The Eagle Has Landed

The Eagle Has Landed

 

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Saved from Egypt 

 

26:1 "When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess and you possess it and settle in it,

 

26:2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.

 

26:3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.'

 

26:4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God,

 

26:5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: 'A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.

 

26:6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us,

 

26:7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.

 

26:8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;

 

26:9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

 

26:10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.' You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God.

 

26:11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

 

A land flowing with milk and honey. Sure sounds inviting, doesn’t it? Many years ago, a friend and I went to Phoenix, Arizona, rented an apartment, got jobs, and “explored the country,” as they say. I had never been to Arizona, and with its daily sunshine (it rained ONCE during the months we lived there), almost non-existent humidity, and beautiful, desert landscapes, it first appeared as a paradise to this Western Pennsylvania “oil boy.” And don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoyed my time in Arizona, especially some of the female company I found there, but after the initial “luster” wore off, there were a few realities with which to deal. First of all, my early morning trek to my job on Indian School Road from our place in Scottsdale was a chilly one. It would often be in the high 40s at 6:30AM (I had to be at work by 7:00AM), so I would wear my leather-sleeved varsity coat, and with almost zero humidity, it felt FREEZING in the shadows. By the time I came home in the afternoon, it might be 105 degrees, so I would carry my varsity coat on a stick in front of me, so no part of it would touch my body. I went golfing one weekend with a friend, and on one hole, my ball sliced over a fence into the desert at the highly-irrigated course’s fringe. From the green fairway I could see my ball on the other side of the fence, but right next to it was a medium-sized Diamondback Rattle Snake. Needless to say, I took a Mulligan. One day, I noticed the exterminator spraying around the eaves of our one-story apartment building, and I asked him what he was spraying for. He said, “Here, come with me.” He took me to the still under construction apartment down the alley behind our place, and pointed up under the eaves there. “We haven’t started treating this place yet, since they are still building it, but do you see those guys?” “Those guys” were a bunch of Black Widow spiders! This land of “Milk and Honey” had some surprises. Another thing…we had arrived in Scottsdale during the Summer, and found great quarters in a fairly new apartment complex that had been built for the “snowbirds,” the folk who moved into the Arizona climate from the North, during the Winter months. Landlords were happy to rent these places to any decent human during the Summer and Fall months, but come the first of December, our rent would have gone up TEN fold! It didn’t matter, though, as all of the “snowbird” apartments were already spoken for. SO, our “milk and honey” land would force us home to Western PA, just after Thanksgiving. 

 

Israel and their promised land had similar “hidden” issues, though more of theirs were about the responsibilities that come from occupying a new land. While it might have been “flowing with milk and honey,” it would also mean a lot of work to keep it protected, productive, and to develop a lifestyle and ethic that would be honoring to the “landlord”—God. Furthermore, the Hebrew code of hospitality would require the residents of Israel to welcome “strangers and sojourners” (immigrants and drifters) into their land, care for them, and even treat them with all of the rights of citizenship. (Knowing what modern Israel has been doing with Palestinians and other residents of the West Bank, one must wonder what in the world happened to this code? I realize that this latest war was triggered by an attack from Hamas, but honestly, one must wonder if the REAL cause of the hostility was the marginalizing, and “land-grabbing” Israel has been foisting upon the West Bank residents. Having visited with some of these people while on an educational trip to the Holyland a few years back, I can certainly see why they do not feel “welcomed” by the state of Israel.) 

 

This week’s news included a story about an unmanned, robotic spacecraft that managed to soft-land on the Moon, after which it sent back some impressive photographs of its surroundings. The Moon is littered with similar spacecraft that did not finding landing such a soft proposition, so this “Blue Ghost,” as it’s called, made news. The story reminded me, an incurable “space geek,” of humanity’s first successful manned lunar landing by Apollo 11 in the Summer of 1969. Neil Armstrong’s historic report that “the Eagle has landed” kind of became a catch phrase for almost any successful arrival for travelers the world over. I’m sure Israel had some version of this pronouncement when they finally set foot in the promised land. While their world might have been flowing with milk and honey, these things were not on tap! It would take a lot of husbandry and work to tame even this world, AND, as I mentioned earlier, a strong allegiance with their heavenly landlord. When they skipped or scrimped on either of these responsibilities, things didn’t go well for them. 

