Bible Text:

“Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.”                                                          (Exodus 33:11)

Tucked away in the Old Testament book of Exodus is a wonderful statement about Moses. It says simply, “The Lord spoke with Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.” 

The author might have said “heart to heart” instead of “face to face.” They mean the same thing. How did they know that Moses talked with God? Surely they did not see it happening. Rather they knew because of the look on his face—by his transformed appearance. What is implied in this statement is that Moses’ communication with God was a regular occurrence. It came later in his leadership. It came after the burning bush, after the Red Sea, after the manna in the wilderness. It is a simple description of his life: “The Lord spoke with Moses, as one speaks to a friend.” 

Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of relationship with God? Wouldn’t you like to live that intimately with God? Just walk with Him and know that presence? 

There was a New Yorker cartoon some time ago that showed a man standing in front of a sign that said “Prepare to meet your God.” In the next picture, he’s fixing his tie and jacket in front of the mirror. I suppose he is preparing to meet God. But the text is not talking about something that happens at the end of the journey. It’s talking about now. 

It’s the way Jesus lived as well. Jesus spoke often with God. He spent long morning hours in prayer. That’s why he could say, “I and the Father are one.” It did not mean that he considered himself to be God. Rather he had the same mind as God. Jesus was so close, so intimate with God that he knew exactly what God desired. 

Jesus did it. Moses did it. Why not you? Why not me? Yet we say, “No, that was then and this is now. That intimacy is gone. I certainly can’t be like Jesus, and not even like Moses. In fact I feel sometimes like the presence has been withdrawn. I have the structure of faith, but somehow the structure is uninhabited.”

We feel short of any significant divine relationship. We may even feel empty. So what do we do? We shop, we peruse travel magazines, we surf the Internet. We get caught up in some mindless TV drama like Joe Millionaire or The Bachelorette to fill the void. 

Can we live more intimately with God? Can it happen today? The purpose of the text is to tell us that we indeed can. The text calls us toward that relationship. Remember that the Exodus writer is a good preacher. He is a storyteller with a purpose.

 This little story about Moses teaches us something important about our own faith journey. We are invited—you are invited to live in an intimate relationship with God. You are invited, and you can move in that direction. However, it does require some changes—some intention. 

DEEPEN YOUR LIFE 

For example, each of us needs to deepen our lives. That’s the way believers live.

 I read an incredible article about a letter that Abigail Van Buren received some years ago to her “Dear Abby” column. It was from a 23-year-old woman. She said, “I am a liberated woman and I have been on the pill for several years. However, it’s beginning to cost a lot of money. I’d like to ask my boyfriend to help share the cost, but I don’t really know him that well.” That’s a true story. That’s a real letter. 

Most of us want divine intimacy. We want to go deeper. We desire it. We do not want to just coast through life. It’s not something “evil” if you coast, but you certainly miss the richness. Keith Miller offered this comment a few years ago about a restlessness inside each one of us. This may be a commentary on the text. 

I believe this restless yearning for completeness in relationship is universal. And although we try to fulfill it through friends, mates, and children, it seems to me that people can never truly satisfy this restlessness. I am becoming convinced that this deepest unrest is a longing for complete union with God, which is planted in the fabric of every [person’s] life.[i]

 St. Augustine also said it many centuries ago. He said that the human heart is restless until it finds its final rest in God. 

Surface living may be okay for some, but not for me, and not for us. I think that’s why you’re here today. You want more from life than what is on the surface. I also believe that’s why increasing numbers of you in this congregation are signing up for the Emmaus Walk experience.

 Live intimately. Deepen your life.

Sometimes it can be done through simplicity. It means stripping away the ornaments for a while. Religious vision is often found in unfettered simplicity. It may be temporary or seasonal. But it’s simplicity. 

A friend and colleague rediscovered his prayer life two summers ago when he took some time off and spent almost a month in a cabin in the woods in northern Indiana. It was a life-changing and life-renewing experience. 

