Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church

Ex. 4:10-14, Ex. 17:8-13

This week we salute the flag and celebrate our nation’s history. If we are not careful we may forget that our history is more than simply the Declaration of Independence. While we celebrate our independence from England, let’s also balance that with the reminder that during the western expansion our idea of independence nearly turned into unhealthy, rugged individualism.

When the first western pioneers received their land parcels from the U. S. government, they proceeded to build homes right in the center of their homesteads. With parcels of 160 square acres, this put each settler’s family at a significant distance from any neighbors. At first they liked it this way. Their homes represented their fierce independence. “We can make it alone. We don’t need anyone.”

However, within a short time these same settlers changed their views. Bruce Larson summarized what happened. “This chosen isolation did strange things to people. Occasionally, photographers went out to record life on the frontier and returned with photographs of weird men, wild-eyed women, and haunted-looking children. Before long most of these families learned to move their houses to one corner of their property in order to live in proximity with three other families who also lived on the corners of their property. Four families living together, sharing life and death, joy and sorrow, abundance and want, had a good chance of making it.”

Barbara Streisand made the words “people who need people” famous. God reminded Moses that we are all “people who need people.”

Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some men for us and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sun set. And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the sword.

- Exodus 17:8-13

Yale was having its class reunion. The speaker was a member of the alumni association who had made the largest contribution in recent history. It became quickly obvious that his being a large contributor did not make him a decent speaker. He began his address by announcing that he intended to use the letters of their fine institution as the outline of his speech. He began with the letter Y and said that it stood for youth. He recalled the lessons of youth that he had learned as an undergraduate at the school. He spent about a half an hour on the first letter, Y. Then he proceeded to the letter A. “A stands for adulthood.” He explained that Yale helped him make good decisions as an adult. He talked about the responsibilities of adulthood. It took him about forty-five minutes to cover the letter A.

Next he moved to the letter L. “L stands for loyalty.” He challenged his fellow alumni to remain loyal to their alma mater. The best way to shows your loyalty is through financial support.” He bragged about his own contribution to Yale and invited others to step up to the plate with their support as well. It took him nearly an hour to complete his thoughts on the letter L. By now, most of the audience were looking at their watches and stirring in their seats. It was uncomfortably obvious that he had entirely lost his audience, but he did not seem to notice. Finally, he came to the letter E. “E stands for eternity.” People nodded their heads in recognition that his speech felt like it was taking an eternity to deliver. By the time he finished he had spoken for nearly four hours.

As he sat down at the conclusion of his speech, there was very little polite applause. One man in the audience, however, moved from polite to enthusiastic applause as a huge smile broke out on his face. The rest of the crowd quickly dispersed, but the speaker made a point of finding the man who had responded so positively. “I noticed you were particularly appreciative of what I had to say. Was there a particular part of my speech that moved you the most?” The man responded, “I realized tonight how happy I am that I graduated from Yale, and not from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”

We are not sure what Moses meant when he complained that he was slow of speech and slow of tongue. Was he too wordy? Did he have a problem with stuttering? What we do know is that God already knew about Moses’ limitations. God did not expect Moses to lead the Israelites out of their slavery all by himself. God called Moses to something too big for anyone to do alone and then reminded Moses that he would need to share the mission with others. The first recruit was his own brother Aaron. Moses and Aaron would work in tandem when it came to addressing Pharaoh.

This same lesson of Moses needing help was reinforced the day Joshua lead the Israelite army against an enemy. Moses knew that victory would depend on a team effort. As Joshua headed out onto the battlefield, Moses remained on a nearby hill praying. As long as Moses kept his arms in the air, the army of the Israelites was successful. But every time Moses grew weary and let his arms droop, the army began to lose. Finally, they figured out how to win the victory. Joshua needed Moses to pray. Moses in turn needed help keeping his arms elevated. So Moses sat on a stone with men on either side supporting his arms in the air.

Great leaders realize how much they need others. Shortly after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, there was a push by many colonists to have George Washington crowned as a king in America. Washington turned down the offer. When King George III in Britain heard the news that George Washington had turned down the offer to make him a king of his own country, he responded in amazement and declared that George Washington should be remembered in history as one of the truly great men in the world.

