Introduction: Lenses and Perspectives
Hold up a pair of glasses, and then a magnifying glass.
Most, if not all of us, already use or will someday need to use glasses. Sunglasses. Reading glasses. Bifocals. Trifocals. Some will need to use a magnifying glass to see the fine print on a medication bottle or the ingredients on a food package. Many of us have had the chance in science class to look through a microscope magnified by the power of 4 or 10 or 100 or more to see what is in a drop of water, or a piece of a leaf, or a cell. Some will look through a telescope with an aperture (light gathering lens) of 80 mm to see dozens of galaxies beyond our own Milky Way.
The size and shape of the lenses we use matter. Many of us have sat in the optometrist’s chair looking through those large frames, covering one eye, while the optometrist changes the lens one at a time, for one eye at a time. Clearer now? Or now? This lens or this one? Clearer? Less clear? Until we finally settle on the one that brings the letters on the wall at the far end of the room into clear focus. And we get a prescription for that size and shape of lens to fit into a pair of glasses.
Today’s biblical story, of Moses on Mount Nebo, has something to do with sight, with a view, and a vision. With a panoramic perspective. And with a lens or a set of lenses that affected what Moses saw. And, just to layer on a little more depth and perspective, whatever lens we approach this story with will affect what we see too. So clean your glasses, if you have them. Grab a magnifying glass and a telescope. And let’s head back to the land of the bible, to Mount Nebo.
Exploring the Biblical Context: Watershed Moment/TSN Turning Point
The view from up here is amazing! It’s a clear day and you can see for kilometres In all directions. Both sides of the Jordan River valley. The Dead Sea to the south. The city of Jericho, and farther away Bethlehem and even Jerusalem. All part of the land God promised to Abraham and Sarah and on down through their family line! This is the Promised Land. Beautiful hill country and fertile valleys. Extending all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. A land with such potential and promise to sustain its people.
This Mount Nebo story represents a watershed moment, a key turning point in the story of Moses and the Israelite people. Moses’ work is done. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness as aliens and refugees, Moses and his fellow Israelites are on the cusp of a new life, full of possibilities and potential. This is “mission accomplished” for Moses. He led these cantankerous, fickle people from slavery in Egypt to freedom. So we should allow Moses some sense of satisfaction and fulfilment, dare I even say, pride. For ever more this will be his legacy. A leader. A prophet like no other. “Unequalled for all the signs and wonders God sent him to perform in the land of Egypt…and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that [he] performed in the sight of all Israel” (Exodus 34:10-12). One who is known to have a face to face relationship with God.
Here, at the top of Mount Nebo we find Moses. Still strong and robust for his age. He climbed up here after all. There is an air of hopefulness about him, and anticipation here on the edge of the Promised Land, at the cusp of a new life for his people. Martin Luther King Jr drew on this hopeful side of the metaphor during a speech the night before he was assassinated, when, in the midst of the civil rights struggle he was able to speak with hope about getting to the top of the mountain and seeing the promised land, even if he might not get there himself.
But with Moses there are signs of aging too. (show slide). Gray hairs. Wrinkles. Stress lines on his forehead. It was not an easy journey these last 40 years. Not easy to be the one they all looked to for guidance. The one they all came to with their complaints and their fears. There is an air of sadness to him as well, for he will not get to the Promised Land himself. This is the end of the path for him. Are those tears we see sliding down his face?
I have always felt that this was more than a little unfair for Moses. After all he did for his people, for God to deny him entry into the Promised Land feels harsh. In this text the reason given is that Moses and his brother Aaron lost their tempers, disobeyed God in front of the people at Meribah, when the people cried out for water in the desert, and Moses cried out for God to help. God gave Moses instructions to speak to the rock and water would come out of it. But Moses, angry and frustrated with the people, raised his staff and struck the rock twice, and water poured out, enough for the people and their livestock. This act of dishonouring God’s Holy Presence, of ignoring God’s instructions means that Moses will only get to see the land from a distance but not enter it. Really?! That’s all it took?! It all hinges on that one time when Moses lost his temper.
But elsewhere in Deuteronomy different reasons are given to explain why Moses can’t enter the Promised Land. In one place it is because the whole generation that left Egypt rebelled against God, and so none of them, Moses included, would enter the Promised Land. They would all die before they got there (Deuteronomy 1:35-37). In another text it is because God was angry with the people for making an idol to worship, and Moses, as their leader, suffers the consequences of their disobedience (Deuteronomy 4:21-22). Even when Moses begged, God still said, “no” (Deuteronomy 3: 25-26). Perhaps the biblical writers themselves can’t make sense of why Moses wasn’t allowed to enter the Promised Land and they are really grasping for explanations–that’s why there are several different reasons given, none of which feels adequate.
The View From Here
Whatever the reason that leaves Moses to die on the outside looking in, we find ourselves on top of Mount Nebo with him. So we pause here, on the cusp, at the turning point and take a look around. What do we see? It depends on the lenses we are looking through.