Sometimes simplicity just means shutting down for a while. This past Wednesday, after I taught the Wednesday afternoon class, I spent 30 or 40 minutes walking the prayer path of the Labyrinth. Then, after a short break, I shared in the experience and in the leadership of the Taizé worship service for about an hour. I felt renewed when I walked out of those two experiences. 

Deepen your life. The Lord spoke to Moses “heart to heart” as one speaks to a friend. 

PAY ATTENTION TO CREATION 

We also need to pay more attention to creation. We are somewhat insulated from the created order these days. For example, we drive steel-framed cars with impact-resistant doors, including air conditioning, and heavy-duty tires. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s a symbol of our separation from creation. Watching and listening in creation is essential to conversation with God. 

I am reading a book right now on science and creation.[ii] The author is a faith person. At one point he writes this: “To discover the divine, we must take more than a superficial glance at the world around us.”[iii] 

There was a story about the dedication of a new church building. A huge crowd of people had gathered. They walked from the old building to the new building in a grand procession. Jammed into the new sanctuary, it came time for the offering. Mother gave her 8-year-old son a quarter. “What’s this for?” he asked. “It’s for Jesus,” she replied. With great excitement he said audibly for many others around him to hear, “Oh my, is Jesus here too?” Jesus is here, and he’s all around us. Pay attention. I believe you will find conversations with the Holy in creation. 

SEEK PEACE 

A third suggestion is to seek peace. Peace is one of those words that can mean so many things these days. 

This is a troubling time for all of us. The threat of war is real—a war which could expand dramatically. The threat of terrorism is apparently real—in our homeland, or elsewhere. The threat of more economic losses is also real—something which may be very difficult to bear. Frankly, I don’t have a clear response to any of these issues. 

Is peace a political issue? Is it a military issue? Or is it a spiritual issue? Shall we protect ourselves as best we can and try to survive? Shall we write letters or declare our uncertainty about what to do? Shall we take a stand opposing or favoring armed intervention in Iraq? (I suspect if we took a vote here today, there would be about a 50-50 split, with a fair number of people undecided.) Or shall we let a friendship with the Prince of Peace nurture us, come what may? 

Remember the date of September 12, 2001? It was the day after the attack on America. We had a worship service here at Christ Church that night. For many hours I reflected upon what to say, if anything. Finally I decided on a brief meditation on a single text: Ephesians 2:14—“He is our peace.”  

I think that’s the answer right now in an uncertain time. I think that’s a way to be in conversation with God as with a friend. 

Last Sunday a colleague of mine spoke in his church about the situation with Iraq. He acknowledged that conscientious Christians could honestly come to different conclusions. Then this week he wrote the following:

 Some believe that peace may come best through the use of arms while others believe that peace may come best through refraining from the use of the force of arms. Personally, my breath prayer has become, “Thank you, Jesus, for peace,” and trusting in Him to use whatever means He chooses to bring about peace on earth[iv] 

Do you hear the difference here? Peace is a way of being with God, no matter what comes. It’s the resource we have. “The Lord spoke with Moses, as one speaks to a friend. 

Remember Brother Lawrence, the 17^th century Carmelite monk. A few years ago we did some summer reading of some of his writings. He writes about the same issue. This is what he says: 

…adore God deep within your hearts…Know that He is at the depth and center of your soul…adore Him inwardly…find comfort and pleasure in the peace of His Divine presence for a few moments.[v]

Living intimately means trusting the power of Jesus. It means trusting the power of Jesus to give us the only peace that finally matters. It means trusting him to be the Prince of Peace in your life and mine. It means trusting him to be the power of peace that overcomes the world. 

He is our peace. He is your peace. He is my peace. If I deepen my daily walk, if I pay more attention to creation and life around me, if I pray the breath prayer, “Jesus give me peace,” I will find that closeness to God. 

This is as intimately and as reverently as I know how to live. And it’s the best way I know how to advise you in these uncertain days.