"In The Image of God" - Exodus 32:7-14 - September 16, 2001

This past week many of us watched in horror as the two towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed. Many are still in disbelief that a catastrophe of this magnitude could happen in modern day America. The loss of life, destruction of property and damage to the infrastructure of the United States is simply overwhelming.

While this was unfolding in New York City and Washington D. C. , many folks wondered why the president wasn’t flown immediately to the capital from Florida, where he was speaking. Some criticized his absence while others thought it made perfect sense to keep the president’s whereabouts unknown.

When tragedies happen we look to our leaders for assurance. Such was the case with Moses and the Israelites. Moses had gone to the top of Mt. Sinai where he was receiving instructions from God. Meanwhile, the Israelites had grown impatient and were worried since their spiritual leader was missing. The people became panicky and because of their feelings of insecurity they felt the need for reassurance. They were becoming out of control, so Aaron told them to gather their gold and he constructed a golden calf.

When people are feeling deserted or afraid they have need to establish some sort of visible object for reassurance. They need to feel connected. They can’t trust what they can’t see. Or, as with the Israelites they became impatient and anxious since Moses had not returned from the mountain. Feeling pressured to do something, Aaron created a substitute image for God and this angered and displeased God.

Since the terrorist attack last Tuesday, the mood in the nation is to do something; strike back, grab hold to what you can, vow to rebuild, etc. Like the Israelites who felt that Moses had deserted them, many feel that God has deserted us. How could God let this awful tragedy to happen? Why didn’t God intervene and prevent it in the first place?

We live in a world that is extremely complex. When things are good and plentiful, we become immune from the possibility that difficult times can happen. We build a false sense of security, believing we are invincible. Unfortunately it takes a crisis to bring us to our knees, realizing that ultimately we are dependent upon a God who is invisible.

Many people today are afraid. Many have lost hope and no doubt many more have lost faith. There is a genuine need for reassurance. While it is true that Aaron misled his people out of panic, it is also true that Moses did come back, once again reassuring them that God is still in control.

When Moses returned the Israelites expressed a sigh of relief. He was their beloved leader who they turned to in the past during a crisis. When a child feels insecure in the middle of a storm, his/her mother or father comes to them to comfort them and give them reassurance. It is during that waiting period when they become anxious or terrified.

Moses came back. God always comes back. The same God who delivered the Israelites from the Egyptians will be with them again. The same God who watched in horror as the world crucified his son, resurrected him from the grave. The same God who seemed no where to be found on September 11th will raise life from the ashes in Manhattan and Washington D.C. God always comes back. God never leaves, it is we who leave God, creating false gods to worship rather than the one true God of the universe.

What I find amazing about this story in Exodus is the courage of Moses to stand up for his people. Moses actually changes God’s mind. God is angry but Moses convinces God to spare them and bring no wrath upon them. "And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people." Moses stood up for his people and there will be those in the world who will stand up for us, both leaders in our midst and leaders around the world.

In the aftermath of the destruction you heard countless stories of people rescuing people from the rubble, people giving assistance in a myriad of ways, giving blood, sending supplies, people helping complete strangers, even foreign nations providing aid from abroad. This is the good news. As long as there is evidence of people going to bat for other people we can all be assured that God is still in our midst.

Having lost tremendous tangible assets this past week our country is experiencing a real struggle between the physical life and the spiritual one. We have watched in absolute horror as two of the world’s largest man-made structures have disappeared from the face of the earth. Now we are searching for a God we can touch, or feel or see.

If you continue to read on in this chapter of Exodus you will read that when Moses returned to the Israelites he threw the sacred tablets on the ground and they broke in pieces. He then completely obliterated the golden calf into powder. These acts demonstrated Moses’ need to reclaim the faith of the people in a God who is present in spirit not in material ways.

We worship a God who always returns. We worship a God whose presence is experienced when God’s people are working together, caring genuinely for one another. We worship a God who may be invisible but who is very real and still among us.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio