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Rolling Away the Disgrace of Empire
March 30, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Fourth Sunday in Lent
Joshua 5:9-12, Psalm 32, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
In our reading this morning from the Book of Joshua, we meet the children of Israel at what is clearly a key moment of transition. Let’s just take stock for a moment of where they are in their story as a people.
What God Has Done for Them
They have been saved from an enslaved existence by their God. They have been given a new identity – transformed from being the Pharaoh’s workforce to a people who are called by the name of their God.
In addition, their God has given them a law to live by. To put that in terms that we can relate to, they have been given a constitution. And their shared experiences both as they escaped from Egypt and as they struggled together through various trials and tribulations and a few battles during their wilderness wanderings have forged them into a united community with a shared national story.
These are all things that create a sense of nationhood. For us, they are the very things that give us a shared understanding of what it means to be Canadian: a name, a constitution, set of laws and a shared national story.
God has done all of this for them in addition to saving and sustaining them through all this time – the sustenance consisting mostly of the regular provision of food. Manna, as least has they have experienced it, has been heavenly food that they have not had to work for. It has simply been provided.
One More Thing
But in our reading this morning, we are told that God does one more thing for them. It happens once they have crossed the Jordan River and entered into the Promised Land. They arrive at a place called Gilgal, and this thing happens that seems to be pivotal and momentous. But I’m not quite sure what it means.
God says, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” But what is this disgrace? The Hebrew word that is used there is חֶרְפַּ֥ת (ḥer-paṯ). It only appears a few times in the Old Testament, and it is translated in various ways. Sometimes it is translated as disgrace, as here. But when it is used actively, it gets translated as abuse, taunting or scorn. It is a word that indicates that somebody is disrespecting you, either by denigrating you or perhaps laughing at you.
About Respect
What this is saying therefore is that, despite all that God has done for the children of Israel, they are still not getting the respect that God feels that they deserve. They are being mocked and taunted by others. And I can imagine it, can’t you? “You’re just a bunch of former slaves that have banded together,” people were saying. “You’re not a real nation.”
And so, as a final gift to them and a cap on their wilderness wandering, God rolls all of that away from them at the place called Gilgal. (And Gilgal, not so coincidently, means “rolling.”)
To put all of this in terms that we can relate to, lets imagine a ridiculous scenario happening to us today as Canadians. We have a shared identity, a shared national story and constitution. We fiercely defend our sovereignty. We don’t pretend that our country is perfect or that we don’t have problems, but we are justly proud of who we are as Canadians.
“Joking” About Our Identity
So, imagine what it would be like if somebody started making jokes about Canadian sovereignty. They might “joke around” by doing things like calling Canada the 51st state or calling our southern border nothing more than an “artificial line” and our Prime Minister a governor. I know it is hard to imagine anyone doing such a thing (or at least it was a few months ago), but my question is how would you feel about such jokes?
I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t find them very funny. Rather than responding with laughter, Canadians would be much more likely to respond with anger, defiance and even retaliation, right? And all of the protestations that someone might make that they are “just joking,” would certainly not calm down such a reaction. Indeed, as the so-called joking continued, we would no doubt become more and more concerned about where such disrespect might lead.
So maybe, if you reflect on that, you can understand what the children of Israel were feeling at that moment of transition and what God was doing for them. And maybe, just maybe, all of that might make you wonder whether God might just be willing to do a little bit of rolling away for our sake too.
Domination by Empire
The disgrace that the Israelites have suffered is related to their domination by a powerful Egyptian empire. In addition, this passage was probably written down at a time when the people of Judah had just returned from exile in the land of another empire, the Babylonians.
The disgrace is therefore not specifically related to something about Egypt. It is rather something that is common to all empires. They extend their power by denigrating and mocking and disgracing the nations around them. It is often much more effective than exercises of military might.
And that is certainly where empires often start like, for example, when Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Ukraine began in the form of mockery and statements about how they were not a real country and their borders were not real borders.
And I know how we like to say that you shouldn’t listen to such things and that “sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.” But there is something about the jibes of empire that make them hard to ignore. There is always a lot of unspoken threat behind them.
A God Who Understands
But in this passage, we learn about a God who understands what it is like to be victimized by powerful empires. He has chosen these people of Israel and saved them from the power of empire. He has made a bunch of slaves into a nation that is free and sovereign. And now he has also removed any stigma of the disgrace that they have suffered.
I don’t know, but all of this does seem to be a message that we could use at this particular moment. We live at a moment in time when the disrespect of one empire and one wannabe authoritarian leader seem to be disrupting us a lot.
And one thing that might do to us that would be unhelpful would be if we got caught up in the hurt that such disrespect might make us feel. Stewing in our bad feelings is likely not going to be very constructive.
So, knowing that God is willing to take away that disgrace for our sake might be a helpful thing. It can help us to get past the emotional response and move on to more practical measures.
Practical Results
And what might those practical measures be? Well, the passage ends by saying this: “they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.” And I can’t help but think that that might have something to do with not allowing any sense of disgrace to overwhelm them. It certainly reminds me of one of the most positive responses among Canadians these days as they choose to live on the things that are produced in their own country as much as they can.
I think that this passage makes it clear that such measures are not just good economic sense. It is a way of banding together as a people to support one another, knowing that our solidarity is a threat to the imperial powers of this world.