Instead of becoming a king, George Washington served as president of the Constitutional convention. Scholars note that the Constitution has little evidence of Washington’s own thinking. Washington was not a college graduate. He was neither a scholar nor a deep political philosopher. His role at the convention was simply to moderate the discussions in such a way that the brightest and best legal and political minds could develop a document strong enough to guide our nation. George Washington was smart enough to know that America needed a lot better guidance than he alone, as a king, could give.

What Moses demonstrated in the realm of faith and George Washington demonstrated in the political realm is known in biology as “symbiotic relationships.” For instance, biologists have noted that a certain kind of moth, known as the Yucca moth, lives only in regions where the Yucca cactus is found. Likewise, Yucca cacti only grow in the regions where this moth lives.

Scientists studied the interesting behavior of these moths around the Yucca flowers. The female Yucca moth lands on the Yucca flower and proceeds to collect a ball of pollen under her chin. Once she has collected a significant ball of pollen the moth then flies to another Yucca plant where she rubs her chin onto the reproductive part of the flower. Why would a moth have this instinctual tendency?

As the scientists continued studying this unusual moth behavior, they discovered what happens next. Once the moth has finished rubbing her chin on the flower, she then goes into the deepest part of the flower and lays an egg. When the fertilized flower turns into a Yucca fruit, the larva of the moth survives by feeding on a portion of the fruit. The next generation of moths benefits from the mother’s pollination of the plant. They need each other.

Symbiotic relationships are God’s standard operating procedure. People who need people are not lucky, as the songwriter suggests. They are simply fulfilling God’s will. As we celebrate the Declaration of Independence let’s also recognize and admit our own interdependence on each other. In fact, people who think they do not need people are out of step with God’s will. Jesus sent his followers out two by two. There are no “Lone Ranger” Christians. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto at his side.

I heard someone tell about an experience he had with his ten-year-old son that demonstrates this truth. He told about taking his son on a walk down the beach. It was a beautiful day with the beach crowded with sunbathers as far as the eye could see. As soon as they stepped off the boardwalk onto the sand, they spotted a man without legs, on crutches at the edge of the surf. The man had just turned his crutches around and was trying to return to the dry sand when he slipped in the wet sand. Floundering in the wet sand and struggling to get his crutches secure, he kept slipping and falling.

None of the sunbathers seemed to notice. The man obviously was in need of assistance, but nobody moved. Maybe they were embarrassed for his awkward condition. Maybe they were respecting his independence and dignity. The one recounting this story confessed that he quickly tried to distract his son and move away from the uncomfortable scene. As he turned to guide his son in the other direction, his son said, “Dad, I need to help him.”

Before this father knew what to do, his son was down in the wet sand trying to pick the man up and stabilize his crutches. The man was too thick and the boy was too thin. The boy struggled unsuccessfully to lift the heavy man. Meanwhile the father was glued to his place, watching. Then it something wonderful happened. Someone in the crowd came over to help. Pretty soon others gathered around and lifted the man without legs. As they carried him to safety, the boy returned to his dad. The boy was crying. “Dad, I couldn’t help him.”

By now the dad was on the edge of tears as he completed his story. “I explained to my son that he had helped more than he realized.” He helped by seeing what everyone else was ignoring. His attempt to lift the man moved the rest of the crowd to action. He didn’t need to be strong enough to actually lift the man. His part was to help the rest of the crowd see the need. When everyone else was looking away and pretending not to notice, a boy reminded them of the truth: we need each other.

This nation was built on our founders seeking to build on their common points of agreement rather than emphasizing separations according to regional or religious differences. Last week I was talking with Kate about how we Christians sometimes separate ourselves from those who are not Christians by emphasizing the points of disagreement. I was thinking about some of the Christian bumper stickers I’ve seen that do not invite engagement but come across as though we don’t need anybody else but Jesus. I got to thinking about a bumper sticker that could show I was a follower of Jesus and at the same time emphasize that I share points in common with my non-religious friends. I had Kate make me a new bumper sticker: “God created us all for love.” The “O” in the word love is a Celtic cross.

This week, as we prepare to porch with some neighbors and celebrate our nation’s independence, might we watch for an opportunity to share with someone that God created us not to be independent but interdependent?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What signs do we see today that our nation tends to take independence too far and turn it into radical individualism?

Bruce used stories from Moses and George Washington. What other leaders come to mind?

How have you experienced a “symbiotic relationship”?

How does porching with neighbors promote healthy interdependence?