( Sermon Exodus 19.1-6 ) [ Predigt ] [ Abkündigungen564.51 KB ]
"I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness. I hear the approaching thunder that will also destroy us. I can feel the suffering of millions and yet, when I look to heaven, I believe that everything will be all right and that this cruelty will also come to an end and that peace that peace and tranquility will return again."- This quote from Anne Frank speaks of tangible fear and helplessness, but also of lasting hope and peace in the near future. It speaks to me, especially when I look back on the past months of restrictions, loneliness, despair, fear and panic. Oh how well I can relate to her feelings and fears and how much I admire her confidence in a better tomorrow. This quote comes from Anne Frank's diary, written on July 14, 1944. Anne Frank was a German-born Jew who emigrated with her family to the Netherlands at the age of 5 to escape Nazi persecution. For her 13th birthday, Anne was given a red and white diary. From July 1942, she and her family had to hide from the Nazis in an attic apartment building in Amsterdam. Her diary became her only friend in which she recorded the events in the attic apartment, but also her feelings and thoughts. On July 4, 1944, the hiding place was discovered and the family was captured by the Nazis. Anne and her sister were sent to different transit camps and prisons before reaching Bergen-Belsen. There Anne Frank died, at the age of 16 in 1945, of typhus. Her diaries written in the hiding place were amazingly found and were published in 1947 by her father, who was the only one of those in hiding who survived the war. So why am I specifically telling this story? Because Anne Frank was Jewish and our church celebrates Israel Sunday today. And because Anne Frank was a young woman. And tomorrow, August 9, is Women's Day in South Africa. During the Corona pandemic, President Ramaphosa called discrimination and violence against women and children in our country a second pandemic. Up to 51% of all women in South Africa are severely affected by this 2nd pandemic. Domestic violence, rape and discrimination in the workplace are among the criminal offenses against women in our country.
But I also chose Anne Frank for a third reason. She was a young girl, 13 years old, in captivity, locked away in a back house in Amsterdam. I myself visited that house two years ago. Its suffocating confinement, gloomy darkness and lack of fresh air are still heavy on my heart today. Under these difficult circumstances, she wrote down her story of how she was doing in her confinement in the back house. Of how she experienced the war outside her hiding place and how she hoped for freedom. She was confident about tomorrow and looked forward to a new beginning, even though everything around her was dark.
Our sermon text gives us a glimpse into the life of some other people who, unlike Anne Frank, were not still in the midst of captivity, but who had just come out of captivity. It is about the people of Israel, who on the flight from Egypt, after the sensational rescue from the Red Sea, had arrived in the desert of Sinai at Mount Horeb. These people also looked towards the future, uncertain but confident under Moses' leadership.
I read from Exodus 19:1-6: The Israelites at Mount Sinai
1-2 The people of Israel left Rephidim, and on the first day of the third month after they had left Egypt they came to the desert of Sinai. There they set up camp at the foot of Mount Sinai,
3 and Moses went up the mountain to meet with God. The LORD called to him from the mountain and told him to say to the Israelites, Jacob's descendants:
4“You saw what I, the LORD, did to the Egyptians and how I carried you as an eagle carries her young on her wings, and brought you here to me.
5 Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people,
6a people dedicated to me alone, and you will serve me as priests.”
An important goal has been reached. God's people have arrived, at God's mountain, where God is already awaiting them. Exposed to the conditions of the desert, which most of us have experienced ourselves, the Israelites are eagerly waiting for what their God wants to tell them. Through Moses they get the wonderful promise that sums up God's purpose and thus the whole future of the chosen people in 3 verses. And we are also part of this tradition. As Christians, we may share in this promise through Jesus Christ. Especially now in these difficult times of the pandemic. The third wave which affects us all directly or indirectly and in relation to the unrest in our country. Many people in our country have also landed in a proverbial desert, where the essentials of life such as food, security, family unity, neighborliness and much more are simply not there. Where the way out and our hope for a better future seem very far away. And yet, even in this desert of our lives, God gives us these words to encourage us. We know that we are supported, because we receive guidelines on how to live as God's children. And only through God's grace, can we take on the challenge of proclaiming His kingdom, so that we can look forward to a hopeful future.
Some women from our congregation emphasize these three verses with their thoughts.
The first verse - Verse 4: ‘ You saw what I, the LORD, did to the Egyptians and how I carried you as an eagle carries her young on her wings, and brought you here to me’
(Video insert: 1.Daniela (1,11min) 2.Petra (1,23min)
I imagine these eagle wings: how the eagle spreads them over its young. When one of them is too weak to dare to take off, the big mighty bird picks it up and carries it on its strong wings until it can fly by itself. What does this mean for me? To be carried on eagles' wings is for me to be able to completely trust in God's care, in good times when I am circling in the sky, and in times when I am not doing so well, when I am on the verge of falling, because even then God catches me again and does not abandon me. This security and hope is God's promise to His people.
The second verse – verse 5:’ Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant t, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people ‘
(Video insert: 3. Ingrid (1,16min), 4. Astrid (1,36min) (Ingrid sent a sound recording and 3 photos that can be used for this)
Traditionally, Israel Sunday is an opportunity to remember, celebrate and be thankful for God's reliable promise to the people of Israel, that they are His own. Because in it lays the root of His unconditional promise also for us - for Christianity. We live in community with each other and it is up to each one of us to look at our attitude towards it and, if necessary, to change it.
Unfortunately, there is still disharmony, envy or hatred between nations or population groups, be it in Israel, in Germany, in South Africa or anywhere else in the world. God's promise assures us that He loves all his people and that he walks with us, even in these difficult times. For this very reason, due to his unconditional love, we are commissioned to keep God's word and be obedient to Him, so that we can offer God's grace, forgiveness and love to our neighbor and win them for his kingdom.
The third verse – verse 6: ‘And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.’
(Video insert 5. Renate (1,17min), 6. Marit (1,25min)
All nations of the earth should experience what was promised to the people of Israel at that time: God had shown His power and care and He had shown the people that they too should be able to bear witness to his power, goodness and love to all the Nations.
How easily we forget Jesus' command "Make disciples of all nations" in times when we are doing well. How easily we pray only when we are in need. How easily we put God within the church walls on a Sunday, but otherwise His name does not appear in our vocabulary. Wouldn't it be good if we used these times of crisis to enter into daily conversation with God and to carry His word into the world. Only in this way can we overcome the crises. Only in this way can we make a new beginning and only in this way we can create peace among nations, amongst neighbors and in families.
At the center of everything that has been said in this text is the LORD. Yahweh. The one who is always there. From Him, at that time in the desert, our purpose was clear. We, as heirs of this purpose, have the task to consciously work for His Kingdom. We have a responsibility in this world. That we may already feel God's kingdom and with it His peace becoming a reality even now.
Anne Frank also wished for an ideal world. On July 6, 1944, she wrote in her diary: “How beautiful and good all people would be if every evening before going to sleep they looked at the events of the whole day and considered what had been good and what had been bad." Because when that happens, it is possible to draw conclusions for tomorrow and try to improve on what I have not yet succeeded in doing today.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.