You see, that is what they don’t want us to know, that they are not as powerful as they pretend – that they actually depend for their power on everyone feeling inferior and subservient. When we don’t play that game, they lose that power.
Not Easy
That is not to say that it is going to be easy. When the Hebrews ate the produce of the land that year, it started with little more than, “unleavened cakes and roasted grain.” And I know that is traditional Passover food, but the very simplicity of the food is a message. When we choose to support one another first, that may come with a lowering of the standards we may have enjoyed while under empire’s wing.
Like the Israelites who complained, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread,” (Exodus 16:3) we may find ourselves missing many things in times to come. But let us not forget that independence and sovereignty are more valuable than pots of meat.
So, I do see this passage from Joshua speaking to us at this particular moment. And given the somewhat fraught political situation right now, it might be hard to approach this story as anything but Canadians.
Eating the Produce of the Land
But there are other ways to interpret and apply this passage that I would also like you to take away with you today – something to think on at least. The idea of eating “the produce of the land” is something that may apply to your own personal life as well.
It is so easy for any of us to fall into the habit of relying on an outside energy to direct and define our lives. Now, when that external energy is with you in a mutually supportive way – like in a good marriage or in our relationship with a loving God – that can be a very beneficial habit.
But when that energy is dominating and controlling, when it has an Empire energy to it, that is another story. This is what happens with addictions, with high control religious systems and with co-dependant relationships. This is destructive. It causes disgrace in that it keeps us from being the people we have the potential to be.
It is Worthwhile
And this passage is here as a comfort to you if that is what you are dealing with. God stands ready to roll away the disgrace of any empire that rules over your personal life.
And yes, that may not be an easy process. You may need to concentrate on the produce of your own life for a time, develop your independence in some uncomfortable ways. That may even mean that you have to subsist on “unleavened cakes and roasted grain” for a while.
But the work is always worthwhile and, in these words of the Lord to Joshua you have a promise that your God will work with you.
Despite what the powerful of this world often claim, your God is no friend of empire. Your God is at work to free those under the domination of any kind of empire – to free those who have been enslaved in any way and roll away all disgrace.
This story from the Book of Joshua is told of a people at a moment of key transition. And I can’t help but think that we are also living in a time of transition. The world is changing; old alliances are shifting. But do not fear. God will roll away your disgrace at a place called Gilgal.
Today, Tomorrow and the Next Day
Hespeler, March 16, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Second Sunday in Lent
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3:17-4:1, Luke 13:31-35
Listen up, you church people. Don’t you know that the church is doomed within our society? It has been on the decline for decades now. The church has been aging in its demographics and has failed to attract a new generation.
What’s more, it is increasingly viewed with hostility by society in general which sees it, at best, as irrelevant and, at worst, as toxic and destructive. If trends continue, chances are that they will seek to kill the church by removing things like tax deductible status and faith protections.
Don’t you realize that this is a bad situation? If you were wise, you would just give up now and get out of here before you have to deal with such a defeat.
A Warning We Might Receive
Okay, let me be clear here. I am not saying that. I wouldn’t say that, and I don’t agree with much of it. But I hope you’ll forgive me for voicing to you something that some people would say about the church. If you hang out in certain internet forums, you can read people who say it all the time. If we were to invite such people in, they would definitely be happy to say it to us.
And I just wanted to give you a moment to reflect on what it would be like to hear that. How would you feel about someone who told you that? There is some truth in it, of course, so, if someone said it to you would you take it as a friendly warning and assume that they were just trying to help you come to terms with reality?
Not Really Friendly
Probably not. It certainly doesn’t do that for me. I immediately suspect that they have an agenda. They may have some truth behind what they are saying, but they are definitely couching that truth in self-serving ways. They are not trying to save you but perhaps maybe even trying to hasten your demise.
But, whatever they are trying to do, the real question is how are you going to respond. Do you take their warnings and decide to give up? Or do you reject their warnings and try to fight against whatever truth is in them?
A Fragile Hour
There are problems with both of those responses. The church seems to be in a fragile hour right now. And so, if we were to receive such a warning, we might just overreact by giving everything up or perhaps by becoming so obsessed with survival that we lose sight of everything else and we lose any sense of what we are supposed to be doing. How are we supposed to respond to a warning like that?
Jesus’ Fragile Hour
Well, Jesus got a warning like that one day. The Gospel of Luke begins the story like this: “At that very hour.” And that is, let me tell you, a bit of an odd way to start the story. Because I looked at the passage before that, and there’s absolutely no indication what “hour” we are talking about. Jesus has just been traveling around Galilee teaching and telling parables like he does throughout most of this part of the story. There is no particular hour referred to. So, what is Luke talking about?
Maybe the hour is not related to an external event going on at a specific time. What if it refers to something going on internally. “The hour,” I suspect, just happened to be an hour when Jesus was feeling particularly vulnerable, kind of like what we might be feeling these days in the church.
The Pharisees
And “at that very hour,” we are told that, “some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” Now, does that sound a little bit suspicious to you? The Pharisees are not really the good guys of the New Testament. They are often the ones who oppose Jesus and his message. They argue with him and accuse him of doing the wrong things. In the Gospel of Matthew, there is a whole chapter-long diatribe where Jesus goes on and on about how bad the Pharisees are.
