HANDS UP!

The people of God are overwhelmed.  They are in the middle of the wilderness of Sinai.  Exodus 17 says they are traveling from place to place which, I hunch, means the people had no mapped out itinerary.  Everything seems kind of day-to-day which, obviously, must have driven the type-A, linear thinker, planner-types crazy.

They're thirsty.  They grumble that they have been obedient to God's call, and now God has led them to this dry place where they will die of thirst.  Some folks call the Bishop and complain about Pastor Moses.  Then, God tells Moses to strike a rock with the walking stick he has had since they crossed the sea out of Egypt, and God provides water for the people!  

Just when the people are barely making it through the wilderness, the Amalekites (an established tribe in Canaan) attack.  The Hebrew people, this tribe that has been enslaved for so long, responds.  The battle is fierce.

Now there are sections of the Hebrew Bible that require a strong stomach.  There are stories of violence and invasion, stories of unfaithfulness and deceitfulness, and you have to wade through that to get to truth that is redemptive.  In the middle of the account of this war between the Hebrews and the Amalekites, we're told that Moses along with his two colleagues, Aaron and Hur, went up on the top of a hill.  The Hebrew people could look up and see their leader, see Moses, and the Bible says when he held his hands up the armies of Israel won the fight.  When he got tired and dropped his hands, the Hebrew troops lost heart and gave ground.

Moses is tired.  Worn down.  So Aaron and Hur get a stone, put it under Moses, have him sit down, and then they sat on either side of him and held his hands up.  With their assistance, the Bible says, "his hands remained steady till sunset." (Exodus 17:12, TNIV)

We talked about this text this week in our Church Staff meeting.  Because some of the folks who have dealt most closely with the complications caused by the frozen pipes are tired.  But you may know what tired looks like...feels like.  You're weary beyond words.

God has put us together so that we can respond to the weariness of a friend, a colleague, a spouse, a child or parent, a neighbor, and maybe that looks like putting a stone under them and having them sit down.  Perhaps we, with our words or actions or prayers,  can help steady them.   Help hold their hands up.  

I asked our staff what we each could do to help steady the hands of our sisters and brothers in the room.  How can we help one another through this messy, day-by-day, period following "the flood?"  They responded by saying we might:

Be patient with one another.

Communicate well.  Be extra careful to be extra clear.

Have a flexible attitude.  How we do what we do may need to change.

Trust one another.  

Coach one another.  Offer words of counsel and encouragement and help one another identify projects that may be in danger of slipping through the cracks.

Prioritize.  Living with a too-long "to do list" every day can wear a soul down.  Be realistic about what can be done.  What will we say "yes" to?  What will we say "no" to?

Stay positive.  Don't let the grumbles take over.

Laugh.

Love.  Love God and love one another and love the mess that is the church.  

Be gracious.  Let grace fill in the broken, cracked, difficult places.  Don't expect perfection from one another or others.

Be trustworthy.  Do our very best to do our jobs.  Follow through.

So what would it look like for you to help your tired friend, your weary neighbor, your exhausted partner or spouse, to keep going?  What will you say or do to help hold their hands up?

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark