done. Crucified, died, raised. Also, that we could be set free so that we could tangibly see love so we can build the kingdom together. Amen.