Exodus 19:3-6

Exodus 19:3-6New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

There's a lot in these few verses.  

As I am in the midst of thinking about a memorial service for my grandmother, God bearing the Israelites on eagles' wings is certainly the image that sticks in my head primarily.  The hymn that is a favorite at many funerals is hard not to think of when reading this text.

Also here is yet another reminder of the breadth of God's saving love.  The Israelites are God's treasures possession, and God promises to make them a holy nation.

But the whole earth, God reminds them, is mine.

Being a holy nation, a priestly kingdom doesn't translate to exclusivity of love.  The whole world is mine, says, God.  This is another fair reminder of God's love for the outsider, not simply the insider.

My grandmother had a sometimes challenging relationship with God.  The last time I spoke to her on the phone before her memory began to fade and she didn't know who I was any longer, she confided in me that she wasn't sure God would want her with him.  She hung on at the end out of a kind of fear that she wasn't "in."  Grief and loss in her life had left her unsure and depressed.

I told her then what I knew for certain.  That God loved her.  That was really all I could say that she was ready to hear.

She was God's.  Those who worry and fear are God's.  Those who are depressed and sad and grieving are God's.  Those who are part of a holy nation and those who are not, are God's.

I'm not sure if we will sing "On Eagle's Wings" are her memorial service yet.  But I do know that God's love for her bore her up even when she didn't realize it just as it bears us up when we least expect it and when we need it most.

God of infinite love, bear us up when we just don't think we can stand it anymore.  Bear us up when we fail and fall and when our legs just give out from under us.  Amen.