The Pharisees are sometimes portrayed a little more sympathetically in the Gospel of Luke, but still, when they show up like this at this vulnerable hour, we don’t immediately jump to the conclusion that they are there because they mean Jesus well.
They Do Not Lie
But here is the issue. Whatever their intentions, they do not lie to Jesus. “Herod wants to kill you,” is likely the truest thing they say in this gospel. Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee had multiple reasons to kill Jesus.
Jesus was stirring up the populace by teaching people that their first allegiance was to the kingdom of God, not the kingdom of Herod. He was telling fishermen to leave their nets and follow him, which was causing Herod to suffer revenue loss from all of his taxes and fees on fishing. He was feeding people bread and fish in the wilderness, the trade of which Herod was trying to monopolise.
Yes, Herod had all kinds of reasons to be mad at Jesus and, as he had proven in the case of John the Baptist, he was quite capable of killing the people who upset him. Yes, the Pharisees were doubtlessly correct that Herod wanted to see Jesus dead.
Their Motivations
But, even though they were telling the truth, we’ve got to wonder why. Do they want to save Jesus’ life? Or do they just want him to go away so that they don’t have to deal with him. I suspect that it is the latter, don’t you?
In fact, they have probably come because they figure that whatever happens next, it will be a win for them. They wouldn’t really mind if Herod did kill Jesus. They would be pleased to see him go away. But even if neither of those things happen and he refuses to leave, they figure that their warning is going to make him so cautious and paranoid that he will be totally ineffective in his ministry.
It is the oldest trick in the book. They present a danger and expect that Jesus will respond with base animal instincts – with either fight or flight. And they figure that either response benefits them. They can’t lose!
Dealing With Jesus
Ah, but they have forgotten who they are dealing with, haven’t they? They may think they have the perfect way to neutralize Jesus, but they are wrong. It is not smart to bet against Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t respond the way they expect. He doesn’t run and he doesn’t give into fear and paranoia. Instead, he responds with words that I’m going to admit have always puzzled me. “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.”
Think about this, they are talking about life and death decisions. They are talking about an enemy who has power to bring to an end everything that Jesus has accomplished. They are trying to provoke that classic animal response of fight or flight. And what does Jesus say?
Today, Tomorrow and the Next Day
“Today, tomorrow, and the next day.” That is the essence of his response. It is so important, that you will notice that he repeats it twice. They are talking about this existential threat, but Jesus talks about what he is doing today, tomorrow and the next day. They think they’re talking about whether it’s time for fight or flight, but Jesus talks about what he’s doing today, tomorrow and the next day.
This is a masterful response for a few reasons. First of all, he understands that they want to put him off of his game. They want him to focus on matters of survival or escape. But he knows he has to hold close to what his mission is. And his mission is all about what he is doing today, tomorrow and the next day. It is about what he is doing right now, and if he hasn’t got that figured out, what does it matter what happens beyond the next day?
Carrying Out His Ministry
And what is Jesus doing today and tomorrow and the next day? He is carrying out his ministry. He is reaching out with healing and care toward those around him who are struggling. He is seeing the needs in the community around him and responding according to the ability that God has given him. He is declaring that, so long as he is he is doing what he has been called to do, he does not need to fear beyond that.
And I think that the church needs to learn from that. Yes, there will always be things going on in the wider world that disturb us. Your country may be in the midst of a trade war. Somebody always seems to be threatening to turn your country into the 51st state. The church may be feeling irrelevant and threatened. And of course these things are significant and they are having terrible effects on people’s lives.
Focussing on What We have to Do
But while all this is going on around us, we have a way to stop it all from overwhelming us. We just have to focus on what we need to do today and tomorrow and the next day. We can focus on the tasks that Jesus has put before us.
And central to that task is doing what we can to care for those of this world who are marginalized and victimized. It includes giving food to the hungry and clothing to those who need it. It means offering a word of hope and healing to those who find no peace in such a world. We, like Jesus, will find our way through hours of threat and danger by focussing on what we need to do today and tomorrow and the next day.
Herod is Not the Threat
Jesus is also saying something else in his response to the Pharisees. Once he declares that he intends to focus on what God has given him to do today and tomorrow and the next day, he goes on to say this. “I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.”
What is he saying here? He is declaring that he knows that Herod is actually not a true threat to him. This is not because Herod Antipas is not powerful, he is. This is not because Herod is not a narcissistic, transactional and completely self-interested ruler who is quite capable of killing Jesus on a whim, he is.
Jesus Knows Who Holds His Fate
Herod is a danger to him and perhaps the whole world, but Jesus knows that Herod can ultimately do nothing to him. Why? Because Jesus knows that his fate is not in the hands of Herod, it is in the hands of God. And God has decreed that no prophet needs to fear being killed outside of Jerusalem. And Herod’s territory of Galilee is a long way from Jerusalem.
So, what is Jesus saying? He’s saying that Herod can’t kill him because he’s got to go be killed somewhere else. I’m not scared of you because that guy down there is going to kill me. It is an odd sort of comeback when you think about it. But it is one that I think can help us to deal with our threats.
Our Threats
It is true that there are all kinds of things that seem to threaten us and our continued existence. That actually seems more true today than it has been in a while, and it is true for the church and for us as individual believers.