 

So it was the with beautiful, yet hostile land Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin found at the Sea of Tranquility. Aldrin dubbed it “magnificent desolation,” so it was. These first lunar astronauts—and the 10 who would follow them on subsequent missions—had to bring along their own “friendly” environment and amazingly technical space suits in which to explore the unfriendly terrain. They “invented” a unique way of “bunny-hopping” as the best way to navigate in bulky space suits in the one-sixth gravity of the Moon, and while there was some levity around the many times those 12 men lost their balance and fell onto the lunar surface, any of those spills could have been tragic, had they cut open their suits on a sharp rock, of which there were many. There were a few other surprises that even “Houston” didn’t know about, too. First of all, the fact that there is no air, water, or wind on the Moon meant that the soil and the rocks suffered from no “smoothing” by erosion. The lunar “dust” was made up of tiny, very sharp particles that made it stick together almost like it WAS laden with honey, AND it stuck to everything it touched, such as the fabric of the space suits. This fact is why the suits got so very DIRTY, and stayed that way, and why so much of it got into the two spacecraft. It’s also why the whacky “deniers” questioned the veracity of the moon landing, as they argued that the “real” Moon had no water, and they believed the presence of moisture to be the only explanation for the “tackiness” of the lunar soil. Also, the astronauts were surprised and a bit “concerned” that, when they finished their Moon walk, repressurized the Lunar Module, and took off their space suits, they found the plentiful lunar soil had a quite pungent odor similar to gunpowder. (No one had ever smelled the Moon before.) This stuff fascinates me! The Eagle’s landing on what was certainly the “promised land” for NASA and President Kennedy’s goal turned out to be a place of “magnificent desolation,” indeed, much like what Israel found when THEY landed in their promised land.

 

So, where are we going with this sermon? Well, LENT is a time to resurvey the “promised land” and to square up with the landlord! We all want the experience the “milk and honey” aspect of such a place, but are we willing to take on the responsibilities of land stewardship, hospitality to the “sojourners” we may encounter, and are we prepared for the occasional “beastly” challenge that may come along even in a blessed land? Preparation is a key word for the Lenten season. Our United Methodist liturgy uses the phrase, “Invitation to the Lenten Discipline,” and this invitation uses words such as “devotion,” “spiritual preparation,” “reconciled by penitence and forgiveness,” “restored,” “renew our faith,” “examination,” and even “self-denial” in its challenge to us as to how we “prepare.” It is SO important to understand—even as this particular liturgy does—that “self-denial” is not about giving up something stupid like PIZZA for Lent, but is instead challenging us to put our own needs and concerns on the “back burner” while becoming more attentive to the needs of others around us, and most especially the wider needs of the faith community. Some fast during Lent, which is a serious spiritual discipline, but the role of fasting has more to do with this self-denial aspect than it does with “bribing God to act,” as some try to use fasting to do. Yes, Mahatma Ghandi went on a hunger strike to get his people to not use violence against the British authorities, but Lenten fasting is NOT the same thing as a politically motivated hunger strike. Again, Lent is again a time to take stock, reassess the current reality of our spiritual life, and recommit ourselves to serving God and others. Confession and repentance is certainly part of that, but they are just the “opener,” not the end result of our Lenten disciplines. 

