"MOUNTAINTOP EXPERIENCES: MOSES ON SINAI"
Midweek Lenten Worship III
March 22, 2017
Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church
Glenshaw, Pennsylvania
TEXT:
The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exodus 19:20 (ESV)
Many years ago, back when I was in elementary school, I can remember one of my teachers reading us a story about a rooster who was absolutely convinced that he chased the sun up every morning by crowing at it. Before you laugh that off and dismiss it as being totally ridiculous, try giving it a little thought. You know, it's all a matter of perspective. From the rooster's point of view he did indeed chase the sun up every morning. He crowed at the sun and the sun rose. As far as he was concerned, there could be no other explanation. And when you stop to think about it, is that rooster really any different than you or me? Don't we also see everything only from our own perspective? Most of us are too self-conscious to come right out and admit it, but the truth is that the overwhelming majority of us see ourselves as the center of the universe around which everything else revolves. And if we're going to be honest about it, we'll also have to admit that we look at the people and the things around us only in terms of how they relate to us.
Unfortunately there are a lot of people who seem to think that they are the center of their spiritual universe as well. These folks tend to pay far more attention to their own speculations about religious truth than they do to the clear teachings of God's Word, and they seem to talk a lot more about their religious feelings and experiences than they do about what God has done for them in the life and ministry of His Son Jesus Christ. I would not try to suggest for a minute that these people aren't Christians; I would, however, say that they're a little mixed up. They've gotten things backwards. By looking at the very beginning of Moses' mountaintop experience at Mount Sinai (where he received, on behalf of the children of Israel, the Ten Commandments from the Lord Himself), we might get a better understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship that always exists between the divine initiative and the human response.
Notice in the Exodus account of this historic event in the life of God's people that it is God who made the first move: "The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain." Moses wasn't on some noble spiritual journey or some pilgrimage trying to find himself. Neither was he particularly searching for God. It was God who sought out Moses and came to the people of Israel. Since they were not able to ascend to Him (not that they would have even if they could), He took it upon Himself to descend to them. What's more, He called Moses, as the representative of the people, to come to where He was. Without that call Moses would have had neither the desire nor the means to meet God and yet, because of the Lord's invitation and mercy, he saw God Face to face--and lived to tell about it. Any interaction between God and His people always starts and continues with God--it is always God who takes the first step and it is God, in fact, who keeps the interaction going.
God has descended to His people not only to give them the Law on Mount Sinai; He has also come down to them to bring them the Gospel of His redeeming love. He did this in the incarnation of His Son Jesus Christ. Here, too, God took the initiative. Man does not seek God, let alone the grace of God revealed in Christ. Even if people are troubled by their consciences when the Law convicts them, they still don't really look for forgiveness on their own. If you don't want to take my word for it, just look at Judas Iscariot as an example. Here is a man who was overcome with guilt and grief because he realized the seriousness of his sin. But he did not see in Jesus a gracious Savior but only an angry Judge. So he didn't go to Jesus to ask His forgiveness; instead he went to his co-conspirators in a desperate attempt to relieve his conscience by giving them their money back--with tragic results. The lesson to be learned in all of this is that the Law, while it can direct us to the Gospel, cannot save. It is only when God, by the power of His Holy Spirit working through the Gospel, convinces sinners that there is forgiveness in Christ that those sinners will seek it and receive it.
But the fact that God takes the initiative and carries out His good and gracious will does not mean that man is merely an idle spectator in the relationship between God and His people. The divine initiative commands a human response--and, in fact, brings about that human response. When "the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain," we are told that "Moses went up." Moses was able to answer the call of God because of the power of the Holy Spirit that accompanied the call. The same is true of us today. The Gospel of Christ, through which the Holy Spirit calls us to faith and discipleship, is its own power to bring about what God desires. It is the Holy Spirit, working through the Gospel, who, as Luther puts it, "calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith" (Small Catechism, explanation of the Third Article of the Creed). By the power of that Spirit Moses responded to the call of God by going up to Mount Sinai, and there he received the Ten Commandments for the covenant people of God. By the power of that same Spirit we are privileged to meet God and receive from Him all the blessings of salvation that our Savior has gained for us.
So God's call to sinners to repent of their sin and to turn in faith to Jesus Christ also commands a human response--and brings it about. In Word and Sacrament the call to faith in and discipleship to Jesus Christ has been extended to you and me just as surely as the call to ascend Mount Sinai was extended to Moses. And the same Spirit who called Moses and empowered him to respond to that call has called and empowered us as well. It is by the power of that Spirit that we can believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and receive in faith all of the blessings that He has won for us by His perfect life and His innocent suffering and death. It is also by the power of that Spirit that we, armed with the Gospel of Christ, can reach out to others with the Good News of forgiveness and the sure hope of everlasting life accomplished in Christ. The human response to God's divine initiative in Christ is the faith given through the Gospel and the proclamation of that Gospel, in word and action, for the salvation of sinners.
In this frightful and frightening world that we live in, we have no reason to have any fears or doubts concerning the certainty of our salvation or the reality of our relationship with God. We can be confident of these things, despite our faults and failings, because they have been established not by us, but by God Himself. This is Good News! The Spirit who has called us to faith through the Gospel, continues, through that same Gospel, to communicate to us the redeeming grace and love of God in Jesus Christ, thereby moving us to respond by believing in Him and following Him through life and death, and eventually to His glory, proclaiming His grace all the way.
Amen.
May the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, making us kings and priests before His God and Father, lead you to a life of repentance and trust. May He also be glorified in the lives of you, His people. He who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.