But what this example of Jesus teaches us is that, when we have a firm sense of our destiny and when we know that that destiny is in the hands of God, we actually don’t need to fear the Herods of this world. The disruptions in the economy or political systems may come and go and we will deal with them of course, but knowing that our destiny is secure and all that we are required to do is remain faithful, gives us a very different perspective on those ups and downs of life.
There are threats and dangers out there; warnings you hear may be true. But Jesus has shown us what to do. Let us remember always what Jesus has called us to do today, tomorrow and the next day and that includes continuing to do the work that we do offering food to those who are hungry and clothing to those families who struggle in these times. And let us never forget who controls the destiny of our personal lives and our church.
Don’t let them scare you.
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An Opportune Time
Hespeler, March 9, 2025 © Scott McAndless – First Sunday in Lent
Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16, Romans 10:8b-13, Luke 4:1-13
The story of the temptations of Christ is told in three of our gospels. But only one of the stories, the one we read this morning, ends with a curious note. The Gospel of Luke sums up the tale of the temptations by saying, “When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.”
And I don’t know about you, but every time I read that ending, it has always made me ask one question: when? When is the devil going to return with more temptation? What is the more opportune moment that he is waiting for? The Gospel itself doesn’t seem to answer that question.
After the Devil Departs
It is true that, once the Devil departs from Jesus in the wilderness, he doesn’t appear again in this gospel, at least not in the same form. Satan does appear in the twenty-second chapter, when he is said to enter into Judas, prompting him to betray Jesus (v. 3). But that is not really the same kind of visionary tempting presence, is it?
So, we are left waiting. The tempter is apparently out there, waiting for his moment, but we, the readers, are not told when that might be. This is, I suspect, quite intentional. I believe that the gospel writer is giving a subtle nod to his readers. He is warning us that the opportune time may arrive at any moment. He is telling us to be prepared.
But the evil of this world does have a limited playbook. By telling us the things that Jesus was tempted with in the wilderness, he is also suggesting to us that we will be tempted along the same lines.
Wilderness Temptations
But when? Well, I am pretty sure that the author of this Gospel was probably thinking of the temptations that the church was facing as he was writing this. But that is not the only time to consider. I am sorry to tell you this my friends, but I believe that we are living in one of the opportune times that that gospel writer is referring to.
The temptations that are described in this passage are wilderness temptations. They are temptations that you face when you are not in charge, when you are cut off from the mainstream of society and you are struggling because of it. That’s always what the wilderness represents.
But the Christian Church in the Western world has not spent much time in the wilderness over the past approximately 1700 years. Christianity has been in the mainstream of society; it has largely set the agenda and enjoyed a most-favoured religion status.
Compared to that long history, however, the church is now facing much more of a wilderness time, isn’t it? And in such times, we are facing wilderness temptations.
Feeling Famished
For example, the first temptation that Jesus faces is very relatable today. It came, we are told, because Jesus “was famished.” I think that the church is feeling kind of famished these days. Resources feel scarce. Our churches struggle, for example, to pay bills and balance budgets. And what is the temptation when you feel as if everything is scarce?
“The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to ‘become a loaf of bread.’” The temptation is to focus all of your energy – all of your being – on getting the basic staple food that people need to stay alive. The temptation is to focus only on survival.
Focussing on Survival
Of course, we see this tendency in many churches these days as they cut everything external – all of the mission and the outreach and charitable support – to focus only on maintaining the internal systems.
That is perhaps an understandable temptation, but we need to listen to the response of Jesus. “Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.”’”
Mere survival, mere taking care of the basic staples of staying alive is never enough for the church. When all we have left as a church is working to keep ourselves alive, we are already dead for all intents and purposes. But giving our energy only to survival is something that we keep falling into.
The Temptation of Power
The second temptation of Christ is also one that is striking many churches in this wilderness time. “Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.’”
Now, I realize that that particular temptation might not seem to be hitting the Presbyterian Church in Canada right now, and it isn’t really. But there are churches that are grappling with it. They have been throwing in their lot with various movements in an effort to gain political power and influence.
Some churches, for example, have been seeking power by tying themselves to extreme political movements. There are nationalist, racist and other similar movements that are eager to use the church to promote their goals. They are eager to partner up with churches as a way to give their message legitimacy.
There are many perks to those Christians who go along with this. In the United States, for example, Christian nationalists have just recently been put into the Vice Presidency, cabinet and special advisory positions. They have a lot of power and I have no doubt that they will use it to promote their understanding of what might make a Christian society.
Comes at a Price
But, as the devil makes clear, in the wilderness such power comes at a price. “If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” The price comes with bowing down to worship someone other than God, which, of course, Jesus rejects immediately. I’ll leave it to you to decide who those Christian nationalists who have attained such power might have to worship to keep it.
But it is not just a question of who they must pay homage to. There is also the matter of them going along with the very things that Jesus preached against by blaming the poor for their poverty and giving blessing to the rich. It is about them rejecting the outsider, the immigrant and the refugee that Jesus taught us to love. You have to ask what you can accomplish for the cause of Christ when you must give up the very essence of the gospel to get your power!
As Jesus said elsewhere, “For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mark 8:36)
Third Temptation
So, you see that the first two temptations are very much ones that are hitting the church at this opportune time. But what about the third one? Here the devil tempts Jesus to throw himself down from the highest point of the temple – essentially attempting suicide.
