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It has been 45 days since the Hebrew people left bondage and Egypt. It has been 46 days since the last place and the death of the firstborn in all of Egypt and the first Passover. It’s probably only been 60 days since they met Moses and the plague of frogs when the Nile turned red. It’s been less than 45 days since they had the sea at their front and Pharaoh’s army at their back and then the waters parted, they walked on land to the other side, and Pharaoh’s army drowned.

So in slightly less than 45 days the Hebrew people had absolutely forgotten everything.

They seem to have forgotten that God had shown up and gave them what they needed and liberated them. They seem to have forgotten how awful things were in Egypt under bondage and slavery. They were in the wilderness, a space between places, they were not slaves in Egypt anymore but they were not yet to they would become. The wilderness implies wilds and dangers, possibly no path at all to follow and no clear destination in view. Where you can’t see where you’ve been and you can’t see where you’re going. They’ve never seen where they’re going. It’s hard to move forward into the change and the unknown, it’s full of uncertainty, can bring anxiety, it can be so scary.

BUZ & SHLOMO

Buz and Shlomo were at all the major events of Exodus. They’re not in the Bible. Maybe you’ve never heard of them but they were there. See, slaves are always looking down, afraid to look up and anger their masters. Buz and Shlomo got so used to walking around with their heads bowed down that they couldn’t see the miracles of God!

When the Hebrews were slaves in Egypt, God parted the Red Sea and delivered them. All the Hebrews looked up as they passed through. They saw the great walls of water to their left and right and the pillar of cloud ahead of them leading the way. They knew then that God was their deliverer. They celebrated their new freedom. Except for Buz and Shlomo. They looked down and all they saw was mud.

“What’s the big deal?” Said Buz. “We had mud in Egypt!”

“Yeah!” Said Shlomo. “At least in Egypt we could wash our feet. What good is freedom if you can’t wash your feet?”

When the Hebrews were hungry, God caused bread to rain down from heaven and he fed them. All the Hebrews looked up and saw the Manna falling and they knew that God was their provider. They gave thanks for God’s kindness. Except for Buz and Shlomo. They looked down and all they saw was bread on the ground.

“What’s the big deal?” Said Buz. “We had bread in Egypt.”

“Yeah!” Said Shlomo. “At least in Egypt we had tables to eat it on. What good is bread if you have to eat it off the ground?”

When the Hebrews were at Mt. Sinai, God gave them the Covenant and made them his people. All the Hebrews looked up and saw the fire on the mountain and the flashes of lightning as God spoke his laws. And they worshipped God for giving them the gift of his Torah. Except for Buz and Shlomo. They looked down and saw nothing. They only heard the shouting of commands.

“What’s the big deal?” Said Buz. “They shouted commands in Egypt.”

“Yeah!” Said Shlomo. “At least in Egypt, we had a bed to lie on at night. What good is following orders all day if you have to come home and lie on the ground?”

So Buz and Shlomo decided that they didn’t want to be God’s covenant people after all. And with their heads still bowed down, they started walking back to Egypt. Some say they are still in the Sinai desert today, looking down and trying to find their way back to Egypt. Others say they never made it but that their descendants are still among us, always looking down, unable to see the miracles that God is performing.

~ A retelling of a story by R. Ed Feinstein

It’s like that sometimes, sometimes we get stuck.

How many times have you walked by a mirror and been surprised by the face reflected in it back at you? Surprised by the changes, the gray hair, the new wrinkle. How long did you insist you could still do the things you did when you were 16, 40 and that is not the number of candles on your birthday cake.

How many people do you know have stayed in a situation, a job, a relationship that made them unhappy or was unsafe, yet the possibility of life without it or them seemed daunting or overwhelming.

When a dream dies or you lose someone you love or all your best laid plans, lay in rubble at a worst extreme. We might end up like Miss Havisham surrounded by the rotting and decomposing remnants of what was almost. Sometimes we just go for the motions. Assume this is as good as it is going to get or that there is nothing new under the Sun for us. No new challenges. No new learning. No new opportunities.

Our desire is to trust what has always been rather than to look up and brave the wilderness.

When Aaron gathered the people in the morning when he had told them the night before, they would see the glory of God, they had to look toward the wilderness to see God appear in a cloud. And if they had been looking back towards Egypt or they had been looking at their feet like buzz and Shlomo they would have missed everything. It kind of seems important that they turned their face toward the wilderness and saw God.

Now I don’t think God wouldn’t have given them bread and quail if they hadn’t turned towards the wilderness, but maybe they would have more quickly turned towards or focused on other explanations like this must just be where the birds settle this time of year. Or maybe it’s some staff that came from the tree that mixed with the dew that made the weird flaky bread. Maybe they would have been like Shlomo who was focused on the dirt instead of the bread.

Turning toward their wilderness was turning towards the unknown was taking a step in a direction that had no trail and trusting that God would be their guide that God knew the way and God would see them to the end. And it was going to be new and it was going to be scary and it was going to fill them with anxiety and they were going to complain some more, but God kept showing up. God kept inviting them into this new relationship. God kept providing them with everything they needed for the whole community to survive and thrive and live into the new unexpected beyond what they could imagine.

We have to lean into the unexpected, the unexplored, the unknown. So maybe this year the Egypt you have to turn away from is… shoveling the snow–you’re not as young as you used to be and you need someone else to do it. That’s ok. Maybe facing the unknown is building a new relationship with the young person down the street, or a young family in the church with a shovel and an hour of their time. Maybe leaning into the uncertainty of retirement and not sure what to do with your time. I bet there are a dozen people who could give you ideas… and maybe one of those ideas you wouldn’t have thought of and it will nourish your soul. Maybe turning toward the unimaged space is reconciling with a friend or family member, is taking a risk and inviting someone to lunch or coffee or even church, is trying something new, a new way of doing things and being open to enjoying it, learning from it, being strengthened and fed by it.

But we have to turn to the wilderness. We have to be willing to let a lot go of what and stop trying to go back, to be open to what the Spirit of God is doing in our lives, in our communities, in our church, and in our world. But we will miss it if we keep looking down, and we will miss it if we stay focused on Egypt.

Let us be people of the Wilderness, people who trust God to provide in ways unimaginable. To make a way where we see no path. Let us turn toward, and lean into the wilderness and find what God has in store for us there.