Spending forty years in the wilderness has a significant impact on a person and on a community. Tradition tells us that Moses spent the second 40 years of his life in the desert of Midian unlearning the ways of Pharaoh’s courts and learning the ways of God and living in the wilderness from his father-in-law Jethro. Moses then spends the third forty years of his life helping the Israelites do the same. They spend the next forty years in the desert unlearning the patterns and habits of oppression in Egypt and learning what it means to be free people who have no king but Yahweh.
These are difficult lessons to learn and to teach. So difficult, in fact, that Moses does not get to go into the Promised Land but dies in the wilderness. He has done his part to challenge Pharaoh, to lead the people to freedom, and to teach them a new way of being. But it is up to the next generation, Joshua in particular, to lead them on the next leg of the journey into the new land of promise.
This week in worship we will focus on Moses’ final words to his people. They encapsulate all of the things that he has been trying to teach them over the last 40 years, the key learnings he does not want them to forget when they settle into a new more comfortable life and he is no longer there to remind them. They are his “Legacy of Love.”
Have you thought about the words and practices that you want family and friends to remember? We will talk about what Moses wanted God’s people to remember and how that impacts what we pass on as our legacy as well.
As we reflect on the number 40, Jesus also spent forty days in the wilderness as he confirmed who he was and entered into public ministry.
This Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, we begin the season of Lent. It is a season of 40 days in which we reflect on what we need to unlearn and what we need to learn so that we also might know true freedom in Jesus Christ and that our ultimate loyalty is to God.
I look forward to worshiping with you this weekend as we conclude our series “Moses Moments” and prepare to make the transition to 40 days of Lent when we will focus on Jesus as the Messiah in the gospel of Mark.
Blessings,
Pastor Suzanne