At the same time, the devil promises him, correctly I assume, that God “will command his angels concerning you, to protect you… On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” So, what does this third temptation have to do with what we are facing in our wilderness times.
Jesus’ answer to the devil, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test,” is initially confusing. After all, Jesus was constantly berating the disciples for having little faith – for not trusting in God to save them when they were in a storm or worried about God not giving them food or clothing. He constantly taught them to step out in faith and expect God to meet their needs.
So how is that different from what the devil is proposing? Well, one key difference is that the devil is telling Jesus to make a spectacle out of trusting in God. The temple in Jerusalem was the most public site in all of Judea, constantly bustling with thousands of people. So what the devil proposes would have made a very public splash (no pun intended).
Making it About Us
But even more than that, it was a demonstration that would have been all about Jesus himself. If God were to save Jesus while he was attempting this kind of terrible suicide, God, whose grace knows no bounds, might do that, but it would only be in order to save him. There would be no greater purpose – no spreading of the good news, no feeding of the hungry or clothing of the naked.
And I think that that temptation to make it all about ourselves is definitely one that we are dealing with in these wilderness days. When we are feeling as if our church, our denomination, our congregation or traditional ways of doing things are at risk, we are tempted to spend whatever faith or energy or commitment we have on making sure that those things survive.
Jesus’ Commitment
Remember that Jesus’ commitment in this world is to the spread and the establishment of the kingdom of God, not the survival of your denomination. Remember that Jesus wants people to hear and experience the power of the good news in their lives, but he cares much less about whether people hear about how Presbyterian polity works. He is committed to the church of Jesus Christ, but that is not the same thing as being committed to your congregation.
Now, if your congregation and polity and denomination are actively participating in making the kingdom of God real in people’s lives, Jesus will be only too happy to bless them. But too often, I suspect, we get that turned around. We demand that Jesus save our churches so that, if we have a little bit of money and energy left over, we may consider doing something for the sake of the kingdom.
We make it all about ourselves and what we think we need. If there is one lesson we need to take away from the wilderness story today, I think it is this.
Buildings
How often have I heard stories about churches holding onto their buildings – their beautiful buildings that they love – and pouring everything into them, while any sense of mission and ministry or even of purpose (apart from maintaining a building) falls away?
A building is a tool. It can be beautiful. It can be something that enables outreach and ministry. But it can also be something that constrains or limits our ministry. Maintaining a building has never been the purpose or goal of the church. But often we test the Lord our God by demanding that God save our building, making it all about ourselves and what we think we need.
Things We Value More
And, of course, it is not just buildings. We make it all about ourselves when we are unwilling to let go of our pride – when we are unwilling to rejoice in what God might be doing in another church. We also test God when we value things like our independence, our name, our time of worship and being open each Sunday morning so much that we allow those things to become a stumbling block that prevent us from working with other congregations.
That could become a major problem as far as I can see because, in these wilderness times, Jesus is calling us to work in closer partnership with one another. The more we make it all about ourselves and saving what is important and precious to us, the harder it will be for others to work alongside us.
It is an Opportune Time
Don’t you find these gospel stories amazing? This one is not just a story about something that happened once at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The final word about the devil waiting for an opportune time is a warning to all of us that the opportune time is nearer than we think.
But if we are in an opportune time, do not fear. You can resist the temptation to prioritize survival above all else, to seek power at all costs and to make it all about ourselves. Jesus has shown us how. We resist, like he did by harnessing the Scriptures, by remembering what our true meaning and purpose are and by remaining faithful in an opportune time.
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Removing the Veil
Hespeler, March 2, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Transfiguration Sunday
Exodus 34:29-35, Psalm 99, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, Luke 9:28-36, Luke 9:37-43a
The rumour in the camp was that underneath the veil, the face of Moses was shining so brightly that no one could stand the sight of it. That’s what they said, but of course, none of them had ever actually seen it because of the veil.
He would disappear for hours at a time in a tent – in a place that was called the holy of holies. And people said that he met with God and received messages from God there.
What was it like? They knew that Moses wasn’t hearing some voice booming from heaven because surely that was something that they would have heard outside of the tent. Some people argued that perhaps the voice of God came to him more like a whisper – a disembodied voice emanating from the empty space just above the Ark of the Covenant. Others liked to imagine that God materialized bodily right in the tent as a heavenly being in the form of a man or perhaps as a spiritual being made of little more than wind.
They Hadn’t a Clue
They imagined all kinds of things because they really hadn’t a clue what went on in there. They just imagined these wild scenarios, terrifying themselves in the process. All that they knew for sure was that he did encounter God in there and that God gave him messages for all the people.
They probably would have been surprised and maybe disappointed to find out what actually went on in that tent.
Moses didn’t hear voices, not really. He spent his time in deep meditation, emptying his mind of all extraneous thought and then reflecting upon his experience and the law that had been passed down among the people of Israel to discern what God might have to say about any particular circumstance.
And yes, he did believe that the answers that came to him were answers given by God. But that belief was often mixed with doubt and always mixed with an understanding that any answers he came to were partial and incomplete. He struggled over every answer as someone who was called to lead God’s people.
