Today's Old Testament reading is a portion of The Song of Moses, some of Moses' final words prior to his death just short of the Promised Land. "The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he; yet his degenerate children have dealt falsely with him, a perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?"I have heard folks remark that they cannot understand how the people of Israel, who were rescued from slavery in Egypt and witnessed mighty, saving acts by Yahweh, could so easily turn away. The Israelites in the wilderness repeatedly complained, questioned whether God was with them, and broke covenant with God. What was wrong with these people?
But my personal experience very much mirrors theirs. I never saw the sea parted, but I have my moments when God's presence seems very real, when it has led me in directions I would never have gone on my own. But I have a lot more moments where I can't seem to find God, and God's absence often seems much more real to me than the memories of God's presence.
A lot of religious people, myself included, long for so-called mountain top experiences, but most of life is lived down in the valley. And I think that what I need is not more dramatic encounters with God, but more awareness of God in the moment, in the mundane, in the day to day, where life and faith are lived out.
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