God in God’s Place Preached at Wollaston Congregational Church On October 6th, 2017 Scripture: Exodus 20:1-4, 18-20 The people have been brought out of slavery in the land of Egypt. They have been traveling in the wilderness for a while now. They have been given the food they need to eat, the water they need to drink, and they have the guidance of God represented in a pillar of cloud going before them. Now it is time for the covenant, and in this covenant God is going to require something of the people. This is a momentous event. Moses is summoned up the holy mountain, Sinai. The raw presence of God is too much for any of the company except Moses and Aaron and so the people wait for the word of the Lord to come to them from Moses. This is the giving of what are known as the 10 commandments, sometimes called the Decalogue, meaning 10 words. I do not need to remind you that these commandments are foundational for much of western morality and law. But it is the very beginning of the giving of the law, highly valued by the Jewish people, that we’ll consider today. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. When I heard Bible stories like this, as a child, my eyes would glaze over. This isn’t the stuff of small boys defeating giants, or animals packed two by two into a humongous houseboat. It isn’t a tale of trumpet tunes that make sturdy stonewalls crumble and fall. It is instruction and it is silly instruction. What is making an idol to me? Why would I choose to have any other god than God? I had seen the gods and idols the ancient people used to make of wood, metal or stone, in museums. They were primitive and rough, ugly dolls. I felt superior belonging to the modern world, where we knew better than to worship made up things. The command about idols simply didn’t apply to us. Or so I thought. Little did I understand about idols, because our idols, of course are the things we worship and value, the things we put first in our lives. They are the things we pay the most attention to, spend the most time on, and spend the most money on. Gulp. Now idolatry is beginning to feel a little closer to home. My sports, my TV, my computer, my house, my clothes … are these the things my idols? Are they taking the place of God in my life? And what about my pacifiers, my addictions, something to take the edge off, or something to fill the silence? Those who have turned to Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12 step programs to recovery will be familiar with the first step in the program. In this step the person admits that they are powerless over their addiction - that their lives had become unmanageable. The second and third steps they… “come to believe that a Power greater than [themselves] can restore [them] to sanity.” And they “make a decision to turn [their] will and [their] lives over to the care of God as [they] understand God.” 12 step programs require their adherents to acknowledge the power of idolatry in their lives. Surrendering to God, as they understand God, is key to recovery. I am fortunate to have a low tolerance for unmanageability in my life. I truly believe that this has saved me from the grip of various idols and addictions in my time. As a young mom, our children’s needs and activities: sports music, scouts, academics and social; mine and my husband’s work schedule; our volunteer responsibilities, sent me into a continual state of stress and anxiety. These things, that are healthy aspects of a good life when held in balance, became idols and took control. I had bought into the thinking that I should do more and more, in order to be good enough. Some of the other mothers I knew had the problem of a stressful life solved in a particular way. They rose super-early in the morning, had the lunch bags packed and the laundry on. With the phone wedged between their ear and shoulder, making arrangements for play dates later in the day, they wriggled little feet into resistant sneakers, and scribbled notes for the teacher. The morning run seemed to be their adrenaline boost. I simply wasn’t made like that. Managing my stress and busy-ness by getting ahead of it wasn’t an option. And so I reached a point when I confessed, at least to myself, that life had become unmanageable. Rising earlier in the morning did help. But instead of getting a start on the day, I turned to a book of daily scripture readings recommended by my pastor. My anxiety management was 20 minutes on the screened porch with my morning tea and God. That was helpful! I discovered what it felt like to be centered, putting God in God’s place and myself in my place, at least for a few minutes each day. The centeredness didn’t come all at once of course, and I am still working on it. But like I say, I simply have low tolerance for an unmanageable life. But besides the materialism, the distractions and the addictions in our world, I believe that there is an idol that is far more insidious. This idol is threatening to take the place of God in our culture. It is Americanism. You may think that I am being alarmist, or just completely off base. In fact, as I was putting this sermon together, I began to think I might be off base too. Then I discovered a book defending Americanism as a religion, called “Americanism: the Fourth Great Western Religion.” The author, David Gelernter, is quite proud of the idea of Americanism as religion, thinking that we have found something better than the religions of old. I find this prospect really very scary.[1] Seeing Americanism as a religion and America as a God is the idolatry that the first commandment warns against. In this scenario, there is no higher power or critique. When Americanism is religion, the flag and the constitution become articles of faith. Patriotic songs become hymns to the one to be worshiped. “One nation, under God” becomes one nation is equal to God. Gelernter is not the only one who is promoting Americanism as superior to religions that truly worship God. And this is a problem. The practice of Americanism is flawed religion because there is reference to a higher power and a higher law. When terrible events occur, elected officials offer “thoughts and prayers” but there is no requirement in the practice of Americanism for humility. Practitioners of Americanism are not required to offer prayers of confession. There is no acceptance of culpability for the “tragedies” that strike. There is no fasting, or beating of the chest, no rending of garments, or falling prostrate before the God of all the universe. God who is far greater than our ideas and our ideals. America, as an idol, has nothing to learn from her neighbors in the world. America is above reproach. America is exceptional. What applies in other lands simply does not apply here. This past week, we witnessed the most deadly and dangerous shooting spree known even in this country. We were reminded that a person of any ethnic origin, any social grouping, any race or religion, can flip without warning and become homicidal and suicidal. Access to large stashes of lethal weaponry simply allows them to act out their intent, taking numerous innocent bystanders with them to the grave. But of course, the people who were injured and died in Las Vegas last Sunday are not the only ones to have been victims of gun violence. This week, the Telegraph, a respected British news source, reported that in the United States there is an average of one mass shooting every day and a major mass shooting every two months. Most do not even make the headlines. And then there are these statistics:
America is the idol, and access to firearms is the addiction. Americans own more guns per capita than residents of any other country. [4] My friends, don’t you think that our lives as citizens and residents of the USA have become unmanageable? Don’t you think it is time for this nation, as a whole, to admit that we are powerless over gun violence and that our life as a nation has become unmanageable? Don’t you think it is time for us to make a decision to turn our will and our life over to the care of God? I think we need a lower tolerance for unmanageability. I know about the separation of church and state in the United States. I know that there are people of many faiths, beliefs, and of no religion in US. But in this case, the name given to the Higher Power doesn’t matter: the God of Israel; The Holy Trinity; Allah; Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva; Mother Earth; nature; universal moral law; wisdom and understanding. My friends, this is a plea for us, not only in our own private lives, but as a nation, to center ourselves to put God in God’s place, and our nation back under that place. Then, I believe that if we hold ourselves and our elected officials accountable, to God or their understanding of God, we will stand a chance. Let all of God’s people say Amen. [1] David Gelernter, Americanism: the Fourth Great Western Religion, (Doublsday, 2007) [2] https://www.csgv.org/issues/disarming-domestic-violence/ [3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/10/17/guns-dont-kill-people-toddlers-do-the-shocking-new-gun-control-psa-focused-on-children/?utm_term=.333099f575ee [4] http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/03/americas/us-gun-statistics/index.html
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