St. Peter's By The Sea
The Episcopal Church in Narragansett, RI
September 14, 2008
19th Sunday after Pentecost
It is perhaps one of the most famous of all Biblical images, made all the more famous because of Cecil B. DeMille and Charlton Heston: tens of thousands of Israelites gathered at the edge of a vast Red Sea. There they stand, the wide expanse of water starring them in the face and not a boat in sight. Behind them is the desert that they just walked through, as they fled their captivity in Egypt. Somewhere in that desert are hundreds of chariots racing toward them, thundering across the sandy plain with the destructive capability of a column of tanks. It won’t be long before they crash down upon the people and utterly destroy them.
The people start to look at one another, terror filling their faces. It’s at this point that many turn toward Moses, to see what he’s going to do in the face of this looming catastrophe. But even as they look to him for help, their panic leaks out: “What, there weren’t enough graves in Egypt that you brought us all the way out here to die, Moses?” They’d gotten just a taste of freedom, but now hopelessness crashes back onto them as they gaze out over the deep blue waters of the wide Red Sea.
And then, just when they’ve given up all hope for salvation, something happens. A fierce wind begins to blow and the waters move. Unbelievably, the sea divides into two massive sections, a column of dry land unfolding before their eyes. There, through this miraculous passageway, the people walk into freedom.
I’m not here today to ask whether or not this is the stuff of legend or the stuff of history. I’ll let the Biblical archeologists and historians fight over that one. The important question that the story leaves for me, the question I think we can ask ourselves is “How?” How did Moses roll back the sea that day, part the waters and deliver the people? How did the Red Sea roll back from his raised arm and submit to his will?
If you’ve ever caught yourself imagining this scene and wondering how it all might have happened, you’re in good company. For centuries (and millennia) students of the Bible have wondered about these great stories and what’s not said about the events they describe. In the ancient traditions of Judaism, there is something called Midrash. Midrash is an attempt to creatively fill in some of the details of the stories and give additional flesh to the narrative, and by doing so, convey some truth about God or our relationship with God.
Well, one ancient Midrash retells the story of the Red Sea crossing with an extra flourish that you may have never heard before, and it includes an unexpected new character: Nachshon. Just like before, we’re back at the edge of the Red Sea, waiting as Pharaoh’s army sweeps across the desert toward the trapped Israelites. Moses, seeing the pending disaster and hearing the cries of the terrified people turns to God. But God rebukes him, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to journey forth!” “Journey forth,” Moses thinks. “How?” There is an ocean before them!
The people hesitate; they can’t bring themselves to go where they know they need to. No one moves.
Just at that moment, a single man, Nachshon, splashes into the sea. He wades through the rising tide and into the deeper water. All eyes are on him as he walks forward until the waters reach his waist, but nothing happens. He continues, and the water rises to reach his chest and nothing happens. He keeps going, and the water is up to his shoulders, then up to his chin. Still, nothing happens. Finally, just the last bit of his head is above the surface as the water reaches his nostrils. He is almost entirely submerged. And at that moment, the Red Sea thunders apart, creating a lane for the Children of Israel to cross to safety.
I first heard this story a few months ago and it instantly resonated for me. Something about Nachshon’s brave and almost naïve faith gave me pause. What a dramatic scene. I can just imagine the top of his persistent little head bobbing above the ways, trusting that God would indeed deliver the people with a mighty hand if someone would boldly follow his direction.
Often in the face of great challenges, challenges that may seem insurmountable, we simply despair. We look at them and wonder how, how is it going to be possible to do this? How am I going to get over or around or through this obstacle? Our fear and confusion and blame blinds us to the opportunity that lays before us, the path God has laid out for us, if we would only have the confidence and faith to move forward. That was the key to Nachshon’s leadership. He was willing to slog his way into the midst of a challenge that he knew was not insurmountable. He got into the water and didn’t stop, even when that water was at his chin!
I heard a rabbi say recently that faith is a quality of the soul. It exists within us at all times. Even when we deny our faith, our soul within continues to believe. But God is not satisfied with concealed inner faith. God challenges us to fan the flames of our smoldering but silent faith and bring it forth. Silent faith is dormant. It cannot impact the physical world unless it is physically expressed. That is why the waters waited to part that day until Nachshon waded in. When Nachshon sallied forth and expressed the faith that the people carried within themselves, the waters quickly parted.
This past week I met with several of the leaders of the new Journey to Adulthood program that St. Peter’s is beginning this fall. J2A (as it is called) aims to provide youth in grades 6-12 with intensive discipleship training. It involves a serious commitment by our young men and women as well as numerous adult mentors who will journey with these youth for several years as they grow into spiritually mature Christians. During the meeting it was obvious that several of the volunteers were unsure of what they are getting themselves into. The program is excellent, though more than a little demanding. It would be easy for those people—and by extension, all of us as a church—to admit defeat to this expansive sea stretching out before us. I can’t say I would blame anyone for abandoning this ministry.
But the challenge of establishing a transformational youth program is a challenge put before us by God. This is a holy responsibility. It is one of the many seas that God occasionally marches us up to and wants to see us cross. Thanks be to God, Nachshon is present in this church as well, embodied in the commitment of ten true saints who will pledge themselves to our youth and walk alongside them in the coming months and years. They have waded into the water, and are willing to carry on, even as the water splashes them in the face, knowing that God will richly bless this work and part this sea.
Where is the sea in your life of faith? Where have you been led, only to find a seemingly insurmountable obstacle staring you in the face? Even a life that prayerfully tries to follow where God leads still winds up at the shores of the Red Sea sometimes. Jesus talks a little about faith meeting action in today’s gospel when he tells his disciples how hard forgiveness is; these places where God calls us to are often difficult, challenges that require our deepest commitment and patience, challenges that are the work of a lifetime. After all, 70 x 7 doesn’t happen overnight. But that is where God wants us. God beckons us to move our belief into action and wade out with confidence into the water.
Ask yourself this day whether you are being called out from the crowd and into the water. Pray for the courage and strength to rise to the challenges laid before you, for the boldness you need to follow the path where Christ is leading. And then trust. Trust that just when the water is about to climb over your head, our risen Lord will deliver you yet again and set you back firmly on dry land.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2008 9:52 am
Category: Sermons