Deliverance Story
If we look back, way back, 40 years back we can see all the way back to the time of slavery in Egypt. We see harsh conditions, punishing laws, oppression and suffering at the hands of the Egyptian Empire. A people wretched and forgotten. But change the lens, and we see a different story. Now we see a God who remembers them, a God who acts on their behalf, a God who keeps promise with the people. We see an identity shaping, life defining Exodus story of triumph and deliverance, as the people, under dramatic circumstances, walk out of Egypt to freedom, and the Egyptians suffer devastating losses. The lens we look through matters.
Wilderness Story
Look back again. Now we see the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. They are lost and afraid, helpless and exposed. They are displaced, homeless, refugees, longing for a place to belong, to call home. The desert around them feels dry, empty and barren. Their resources are scarce. Their patience is wearing thin. If they can’t find food and water they will just die out here! Their future feels uncertain and precarious. They are really just coping, surviving. Slavery back in Egypt is starting to feel appealing. Faith is not easy out here. Every promise God made to their ancestors seems void. The people rebel. Anger and unrest boils over easily. And Moses bears the brunt of their frustrations.
But change the lens, and we see a different kind of wilderness story. We see a God who sustains and provides water from a rock, manna every day. A God who is present, who leads and guides with a pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire by night. A God who calls and shapes a people, who offers a set of laws and commandments to form them into a community of caring and compassion. Slowly, haltingly they begin to develop an identity, a character as the people of God. A time of testing to be sure, but also a time of learning and growth. We see a story of growing trust. A track record of God’s faithfulness. The lens we look through matters.
The Freedom Story (or the Promised Land Story)
And now, what if we shift our view and look in a different direction? No longer back at where the Israelites have come from, but forward, toward the Promised Land. We see the Jordan River, that symbolic boundary that divides wilderness from the land. That ribbon of water that they will cross over into a transformed life with a whole, new identity. Looking over the river, we see a place to call home. A place to settle, to find safety and security. This is an attractive and bounteous land, especially coming out of the desert east of the Jordan River. And we can imagine the houses, towns, cities, the wells, the cisterns, vineyards, groves of olive trees–all the means to sustain life (Deuteronomy 6:10-11). A land, as it is often described as a “fertile and spacious land…flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8). Here these people can take root, settle in, develop an identity and finally experience their freedom fully. Covenant fulfilled. God is faithful. God is on their side. And they have a Freedom Story to tell.
The Conquest Story
But, what if we change the lens once again? Can we, with Moses now see from a different perspective? Can we see into this future utopia, this Promised Land flowing with milk and honey? Can we see that there are people who live in this land, the Canaanites? They have towns and cities, wells and cisterns, vineyards and olive groves. They know this land to be their home, their security, their future hope. Can we see the battles to come over this land, starting with Jericho, a city we can see from here on top of Mount Nebo? Can we see the destruction, the bloodshed, the animosity, the mistrust that is to come. For generations, and up to this very day. When we change the lens, the Freedom Story becomes a Conquest Story–a story with a shadow side. The story of refugees in search of a place to call home becomes a story of invasion, takeover and occupation, the current politics of this land reverberate with this clash of stories, experiences and memories. And here I thought that our summer series would be easy, inspiring mountaintop stories! I guess I had my naive lenses on!
The Cautionary Tale
When we change the lens, the Freedom Story becomes a Cautionary Tale. Maybe we can’t quite see it yet from up here on Mount Nebo, but the Promised Land comes with a serving of risk alongside the abundant milk and honey. The land is both “fraught with problems and loaded with promise, ”says OT scholar, Walter Brueggemann (see his book called The Land, p. 47). Yes, the land is a pure gift, pure grace from God. Unearned. No achievement or merit on their part to deserve this. The land is the tangible, real embodiment of God’s generations long promise fulfilled. But so quickly and so easily the Israelite people (and let’s not kid ourselves, we would do the same) will take this good gift and its abundant resources for granted. They will soon forget how it was that God led them out of slavery, through the wilderness to this land. They will come to see it as their strength, their might, their abilities, their smarts that got them the land, and it is now theirs to enjoy, to rule, to exploit, to manage, to control. They will begin to covet what their neighbours have–their goods, their kings, and their gods. The land will become a temptation for them as their kings become the ones with wealth and power. And they will become self-seeking–the ones who coerce and oppress, and use the force of an army to get what they want. They will pervert and distort and destroy. And they will forget their history of slavery, barrenness, hunger and manna. Guaranteed security has a way of dulling the memory, says Walter Brueggemann (see The Land, p. 54).
The Book of Deuteronomy is basically this Cautionary Tale. It is Moses’ speech, in several parts, to the next generation of Israelite people about to enter the Promised Land. He cautions them against the temptations of the land. He warns them not to forget who they are, where they have come from and who brought them here. He pleads with them to remember the God who saved them from slavery and provided for them in the wilderness. To remember that the land is an unearned gift. He pleads with them to keep the law and the commandments, the good ways, given by God to guide their life together as they form a community in the land. In one part of his speech Moses explains and clarifies and expands on the teachings, and warns of the consequences of disobedience. He begs them to remember what it was like when they were weak and vulnerable, so that they have compassion on the widows, orphans and strangers among them. Access to the land will define the shape and character of the Israelites, the shape of their Promised Land story. Moses challenges this generation to be different from their parents who resisted and rebelled against God.