The Veil Effect
But the people saw none of that struggle because of the veil. Yes, they said it was to cover up the scary aftereffects of him being in the presence of God. But they never got to peek under it. If his face was actually shining or if it was just showing lingering uncertainty or doubt, they didn’t know because all they saw was the veil.
It made everything that Moses said when he wore it absolute truth, the unquestioned word of God. It removed all shades of grey and reduced it all to black and white. But sometimes, I think, Moses must have wished for someone to understand that, under the veil he was just a man and maybe struggled with many of the things that they did.
I find that image of Moses wearing that veil and speaking for God through it to be extremely important. It is fascinating because the wearing of the veil indicates the presence of something that no one can see because of it: the shining of Moses’ face – the lingering aftereffects of being in the presence of God. Ironically, they only know that it is there because they can’t see it.
The Role of Clergy
I think that this brief passage is key to understanding the role that priests and clergy have played in society down through the ages and right up to today. Clergy are these people who have been seen as having a unique relationship with God. They go into their study or vestry or prayer closet and God speaks to them in ways that are not accessible to other people.
In ancient times it was not uncommon for clergy to then literally put a mask or veil over their face and become the literal voice of the god to the people. We have become a little bit more sophisticated than that, of course. But we still have this tendency to defer to our clergy when we see them wearing certain collars or vestments or speaking from special places. It marks them as speaking for God.
My Conflicted Feelings
I have always felt a little bit conflicted about all such thinking. Let me say this. As a member of the clergy and as someone called to preach in the church of Jesus Christ, I do believe that God uses me to speak the word of God. I know that I have written sermons and said things that, unquestionably as far as I am concerned, come from God and are things that God wants said here and now.
And, no, that is not because I have heard God speaking to me as a voice booming from heaven, nor even some still small voice whispering to me from an invisible point above the communion table.
I have found that message through years of studying the Bible and reading many scholars. I have particularly found that message by reflecting on contemporary events and struggling with the question of how they might relate to scriptures written in a very different time and place. On top of that, I also take the time to meditate and reflect on all of that to allow space for the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts.
My Doubts and Questions
And when I do all of that, I have often been amazed to discover a message that I am quite convinced is from God. But, at the same time, I would never say that I don’t have any doubts about that.
I would also never suggest that I have received a complete and final oracle from God – it is more of a particular word for a particular moment. But it certainly is exhilarating to receive and to be able to pass on such a message.
But then what do I do? I come into the church and pass on that message. And, though I do not wear a literal mask or veil, I do feel like there is a kind of a metaphorical veil when I do so. All of the doubt and the ambiguity and the incompleteness of the message is covered up. All of the shades of grey that were there in the study somehow get filtered down to black and white.
That’s why I think I can understand what Moses went through when he put on the veil. I think, to a certain extent every priest and member of the clergy can understand. And maybe, to a certain extent, that veil is necessary. Maybe there are times when we need to have the message presented in black and white, but I still wish that we could find ways to give people more glimpses beneath that veil.
The Role of Clergy
I think that this passage is inviting us to probe a little deeper into the role of clergy in our churches at a time when it seems to be in flux. For many decades now, the life and work specifically of our Presbyterian Churches has been dominated by the clergy.
Most of us grew up in a time when it was normal for every congregation to be led by one minister, at least in urban settings. In rural settings, two or sometimes three-point charges were also quite common. But the assumption was that there would almost always be that clergy in that leadership position.
When a minister moved on or retired, the expectation was that they would be replaced in fairly short order. The interim period was a scary time; congregations did their best to move through it as quickly as possible. The church could then breathe a sigh of relief when a new minister was called and get back to “normal.”
Not Working That Way
I don’t know if you have noticed this, but things don’t quite work like that in many of our churches these days. Many of the other Presbyterian churches around us these days don’t have full-time clergy. Many of them can’t afford them or struggle to find them if they can.
As a result, the clergy that we do have are being stretched thinner and asked to do more to keep our churches going. This is something that has been contributing to clergy burnout and people leaving the profession, something that has been happening across the religious spectrum in recent years.
Now, I do believe that there is a vital role for the clergy in our churches. I do believe that the depth of study and experience we bring to the church is essential. I expect clergy to continue to contribute in that way for a long time to come. But I also think that we are going to see a shift in the role of the clergy in coming years.
In particular, I see us shifting from being a denomination that is clergy led and supported by the laity to one that is led by the laity who are supported by the clergy. That is a subtle shift, but its an important one. And one of the key parts of that is a changing attitude towards those jobs that have been traditionally reserved only for the clergy.
Traditionally, in our denomination, the things that only clergy could do were preaching, leading the sacraments of baptism and communion, and moderating sessions. But that is changing, and I believe the change will accelerate in years to come.
Lay Leadership
For some time now, we have come to realize the wisdom and blessing that comes from the preaching of the laity. We have learned that lay preachers are not lesser preachers, nor greater preachers, but they are different preachers and they bring their own perspective which is valuable and enlightening.
More recently, the church has opened up ways for the laity to step up and offer leadership in the sacraments. And again, that’s not because they do it better nor is it that they are second best. They bring their own unique approach and wisdom to the task and that is also a gift to the church.
That is why, when the session considered the possibility of designating one of our elders as a sacramental elder, I supported the motion. I think having Steve as such an elder is an incredible asset that we now have.
