Rev. George Miller
Oct 11, 2026
Exodus:19:1-8
Step by step, God is showing the Israelites
the way.
Wildly impossible goal by wildly
impossible goal, God is showing them the way.
From their bondage in Egypt to their
freedom in the wilderness, from parting the Red Sea to giving them water from
the Rock, God is showing them the way.
From giving them victory against the Amalek’s
to supplying them with manna from heaven, God is showing them the way.
The heart of God is so full of Creation’s
love and parental protection, that step by step, obstacle by obstacle, wildly
improbable goal by wildly improbable goal, God is showing them the way.
And after 3 months, the way leads
to Mount Sinai. After three full moons,
the way leads the people to a place they can rest and reboot.
The people may be free, but they are tired. They may no longer fear Pharaoh’s whip but
they’re not yet sure what a life freed from slavery means.
So besides Mount Sania, God gives them
rest. God prepares them for instruction-
how to be holy as God is holy, how to fulfill
their potential in the Promised Land.
“Show me the way,
O Lord, show me the way. Show us the
way, O Lord, show us the way.”
Here is a substantial moment.
God says to the people “You’ve seen what I’ve
done for you; you know what it’s like for me to carry you upon my wings. I want nothing more than to show you the way
and to love on you.”
With no threats, no coercion, God says- “If
you simply keep my life-sustaining commandments, if you listen to my wisdom,
you will see the impossible manifest before your eyes and you will be a holy
nation of precious jewels.”
Step by step, God loves, God shows them
the way, and they get to decide if they will trust and obey or
if they will miss the mark and make unfortunate mistakes.
This is a big deal, because before this
moment, the people were shown and told over and over again that they were nothing,
they were animals, they were a threat.
God saying “My diamonds, let me show you
the way” is far different than the last 400 years of their existence.
4 moons ago the Israelites were the most
despised people on the earth.
The Pharaoh feared them, setting taskmasters over them, oppressing them with forced
construction and work in the fields.
Under this ruthless regime, the people saw
their babies ripped away, their boys tossed into the river. When Moses dared to advocate on behalf of the
people, they were made to gather their own supplies to make the bricks. If daily quotas were not met, they were
ruthlessly whipped.
This is the life they lived for 400 years;
about 16 generations. 4 centuries of a
people being treated as garbage and having every choice made for them, almost
always against their best interest.
So now, we come to this Mountain in the
desert in which the people have been freed, they’ve been fed, they’ve been
fought for, they’ve had their thirst quenched.
Now, they are given the chance to be shown
the way to freedom, shown the way to God’s glorious love, shown the way of
living holy in which all things matter and God says “You are my most precious.”
Pharoah feared them.
God
adored them.
The Taskmasters burdened them with forced
labor.
The
Lord says “Rest. Sabbath. Breathe.”
The Egyptian army chased them with war
machines.
God
calls them to Godself.
In Egypt the people had no choice.
In the God’s Kingdom,
they’re given the choice to follow the way or not.
And thankfully, beautifully, the people
say to God-
“Yes, you will be our God, we will be your
people. Show us the way and we will seek
your wisdom and keep your commandments.”
It’s a beautiful scene, reminding us of
the exquisite relational nature of our faith, how being part of God’s Kingdom
is about dialogue and choices and opportunities.
It’s a beautiful scene because it is also
a reminder- that we too can always make that choice to choose God, to keep the
covenant, to seek out heaven’s wisdom.
To know that God will always want to show
us the way, and we can always choose to say “Yes.”
Even if we get sidetracked now and
then. Even if we stray from the
path. Even if wolves distract us from
grandmother’s house.
No matter how much that happens, we always
have another chance, another day to say “Show me the way.”
This Mount Sinai moment is something we experience
throughout the ministry of Jesus.
Think of how Jesus showed us a world in
which sons who squander everything can
be welcomed back. How a lost coin will
be searched for and found no matter how much midnight oil it takes.
Remember that lost sheep from Lent and
Easter? Jesus tells us of the Shepherd who searches from valley to hilltop
until that lost sheep is found and all of heaven rejoices.
The beauty of grace. The power of forgiveness. The glory of a redo.
Today’s narrative is a reminder to us that
no matter what we have been through, no matter what obstacles we have faced,
God is there; the Lord is ready to say “Let me care for you. Let me fight for you. Let me show you the way.”
And the wisdom of God is so simple; the
covenant is so easy-
believe, don’t place your faith in the false
ways of the world, rest, honor your elders, speak truth,
respect boundaries, do right by your
neighbors, be content with what you have.
Again and again, you may be someone who
finds yourself in the wilderness. Again
and again you may find yourself facing a tough time.
Know that in the Holy Spirit there is a
place to rest. In God there is a
gracious heart.
In a life lived with Christ there can be miracles and wildly improbable goals, do-overs
and tri-overs, and chances for us to be further recreated in the image of the
Lord.
Love upon love, step upon step, in which the
Lord will always allow us another day to say- “Show me the way.” Amen and amen.
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