Exodus 37:1-9 God Everywhere

Exodus 37:1-9 God Everywhere Five Sundays in July, and I’m preaching from the five literary divisions of the Bible. In the New Testament the primary categories are gospels and epistles, and in the Old Testament, the divisions are the prophets, the “Writings,” a broad category which includes the wisdom literature, Proverbs- the source of last week’s sermon, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, as well as Job and Psalms and other books not included in the prophets or in today’s section of scripture, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. When we think Torah, our first thought is probably the lists of all the laws in these books. But perhaps a better way to consider the Torah is to understand it as the story of God’s creation of a people, particularly beginning from the call of Abraham and down through his descendants, through the passage of hundreds of years, to the time of Moses and his call, and the deliverance of an oppressed people out of Egypt; and then, their helpless situation in the desert for 40 years, dependent each day upon God. Here it was they became God’s people, where they received the Law, and where they made a great tent- the tabernacle- as a center of worship, and where they built an ark as the central focus for their life as God’s people. The ark, as our text describes it, was an ornate container, not large- less than four feet long, that held the stone tablets upon which God had inscribed the commandments. Later the Israelites put inside some of the manna they had eaten in the wilderness, and a few other items, so that it contained objects that helped the people understand who they were. But it was more than a box that held holy or magical things, it represented God’s presence with them- or perhaps, I should say, they considered it to be God’s real presence among them: the mercy seat, the lid of the ark, was where God sat surrounded by the cherubim; it was God’s throne. It was God’s presence that made the ark a sacred thing- and a powerful and frightening thing. You remember the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, when all the Nazis are killed for opening the ark; you remember the scenes in the Torah where the ark led the Israelites in their wanderings, and the stories in Joshua and 1 and 2 Samuel where the ark went before them into the Promised Land and was carried around Jericho before the walls came tumbling down; the times of war when the ark led the armies of Israel into battle. It did not rest in the darkness of the tabernacle. At first, at least, it was an object of worship in their sight and assured them of God’s presence. It was only much later that the ark was hidden away in a super-holy place in Solomon’s temple. That’s what a temple is, a supposedly holy place, a sanctuary full of holy things, a place of worship- but it’s just one place. And Israel’s religion evolved over time to be focused at this one place, a hilltop in Jerusalem. But look at the description of the ark: the rings- which are integral to its structure, and the poles- to be always kept within the rings so that the ark was easily transported. The ark was made for traveling. And so, after the temple was built during the reign of Solomon, the ark wasn’t really needed. Religion had created a house and a place for its practices. In fact, after Solomon brought the ark into the new temple- described in the early chapters of 1 Kings- for the entire second half of the Old Testament, it is mentioned only a couple of times, in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and there only as an idea or a memory. If we want to understand how religion works, how it sometimes recreates itself, considering the fate of the ark is a good place to start: the ark as the centerpiece of Israel’s early faith, and then abruptly, it was put aside or lost or stolen. We may ask, what things have we removed and replaced; what holy relics or experiences or places have we got rid of, and what did we put in their place? Of course, the things sacred to us will change as we mature and as our view of the world broadens, and as our insight into the nature of God expands. I think it is an important point that the ark was made to move from place to place; important for those who worship God to comprehend that God is God everywhere, and important for us to realize that, for Israel, God became their God and no one else’s God: and a God tied to one special place. To some people, God is still bound to that one spot in Jerusalem. That’s part of the end-times scenario- the rebuilding of the temple in that one place, which proves to certain branches of Christainity and Judaism, “this is my God and not your God.” But the prophets and the gospel writers tell us the story of the God who cannot be tied down to one location or to one tribe of people, or to one small understanding of God. This God is always on the move to those who need him; the God of everywhere for people who are hurting. This week scientists reported, with “99% certainty” they claimed, the reality of the so-called “God Particle” that had been theorized for the past 50 years. The “God Particle” is a provocative nickname- and an unfortunate one- because physicists did not set out to prove or disprove God, but have rather tried to cipher the mysteries of the universe without falling back upon faith or superstition, or any explanations which cannot be proven by way of the scientific method. For scientists who do believe in God, they try to explain the great questions with the gifts they believe God has provided: the laws of nature, which they might discern through mathematical formulas and equations and scientific observation. The “God Particle” is that sub-atomic thing, never seen or measured until now, but considered to be everywhere in the universe, the essential element that attached to other particles so that atoms were formed. We are not talking about the creation of planets and stars, and mountains and oceans, and fish and puppies and trees and precious metals; we’re talking about the creation of atoms- it doesn’t get more basic than that. So maybe we should be glad for that name, “God Particle,” and let it remind us of God’s presence everywhere in the world- even at this most fundamental level- God connecting to all persons in ways deeper than we can see and comprehend; God living in hearts and minds, God in our blood cells and our breath, moving amongst the protons and electrons of all things. God everywhere- that’s what Spirit means- no boundaries to God’s activity. Let our lives be directed by the presence of God everywhere- in our thoughts and desires, and in our bodies and our works- so that each of us and all of us might be the ark where God abides in our communion with others. Last night I caught the end of one of the Harry Potter movies, and this one scene was appropriate for this Sunday after the “God Particle” has been discovered; It’s after Voldemort has returned, and Hermione says to Harry and Ron, “Everything is going to change now, isn’t it?” And the answer is that, of course, it all changes. I think we are in the same situation in our modern, or post-modern, world. Everything has changed. We are surrounded by information and knowledge, not perfect or complete knowledge, but lots of it: we know so much more about the histories of nations and peoples, the history and science of our bodies and the earth and the universe, about the psychology of our minds and societies and relationships; archeologists and biblical scholars and historians know so much more about ancient languages and civilizations that we are forced to rethink some of the central assumptions about our faith. We are confronted by knowledge that challenges faith, which we may not simply ignore or off-handedly deny because it does not agree with our belief. It may be that we want to disregard the “God Particle”; it may seem too great a challenge to our faith, but there it is. What the scientific process has taught us is that faith is not a certainty- it never has been. God isn’t the answer to every question, and there is no proof for God. But we still have the option to believe. And taking that option is how relationship with God begins; and also, belief puts us in relationship with others who love and trust God; puts us in relationship with men and women of the past who gave over to God every wish and impulse, and found hope and joy; faith puts us in relationships where we may grow and learn, and so become able to face the challenges and the changes and the losses with confidence. It is faith, not proof, that creates- and sustains- our life with God. Let us share this faith, and so, build up our relationships with one another.

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