We can ask him now to preside at the communion table or at the baptismal font when it is needed. We can even designate him to go to other congregations and lead in the sacraments when they may have a hard time finding someone to do so.
Important Development
I welcome this development. Some might say that it takes away from the uniqueness and the mystique of the role of the clergy. Some even think that it will make the clergy irrelevant. But I don’t see it that way. I see it as welcoming us all to peek beyond the veil. It is an invitation to see that whoever is preaching or whoever is leading in the sacraments, they are human.
They don’t really have all the final answers. They don’t have an absolute truth that they can present in black and white. And they are not manipulating some sort of magical power. But they do have what we all have, the ability to encounter God in our own way and on our own terms and to share that experience with others in powerful ways.
I respect the traditional role of the clergy and also the traditional ways in which their special role has been marked. We don’t use veils or masks, but we have found other ways to mark them as speakers of the truth.
But truth, as important as it is, is seldom black and white. Finding truth is a struggle and a quest. It involves frequent doubts and questions and uncertainties. But it is the most important struggle that we can ever have. And it is something that I invite us all to engage in, beneath the veil.
Disrupting Operations Governing Egypt
Hespeler, February 23, 2025 © Scott McAndless – Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
Genesis 45:3-15, Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40, 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50, Luke 6:27-38
The sons of Jacob had been hearing disturbing things about the country to the south (and west) of them for some time. It seemed that Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had essentially handed over the control of his entire nation to some unelected immigrant who he called Zaphnath-Paaneah. (Genesis 41:45)
I realize that that name is a bit of a mouthful. That is why people mostly referred to this man as the First Buddy. When they wanted to mock the Pharaoh for giving up most of his power, they called him President Zaph.
Having obtained enormous power, President Zaph immediately set about using it in unprecedented ways. He created a new department to achieve his goal of Disrupting Operations Governing Egypt (or D.O.G.E. as he liked to call it). And he sent out his DOGE goons to seize control of all of the granaries in the country.
The Seven-Year Plan
He spent the next seven years plundering the best food produced in the Nile Valley, the breadbasket of the ancient world, from the farmers and workers of Egypt. All of the food he took and stored up in the granaries that were under his exclusive control.
When people complained and asked who he was to do such things, Zaph explained that he was doing it all for their own good. He understood that what he was doing might cause the people of Egypt enormous harm, but that was a price that he was willing to pay.
The Collapse
And then, after seven years of Zaph sucking up everything from the people and imposing complete control, it was like everything finally collapsed. The entire economy had been despoiled of all of its resources and many sectors just began to shut down. This led to a recession that caused widespread shortages.
This was the crisis that President Zaph was ready to exploit. He opened up his granaries and storehouses to offer food to the Egyptians and even to people who were starving everywhere. And, since he had established complete control of supply, he was able to charge whatever he wanted for the food.
Opposition?
Did anyone complain? Did anyone point out that the food that he was now selling to the people of Egypt at a premium had actually been seized from them over the previous seven years? Did anyone add that it had been taken with the promise that it was being done for their own good and that it would be available for them when bad times came?
Well, there were no reports of anyone raising any of those issues. Was that really because everyone was happy with the situation? Maybe, but the sons of Jacob suspected that it was more like no one was brave enough to object, or maybe even that anyone who did dare to step forward had been eliminated as a lesson to the rest.
The View from Up North
The people of Egypt, and indeed of the whole world including the sons of Jacob up north in Canaan were reeling. The change and chaos brought by Zaph’s actions had thrown everyone off balance. People were walking around shell-shocked and hadn’t a clue what to do.
Many assumed that Zaph was just plain evil. Perhaps they would have had some sympathy for him if they had known some of the struggles he had faced in his life.
He had always had a hard time fitting in. He was different – probably on the autism spectrum or neuro-divergent in some other way. His birth family had also treated him horribly, inflicting horrible emotional trauma on him.
So maybe there was more to the story of Zaph and what had made him the man that he was. Whatever the whole story was, though, the devastating effects of everything that he was doing were plain for anyone to see.
Practical Effects
The Egyptian people lost everything – not only their life savings, but also their livestock, their ancestral farms and ultimately their own freedom as they literally sold themselves into slavery.
And there was President Zaph sitting upon an ever-increasing mountain of wealth. He said that he was holding it on behalf of the Pharaoh and all people of Egypt, of course. But he was the one who had exclusive control of it. And when it comes to wealth, practical control always trumps theoretical ownership.
The Crisis in Canaan
The crisis in Egypt quickly became a recession. The Pharaoh responded by raising tariffs on surrounding nations which meant that the economic pain quickly spread beyond the borders. Up north in Canaan, the brothers were suffering. They needed to replenish their stores and they had heard that the only place where there was any surplus was in the granaries that were under control of Zaph.
And so, they pulled together an enormous amount of money and headed down south to deal with the man himself.
The Brothers in Egypt
It was a horrible experience. First of all, he treated them like criminals, interrogating them endlessly, probing into every detail of their lives and family. Then, just for his own amusement, he just threw them in jail for three days. Finally he let them buy some supplies and return home, but actually kept one of them as a hostage that he said he’d only release to them when they brought back to him their youngest brother, Benjamin, their father’s favourite.
They were terrified by this man, but what choice did they have? They played his game. And then when they returned with Benjamin, Zaph went on to frame him for theft, threatening to take him and make a slave of him.