 

Had the Eagle just landed on the Moon, and never got off of it, we would not be celebrating the historic accomplishments of Apollo 11 and her crew. I sometimes think this is what the church does—either celebrates too early or starts the hand-wringing over its difficulties LONG before the mission is over. Like Apollo 11’s Lunar Module, the church needs to GET UP and relaunch itself for its mission to go forward, let alone ever be completed. Had the Eagle only landed and never blasted back off the Moon, we would be holding an annual memorial service, remembering the lives of the two expired astronauts. Frankly, we have WAY too many churches that are just holding memorial services for their dying church, rather than looking for innovative ways to “relaunch” it into the mission. Lent IS a time for such relaunching, AND it is a time to innovate. If there ever was a time when the Christian church needed critical, creative thinkers, that time is now. And while Lent is also a time we can petition the “Landlord” for more improvements to our situation, we should take a fresh look at the “lease” (God’s Word) to see what is expected of us!

 

Friends, as this text says, we ALL want to “celebrate the bounty” of the promised land, and we should, but such “bounties” only come about because we plant and tend to the crop before the harvest can come. May we all find a renewed energy and interest in BECOMING the Beloved Community that beckons the sojourners and strangers to come! Amen!

  

The Lighthouse

 

The Lighthouse

 

Luke 9:28-36, (37-43a)

Jesus is transfigured on the mountain 

9:28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

9:29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

9:30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.

9:31 They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.

9:32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.

9:33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah," not realizing what he was saying.

9:34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.

9:35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

9:36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

9:37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.

9:38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child.

9:39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him.

9:40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."

9:41 Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."

9:42 While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

9:43a And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

Every time I read any of the scriptures about Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, I think of this gospel song that I first heard sung by the gospel quartet, The Couriers, who used to make guest appearances at our church:

The Lighthouse (by Ronnie Hinson)

 

There's a lighthouse on the hillside
That overlooks life's sea
When I'm tossed, it sends out a light
That I might see
And the light that shines in darkness now
Will safely lead us o'er
If it wasn't for the lighthouse
My ship would be no more

 

It seems that every one about us says,
Tear that old lighthouse down
The big ships just don't pass this way anymore
So there's no use in standin' round.
Then my mind goes back to that one dark, stormy night
When just in time I saw the light
Yes, it was the light from that old lighthouse
That stands up there on the hill

 

And I thank God for the lighthouse
I owe my life to Him
Jesus is the lighthouse
And from the rocks of sin
He has shown a light around me
That I might clearly see
If it wasn't for the lighthouse
Tell me where would this ship be

 

Dara has always enjoyed lighthouses. In our parsonage in Coraopolis, which was basically a mansion on “mansion row” on State Avenue, there was a room on the first floor that was decorated in a “ship” motif, and we decided to keep that décor and used it to display our growing lighthouse collection. Most of the little lighthouse statues we had were of ones we had actually visited in our travels. In October of 2020, during COVID, when travel was rather limited, I arranged for us to spend a week in the lighthouse keeper’s house at the Cove Point Lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay. Cove Point is still a working lighthouse, but is now automated, so the local historical society has renovated the keeper’s house and rents it out. It’s on a private, gated jetty on the bay, so it was a perfect, secluded place to spend a COVID vacation! Lighthouses have long been a symbol of the guiding light of the Son of God, as Hinson’s gospel song attests. There is something romantic and even spiritual about the lighthouse, sending out its beams of light to guide ships, give them their bearings, and keep them from running aground, isn’t there? On our first cruise out of the Port of Baltimore a couple of years after our Cove Point stay, we were able to locate that lighthouse from the deck of the ship as we sailed the Chesapeake toward the Atlantic Ocean. It was cool to see the beam from “our lighthouse” pulsing from the shore of that jetty!

 

We all know that Jesus proclaimed himself the light of the world, and then later “transferred” that light to us, suggesting that WE are the light of the world, as his witnesses. Truth is, we—at best—REFLECT the light of Christ to the world, but nonetheless, we have an opportunity to cast illumination on a world always teetering on darkness and ruin. In the story of the transfiguration, Jesus ACTUALLY GLOWS with the presence of the Living God, a light so bright, so powerful that it attracts not moths, but Moses and Elijah! It’s no wonder that Peter wants to turn the experience into a permanent shrine and just “stay” there. It’s where we get the term, “mountaintop experience,” isn’t it? But of course, the disciples and Jesus DID have to descend from the Mount of Transfiguration, and when they did, the spiritual darkness plaguing the world below hit them in the face, as they encountered the boy with a demon. 

