The Final Act Part I

Exodus 14:10-16New International Version (NIV)

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”

13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

I recently read an article that talked about making Jesus look like us.  The article said that we have a strong tendency to pick and choose the parts of the Bible we adhere to and stay away from.  I think we are all guilty of such an accusation.  The word that the article uses is “agenda.”  Most of us probably do not like the sound of that word and assume that we personally do not have an agenda, we are just trying to be Christian.  If we take a cold, hard look at ourselves, I think we will find that we have an agenda.  For some, that agenda is in the forefront of their lives and for others it is a subconscious thought on most days.  We have an agenda.  It shapes our thoughts, morals, who we vote for and what ideals we choose to make stands for.  We not only do this with the Bible, we do it with social media, the news, our personal relationships and at work.  Even when we focus on not trying to live but a certain agenda, we do.  The article does a good job at pointing at our flaws by saying, “If we’re not careful, we could unwittingly create an image of Christ that barely resembles the original.  This new image will resemble someone, but it won’t be Jesus-it will be us.”

The article encourages us to “...take [Christ] as He is and not edit out the things we feel are undesirable, inconvenient or confusing.”  When I read the scripture from Exodus, one of my first thoughts was not how God saved the Israelites or how they would have rather died being slaves to the Egyptians than die in the desert.  My first thought was the Egyptians that were swallowed up in the sea as the parted waters came crashing shut on those following the orders of the pharaoh.  They personally had nothing against the Israelites they were simply following orders.  Why did God’s quest to free the Israelites have to include their peril.  Stories like this are a mainstay in the Old Testament.  God’s saving grace on one hand and his wrath on the other.  Don’t get me wrong, there is much to be learned in these stories and their place is important.  I think the article could have taken their answer another step forward so I pose this question: How, then, do we live without an agenda?  The truth is that we can’t, really.  Right or wrong, it is who we are.  The solution that I see is that our agenda has to be fluid and dynamic.  We do not have to understand everything but we must be willing to be ok with that.  You may be asking yourself why?  Why do we have to be ok with that?  Why do there have to be things we do not understand?  If God truly loves us, then what is the shame in knowing?  The truth is that the answer that suffices in one instance does not fit another.  God is fluid, He is dynamic and ever changing.  It is my hope that despite their chasing of the Israelites that God gave those Egyptians a chance to see His glory and to live with Him forever if they so choose.  I cannot prove that but it fits my agenda and narrative of who I believe God to be.  And... I can be wrong....  

 That being said, we are gathered this morning to celebrate the resurrection.  We are here to celebrate Christ beating death and our tie to that.  This is why we get out of bed early on Easter, this is why we stuff Easter Eggs, this is why people spend hours preparing a meal for others, this is why we help those in need, this is why this little congregation has donated nearly $900 the past month to help those in difficult situations, this is why we are here.  Today is the summation of our entire being.  Today is what Christianity is based on.  Today, death no longer conquers.  Today, sin no longer stands a chance.  Death is the final consequence of sin but today marks the day that we celebrate the cutting of that connection.  Sin still has consequences but death no longer has the final say.  Let’s listen to Paul’s words in Romans 6:3-11:

Romans 6:3-11New International Version (NIV)

3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” And “...he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.”  We get a share in that.  That is what today represents.  Some of us may be more like the doubting Israelites who would rather die in Egypt than in the desert and some of us may relate more to the drowning Egyptians in the Red Sea but today it doesn’t matter.  He ended the wrath of sin and that is why we are “alive to God in Christ Jesus.”  We are alive! WE ARE ALIVE BECAUSE HE LIVES!  We are fluid, dynamic and eternal beings because Christ conquered death and that is our agenda.