The brothers were beside themselves. This man was clearly a monster! But now he was not only robbing from the Egyptians and using the stolen goods to play with them. He was about to destroy the life of their baby brother for no reason! And this was not just about Benjamin, if they didn’t bring Ben home, the loss would probably kill their father too.
That was when Judah stepped forward and fell to the ground before the evil oligarch. “Take me, take me instead, O President Zaph. You can ruin my life if you wish, but please, if you have an ounce of humanity in you, let the kid go.”
Surprise Reaction
That was when Zaphnath-Paaneah suddenly ordered all of his Egyptian attendants to leave. This included his Canaanite interpreter who had enabled the entire conversation up until this point. The brothers looked at each other uneasily. For all they knew this madman had just gotten rid of the witnesses and he was about to have them all killed, and their bodies thrown in the Nile! They were going to be annihilated!
But, no sooner had everyone left than a strange look came over Zaph’s face. Then, as the brothers look at each other in utter confusion, the most bizarre thing that had happened yet in this entire story took place. Zaph began to weep uncontrollably.
It was a real ugly cry. The tears flowed down his face like a waterfall. He kept trying to speak but he was sobbing so hard that they couldn’t make anything out even though he amazingly seemed to be trying to speak their own Canaanite dialect.
True Identity of President Zaph
This went on for several very embarrassing minutes until Zaph finally caught his breath. When they finally caught what he had been trying to say, they completely understood why it had taken them so long. It was literally unbelievable.
“Judah, it’s me. It’s Joseph. Remember, the brother that it was your brilliant idea to sell into slavery for 20 pieces of silver? Is… is my father really still alive?”
That was about all he managed to get out before he turned and hugged his brother Benjamin like a man who had never before been hugged in his entire life.
That was when the fear of the brothers turned into utter panic.
Skipping the Troubling Parts
We have a certain tendency in the church to skip over some of the really troubling parts of the story and rush to the happy ending. I think that might be one reason why people sometimes think that the Bible is irrelevant to modern life. We give people this impression that it only says that all is well and that God is obviously in control and making everything well. Meanwhile, people are living in a world where things go very wrong all the time.
Well, the story of Joseph is a story that is very much set in the real world. To just reduce it to a happy ending (which our reading selection from the Lectionary would have us do) is to totally miss all of that. For one thing, we skip over the terrible trauma that Joseph goes through. It starts with him being rejected, beaten and sold into slavery by his own family and gets worse from there.
Egypt’s Trauma
But more interesting to me today is how we skip over the trauma that was inflicted on Egypt and the world because of the trauma that Joseph had suffered. The story I just told you about what I call the disruption of Egypt is absolutely there in the Book of Genesis and it is the story of people who had their whole world systematically dismantled.
The Story in Genesis
Of course, the story in Genesis is told from the point of view of Joseph who seems to be confident that he is doing the right thing for the people of Egypt.
But let me tell you something. Anyone looking from the outside on the actions of the man given the name Zaphnath-Paaneah by the Pharaoh would have seen it much like I have described. He disrupted every system and norm of the Egyptian state leaving fear, destruction and chaos in his wake. And everyone was terrified at where all of this might lead – even Canaanites looking on from the North.
Does any of that sound familiar? Does any of it sound relevant to the kinds of things we see going on in our world today? I’m afraid it does. And I talk to many people who are reeling these days as so many of our assumptions about how the world is supposed to work are thrown into chaos.
Well, I wanted to tell you this story to let you know that, if you are feeling like that, you are not alone. The people of Egypt experienced it in biblical times and so did their appalled neighbours to the north.
So, the Bible understands what you may be feeling. But I suspect you may be looking for more than just understanding today. The big question for today is what do we do when the world falls apart like that. The big question is where do we find hope.
Seeing Their Enemy Anew
Joseph stared at his brothers; his brothers stared at him. It was a remarkable moment. The sons of Jacob had spent the last nine years seeing this man in front of them only as President Zaph – their enemy who had been put on earth merely to torment them.
And now, they were being forced in a moment to see him a completely different light. They were forced to see how they were connected to him. Indeed, they were all part of the same dysfunctional family and had even played their own part in making him the flawed person that he was.
I wish I could tell you that that recognition of their connection suddenly made everything alright. The damage that Zaph had done still remained. The Egyptians were still destitute and enslaved. The whole world was in an economic mess that was causing untold misery. There are no easy fixes once the oligarchs take over and plunder everything of value.
More Connected than We Think
But perhaps if this story can teach us anything, it is that we are more connected than we usually realize. The objects of our hatred and scorn – the ones who seem to be ruining our lives are our own family.
That means, for one thing, that we have a voice. We can speak up against the systems at work that are robbing people of their autonomy and freedom. It also means that we can have compassion for those who are plundering the world – to understand that they are only trying to fill an aching void within them that can never be filled by all the wealth in the world (as some of our wealthiest billionaires are definitely demonstrating to us these days).
Compassion doesn’t mean we don’t oppose them, of course, but it does recognize that healing can only come when we find the common humanity of all.
Joseph wept inconsolably on the neck of his little brother Benjamin who reached up and placed his hand on Joseph’s head.
“You are my brother and I love you,” he said. “You’ve made a terrible mess, but I love you.”