This is an ancient story, but we can relate to so many parts of it:
- Feeling lost and afraid on our life’s journey
- Waiting a long time for a dream to be fulfilled.
- Feeling regret over past mistakes and what could have been.
- Someone who is old looking back on what has been their legacy.
- A story of struggle and hardship turning into a story of security and prosperity.
These are stories of the human condition, and we recognize other chapters of the same stories in our history:
- Some of us know what it is like to be refugees and flee from suffering.
- And here in Canada we can certainly relate to the Conquest Story of settlers claiming land that was not empty.
Perspective matters. The lens we look through impacts what we see. One of the lenses we are challenged to look through by the BIPOC community is the lens of power. Who has it? Who doesn’t? How does it shift? We can get whiplash looking at all the power shifts in the land of the bible over its history.
What Am I Taking Away From This Story?
From Moses’ perspective up here on Mount Nebo–this 360 degree view–both remembering the past and looking to the future with hope and with caution, I am taking away at least three things:
Keep Changing The Lens. Keep Looking From Different Perspectives
First of all, I am encouraged to keep changing my lens, and keep looking from different perspectives and different angles. Up here on Mount Nebo I need to keep turning around to get a bigger picture. To look forward and backward, to reflect on how someone else might see things differently. Perhaps, even before that it is important simply to recognize that I look with a particular lens over my eyes. Can I even name that lens and how it came to be the lens that I look through. What lenses and perspectives have shaped me? And then can I take that lens off and look through someone else’s lens? The picture I see becomes more nuanced, richer and more complicated when I look through another lens.
Get to Know Your Story
Second, up here on Mount Nebo I am encouraged to know my own story. What kinds of experiences are in my family history? Who are my people? Where did they come from? When did they move and why? What was their relationship to the land where they lived and the people who shared the land with them? How was God present in their journeys? Looking back at my own story calls for equal measures of gratitude and humility. In their book, Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization, Ched Myers and Elaine Enns encourage us to analyze the place, people and spirit of our storylines (see p. 14). Or the setting, characters and plot of our storylines. They call these:
- Landlines–the story of the geography–where our people lived
- Bloodlines–the families and communities our people were part of
- Songlines–the traditions, practices, routines and rituals that were part of our family over the years
Knowing our own stories can help open us up to the stories of others, and motivate us to be part of understanding and healing the divisions and polarizations in our culture today.
Listen to the Story of the Other
Third, from up here on Mount Nebo I am challenged to learn to know the story of the other. Lisa Schirch, a professor of peace studies at Notre Dame, in a recent Anabaptist World article (June 2024 vol. 5, no. 6), challenges Mennonites to a broader perspective on the Israeli and Palestinian story. She says that Mennonite tendencies to widely support compassion for Palestinians, and focus on Palestinian trauma and safety (which is all good), often means that Mennonites are mostly silent about Jewish trauma and safety and in danger of denying Jewish history and ties to the land. From her work and study and travel in Israel and Palestine she shows how Palestinians and Jews have 2 very different narratives–both claim to be Indigenous to the region with historic and religious ties to the land (see p. 21). In the article she has a chart with both narratives side by side, and it is significant to see how different they are. Just one example from that chart: Many Palestinians see Israelis as colonizers and occupiers who have taken their homes and their land. Many Israelis see themselves as refugees fleeing the horrors of the Holocaust, searching desperately for safety and security. They had nowhere else to go as most countries blocked Jewish migration at the time. Both stories are true.
Schirch says that compassion only for Palestinians or only for Israelis undermines progress toward a just peace. Similarly, “placing all the blame on one party, when both bear responsibility, increases conflict and division instead of promoting peace” (20). She adds, “Both Palestinians and Israielis have deep intergenerational trauma from direct acts of violence” (p. 21), and “a just peace depends on all sides being seen” (21). She says, “listening and helping people feel heard is the central work of peacebuilding” (22).
That’s why I chose Beauty for Brokenness (Voices Together #712) as our song of response this morning. From up here on Mount Nebo with Moses, we can see that the land has more than one story. It is both a story of beauty and a story of brokenness. It is a story of freedom, joy, delight, abundance, safety and security. It is also a story of suffering, loss, conflict, bloodshed and sorrow. Both experiences are true. Perhaps, God was really protecting Moses by keeping him from entering the Promised Land. Perhaps God didn’t want Moses to experience how the story would unfold. Throughout their history the Israelites have experienced it both ways. So have the Canaanites or Palestinians.
And the land of Israel and Palestine, the land of the bible, which would fit into the size of Lake Ontario, though it has probably had an oversized impact on our world throughout its history, is really a microcosm of our bigger world and its beautiful and broken stories in so many places.
This song can remind us to change our lenses. To analyze our own stories, and to try and see deeper into the stories of the other. Can we sing this as a prayer for our beautiful and broken world?