Tuesday, November 15, 2011

No one escapes the wilderness

Ah church school.  I used to do children*s sermons.  I miss them.  Some of the best questions come from children.

No Christian escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land.
Evelyn Underhill in The Fruits of the Spirit

The second graders were puzzled on Sunday.
Why didn*t the Israelites obey immediately
The first time?
(and who and what were Israelites anyway?)
They could have avoided 40 years in the wilderness
If they had just taken the straight path,
Avoided the silly thing
About walking around the walls of Jericho
For seven days.
Wouldn*t they have obeyed
If they knew they*d get
40 years
Walking through the desert,
Odd things like walking around
The walls of a giant city,
Believing it would collapse
When they yelled.
Odd things like manna and quail,
Water flowing out of rocks.
God speaking and speaking and speaking.
They were puzzled.
Why didn*t the Israelites
Avoid the long trip,
Cut it short.
That would have made sense.

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