A Thousand Years
with Rev. Laura Sherwood
October 8, 2023
Learning from Moses’ prayer song at the end of his life to see that God is not so much a part of our lives, as we are a part of God’s life.
The Scripture
Philippians 3:4b–14
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
–
13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Read the Full Text
As many of you know, I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio – and it’s been wonderful to learn that quite a few of you also have meaningful past and present connections to Cincinnati and/or Ohio.
My time in Cincinnati began when I was 2 years old – after my mom, dad, younger brother, the family dog, and I drove across the country from Portland Oregon where both my parents were from. My Mom thought we were going to be in Cincinnati for only a year while my Dad was in school. I think it was when my brothers and I were all in middle school that she finally accepted that the move was permanent.
That meant that I grew up thousands of miles away from all my extended family on both sides – grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Due to the distance and expense of travel for our family, going out to see them happened only a few times during my growing up years. As an adult, I have only gotten to see various members of my family a handful of times at most. Each time is incredibly precious to me especially the older I get and because seeing everyone at the same time is no longer possible since much of the family has long since ventured away from Portland.
Finish reading
Case-in-point – One of the couple times I’ve gotten to see my Aunt Frances was because I could connect it with a continuing education conference to San Francisco, an hour away from where she and my Uncle Gordy landed after their Portland years. I was only able to spend one day with them, but it was packed with wonderful visiting, reminiscing and, of course, looking at family photos!
Aunt Frances is my Dad’s sister and I still remember when she opened the door – the first thing I thought of was how much she looked like Grandma. After a fun day together out and about, we spent most of the evening in her living room pouring over the dozens of family albums my aunt had compiled over her entire life – I couldn’t believe how many pictures she had. She had pictures of my brothers and me that I was pretty sure my parents had never even seen. It was great – seeing photos from days I could barely remember myself to times long before I was even born.
Then we turned to a page of all baby pictures – they were of me still in the hospital, which I had never seen. The next page was all of my brother, Tom, right after he was born. At first glance I was taken aback because it seemed like I was looking at a baby picture of his youngest daughter, Rachel. There is something kind of mystical about being able to see your own reflection in the generations that have gone before you. But for all the thrill of recognizing family resemblance, the sense of connection I experienced that evening went beyond blood, relations, and biology.
Beyond Blood and Biology
This thought really solidified for me as I listened to Aunt Frances talk about her marriage to Uncle Gordy. It was a rare moment for me as an adult to talk one-on-one with my aunt and uncle. I was able to hear about their lives as individuals with whom I could relate and whose stories moved me. I got to see their wedding pictures – it was a second marriage for each, and for Uncle Gordy – it made him an instant father to three teenagers. My Aunt talked about how great a dad he was to her children and how he’s never been the Step Grandfather to their children, he’s just Grandpa – no equivocation.
It had never occurred to me to think of him as anything other than a “real” member of the family – he had been there ever since I could remember. The actual bloodline didn’t matter. He was my “real” Uncle, a “real” Dad to my cousins, and “real” Grandpa to all of their children. And he was a very real part of the family story to which I belonged and was learning about in new ways as I heard the stories behind the photographs.
Knowing that you belong to something greater
Among all the pictures were a good number of people who were not biologically related but who had entered the family through adoption or marriage. And while the physical resemblance wasn’t there, they were still an integral part of the greater and on-going family story. They were a part of lives that had come and gone and lives that were still going on. They were as much a part of my heritage as anyone else and I was a part of theirs. Looking at their images along with all the rest gave me a strong sense of belonging to something that was greater than me – something that had begun long before I was ever around and would continue long after I’m gone.
Old Moses reflecting on life
As Moses reached the end of his life, I wonder if he was able to see the family photos of his memory, images of the people who had taken care of him, people who had mattered and shaped his life. I wonder how he felt, standing there on the mountain, gazing at the future land of his people while looking over the past years of his existence. He could have been thinking about any of the extraordinary aspects of his long life, the narrow escapes from death that began when he was just a baby, the terrifying encounters with the Pharaoh’s armies, the challenges of hunger and thirst in the desert, the thrill of escape and the taste of freedom, the joy of welcoming his own children into the world, the sacred times of meeting God face to face on Mt. Sinai.
Maybe the details of his life are what flashed through his mind at first, but they are not what became his ultimate focus. For the prayer he sings in Psalm 90 paints a much broader picture – of belonging to something that is greater than himself, something that began before he was ever around and something that would continue long after he was gone.
4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or like a watch in the night. You sweep them away; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
Realizes God is not a part of his life, but that he is a part of God’s life
As he stood there at the precipice of his life, Moses was able to see his life from a new perspective – from the perspective of God’s eternity. [SLIDE-text] And in that moment, he no longer saw that God had always been a part of his life, but rather that he had always been a part of God’s life.
Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
This may seem like a subtle shift in viewpoint – to see not how God is a part of our lives but more so how we are a part of God’s life – but for me this shift has been meaningful and continues to unfold meaning in my spirit.
New Officer Training – Vows Taken at Baptismal Font – Symbol of the Continuum of God’s Time and our part in it
We held New Officer Training last Sunday. Part of our discussion was about the vows each officer takes and the instruction that these vows are taken near or around the Baptismal font, which is always present in our worship space.
It is always present for the same reason it’s the place where officers take their vows. In our Reformed faith tradition, Baptism is not really something we do, but a symbol of what God has already done. Baptism does not create a new reality of becoming God’s child, but demonstrates our faith that we are born as God’s children and that we belong to a family of faith that is greater than the family of our physical birth and greater than ourselves.
The Font, which is always with us in worship, reminds us that in Baptism we acknowledge that we belong to the family of God not because of biology, but because that is how God created us – along with the generations that preceded us and the generations that will follow. A real example of this came when one of the new officers shared that 3 generations of her own family, including herself, have been baptized here and how meaningful that will be as she takes vows for her new office at the font a few weeks from now.
The Font also reminds us of what Moses came to understand at the end of his life, about time – not just the time we’re in now or the time we’ve experienced so far, but the greater continuum of time. [SLIDE – text} Through the lens of faith, this greater continuum of time means that our lives begin and end as a part of God’s on-going and eternal life. May it be one of the greatest joys of our lives to understand where we came from and where we have always belonged.