14 July 2012

Psalm 20, 21; Deut. 34:1-12; Rom. 10:14-21; Matt. 24:32-51

Moses dies in Moab, having seen the Land from there.  The Lord buried Moses on Mt Pisgah and no one knows where, there is no shrine to the man, he was simply a man unlike any other who has ever been in Jewish history until Jesus, a man who saw God face to face.  Moses holds a place of great honor in the memory of the Jews and rightly so, he is more honored now than in his life.  He was a faithful man, longsuffering for the people of God, who endured great difficulty and hardship in order to lead God’s people.  At the end of the day, however, he is a man, fallible and sinful.  In the transfiguration of Jesus we see that Jesus eclipses Moses in this very thing, his righteousness. 

We are called to wait well, to wait faithfully, no matter how long the coming of our master and savior is delayed.  We are to keep watch as those whose longing is to see that return, the establishment of the kingdom.  We are to pursue righteousness, we know the commands, we know what we are supposed to do.  We are to wait expectantly, hopefully, being prepared to welcome Him without fear but with our houses in order per His instructions.  Waiting is never easy and it is tempting to busy ourselves with other things and to take a break now and then, but Jesus warns that we never know what moment He might arrive, so we are to always be prepared.

Hearing is important and so preaching is important.  Who is a preacher?  Paul has just said that the confession of our lips is our salvation, so it would follow that all who believe in their hearts are preachers wouldn’t it?  If that is the case, we can better understand Paul’s understanding of the leadership in the church as the preparation of the saints for the work of ministry.  In our baptismal service, after the liturgical work is done by the priest, the congregation welcomes the newly baptized with the following admonition, “We receive you into the household of God. Confess the faith of Christ crucified, proclaim his resurrection, and share with us in his eternal priesthood.”  Now that you’re one of us, go and tell others about Jesus.  Of all who have ever lived, Jesus is the only one who matters eternally, He has led us out of darkness and into light, given us a glimpse of the heavenly Promised Land, and given us work to do as we wait.  Let us commit ourselves to that work with all our hearts.