 

None of us likes to come face to face with these kinds of harsh realities. Honestly, it would be nice if our most serious troubles could be neatly wrapped up in some evil spirit that could be “cast out,” affecting a complete healing or cleansing. However, real life is messier than that. Rarely are any of our troubles in manageable, neat packages, and more rarely still are they so easily “cast out.” As a pastor, I have been saddened by how many times a church member or a family has had to deal with layered challenges and complicated, interwoven troubles, be they physical, spiritual, or psychological. WAY too often in our contemporary society we see persons facing serious illness, coupled with inadequate health insurance or a dearth of available medical treatment anywhere near them. And on top of that, there are forces in our government that want to further reduce the healthcare people DO have, thinking it will “save money.” Not only has history shown that nothing could be farther from the truth, but this idea totally lacks compassion for our fellow members of the human community who find themselves in need. Maybe it’s time we think about building fewer bombers or cruise missiles, if we want to save tax dollars, rather than cut off peoples’ Medicare or Medicaid? Talk about a need for transfiguration!

 

There is something peaceful about a lighthouse, and the soft, yet essential light it casts out into the night. Lighthouses are quiet—they don’t make a sound, as they go about their business. And yet, their influence is quite profound, especially if you are a ship floundering on a stormy night near a shoal or a shore you know may be your undoing. Modern lighthouses have LED illumination or even electronic strobe lighting, but I have always enjoyed the rich history of the earlier lighting employed in these life-saving structures. Some lighthouses still use something called a Fresnel lens, which is a layered glass “globe” that results in both amplifying the brightness and narrowly focusing the light created by a bulb at its center. I think the Fresnel lens is a good symbol for the church of Jesus Christ! Are we not called to amplify and focus the life-giving light of Christ to the world, and to shine it in all directions into the darkness of the world? In the history of lighthouses, people were always improving these Fresnel lenses so they would do an even better job of “transmitting” the light of the lighthouse. We are in an era of the church when we, too, have a calling to IMPROVE the way we reflect God’s light, and yet instead, we are engaging in doctrinal “wars,” splits, and disaffiliations. Rather than build a better lens, we are breaking up the beam and scattering the light. God will judge us for this, I fear. 

 

As we ponder the miracle of the Transfiguration of Jesus, may be believe anew in the miracle of the Body of Christ. May we choose to “improve our serve” by building a better lens instead of hoarding our light under a bushel. Unlike modern lighthouses that no longer need keepers to tend them, OUR lighthouse—the church—needs us all, as well as our gathered spiritual gifts. Oh, and lighthouses do not restrict where their light shines, do they? ANY SHIP within eyeshot can see the light and be guided safely to harbor by it. ANY ship. Imagine how pointless it would be to have a lighthouse that could only be seen by certain ships. I just don’t know what some Christians are thinking, in this regard. The light is meant to guide and direct EVERY ship, and the light is not something to “possess” or “guard” like some theological doctrine. The light IS a guard, saving “ships” from crashing into the rocky shores of life. 

 

Years ago I heard an apocryphal story about a radio conversation from an American ship to Canadian authorities. It went like this:

 

Americans: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.

 

Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

 

Americans: This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

 

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln, the second largest ship in the United States' Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that YOU change your course 15 degrees north, that's one five degrees north, or countermeasures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

 

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

 

There’s a message in this parabolic story for the church. If all we’re doing is throwing our “weight”—our “biblical authority” around—we’re not at all doing the work of shining the light of Christ, abiding by its guidance, and reflecting it to other “ships” that are floundering. WAY too often, in midst of the pointless theological battles and debates swirling around the church, I can hear the steady voice of God from GOD’S anchored-on-the-rock lighthouse returning the message, “Your call.” Amen.