The first third of the scroll has served by way of a reminder of parts of the Exodus narrative, with at least some repetition or overlap.  For a community who had not had the opporunity to read the former scroll, it serves as important scene-setting for what is to come next.

Now begins the new material!  Now Moses appoints a dozen spies who are sent out on a forty day expedition to discover what lies ahead of them.

What's in a Name?

At various points in scripture (Old and New Testaments) people's names are changed, so for example Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah; Simon to Peter, Saul to Paul... Such name changes are, we deduce, important, especially in a culture where the meaning of names was hugely signficant.  So it is that Hoshea, son of Nun is renamed Joshua (Yeshua), the Hebrew name of which Jesus is the Greek form.  Hoshea, it seems, means 'salvation', so a strong name in its own right; Joshua means 'God saves' recognising the source of such salvation.  Jesus being given the name he was would have created associations with the Joshua of whomwe now read.

Whilst we rarely change the names of individuals, we do sometimes change the titles we use for roles within churches, and for the assorted things we get up to.  For exmaple, whether it was the 1970s shift from 'Sunday School' to 'Junior Church' or the 2000s shift to 'Sunday Club' or 'Light Factory' or some other name altogether, there has been a sense that what we call our children and young people's work matters.  I'm not always sure the alternative names reflect a clearly thought through purpose beyond trying to be more 'trendy' and less overtly 'didactic'.  But they serve as examples of the kind of name changes that arise, with good intent.

I wonder, were we starting with a clean sheet of paper, what language we might use for 'churches' and 'ministers' and other aspects of our faith communities?

Half Full or Half Empty?

Twelve men went to spy in Canaan,

Ten were bad, two were good.

What did they see when they spied in Canaan?

Ten were bad, two were good.

Some saw giants tough and tall,

Some saw grapes in clusters fall,

Some saw God was in it all,

Ten were bad, two were good.

Anon (c) Hugh Mitchell

Twelve spies were sent out for a forty day (long) mission.  They saw a rich and fertile land.  They cut clusters of grapes, pomegranates and figs to carry home as evidence of the potential of the land.  They also saw that the people who occupied the land were strong and powerful, some of them being described as nephilim (see Genesis 6 if you wish, or just interpet this as 'here be giants').

I don't think the ten were bad.  I think the ten were scared.  I think the ten were possibly pessimists, or at least 'glass half empty' people who spotted all the possible problems and had no hesitation in making sure everyone knew about them.  I think the Sunday School song is harsh or unfair, but either way the consequences of what the ten reported were certainly not good.

Neither do I think the two were inherently good.  I think they were excited and inspired by what they saw.  I think they were optimists, or at least 'glass half full' people who focussed on the potential rather than the pitfalls.  These were the kind of people you'd think would be wanted, the sort people would be inspired by and listen to, so perhpas it's a bit of a shock when we discover that the people want to stone Joshua and Caleb.  Again the Sunday School song oversimplifies the situation to make its point, but it is true that for those with eyes to see, God's presence can be discerned in even the most challenging situations.

I wonder when I am more like one of the ten and when I am more like one of the two... and I wonder what the balance is in any cirucmstance we may find ourselves in?

As Others See Us...

Once again we are told that God is so angry that destroying everyone bar Moses (and presumably a few others) is postulated.  Moses' response is clever and intriguing... OK God, if you do that, how will it look to the Egyptians?  They won't see it as punishment for infidelity but as impotence on the part of the so-called God the people left Egypt to follow.  What kind of a God is this who can't follow through?

I wonder how the whole enterprise of Christianity looks from outside.  Not the easy criticisms or accusations of hypocrisy.  But what our story might lead people to deduce about the God we claim to serve?  How does our story reflect our truth claims?  How does God appear to those who watch us blundering in wildernesses of our own making?

A Generation Must Pass

The compromise that God agrees is that a whole generation, anyone aged 20 or over at the time of the census, will not enter the Land of Promise, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb.  The 'little ones' that the Hebrew/Israelite people had expressed such concern over would be kept safe and brought into the new land; those who had grumbled and rebelled, who had given way to pessimism and fear would reap as they had sown... Tough consequences indeed, but the promise remainded intact, the goal towards which the people journeyed was still there, and for the sake the 'little ones' they needed to keep going.

Impatience and Impetuousness

The people are saddened - hardly surprisingly - by the prospect of dying in the wilderness.  So some of them decide they'll just get on with it, and try to take on the people already there.  Moses and others stay put, this is not a well planned expedition and there is certainly no hint of divine mandate.  And unsurprsingly, this impetuous foray ends in failure, and those involved return defeated.

I have some sympathy with them, though.  Sometimes when it seems that things are moving incredibly slowly, or are even stopped or maybe going backwards, it is sorely tempting to get on and try to move things along.  Sometimes this may be a good thing, but sometimes it isn't, and can inadvertently cause more harm than good.

Perhaps, too, there is something about motivation here?  The people are acting from a starting point of dismay, disappointment and regret.  Sometimes I make choices when I'm 'not in a good place' that I later realise weren't wise, or that come back to bite me.  I expect that most people do.  Perhaps sometimes there is a need just to rest awhile, to lick our wounds, to allow our strong emotions to subside and only then to act?  Perhaps, for myself, sometimes I need to be a little more circumspect, reflecting how things may appear to others, rather than launching in to some well-intended, but not always helpful, response.

Lots to ponder - for me at least.

It being a beautiful, sunny morning, and having no requirement or expectation that I be anywhere in particular, I took myself off on a longish (~6 miles) walk with the aim of snapping a few buildings that were significant in my Mum's story.  The building in the picture above, now a restaurant (or at least past of it) was once Woodside Senior Secondary School in Glasgow.  It was here that Miss Thomson taught English, and Mr Lochie (sp?) probably taught Maths.  Here that my Mum wrestled with science, took Lower German and Higher French.  Here that she had cello lessons and made friends with girls she kept in touch with almost all of her adult life.  Here that she was always awarded 50% for art exams despite being unable to draw - but it would the only subject she would have failed, so they gave her the pass mark anyway!  Here that she would get up to mischief (how did she produce such a rule follower daughter? maybe precisely because of this!) and transition from childhood to adulthood.

I made sure that I passed the former church building (now a Hindu centre) where she had gone to Sunday School and where, years later, her parents had been caretakers (and we once or twice visited them in their small flat with a door that opened into the upstairs balcony of the church!).

There was also her former primary school, which only closed a couple of years ago.  Now it is totally hidden behind scaffolding as it is converted into student accommodation.

The old hymn speaks of "change and decay", which I've always heard as complementary... that each or both is observed, that change is somehow linked to decay.  I'm not so sure that's true, or that I've heard it correctly.  Change of use is not the same as decay.  Decay may arise when no change is forthcoming.  Perhaps the hymn is a reminder that each of these may, and often do, occur... all around me is change, all around me is decay, but somewhere, in the midst of it all, God is constant.

My walk took me in the direction of, so I thought, a cafe that I thought I'd give a try... I had a wry smile when I reached it only to discover that it is now a wedding dress shop.  Everything changes, nothing lasts forever... except the constancy of God.

Another interesting walk, and a few more snaps that I may use as memory prompts... and certainly stuff to ponder.

When I was at Kelvingrove, I looked at the postcards of selected artworks on display, and found myself recalling my own childhood visit there, at the age of about ten, and how each of us had been bought a postcard of one of the artworks by my Dad.  Mine was 'Cherry Ripe' - a painting that is perhaps a bit mawkish, and which I have been unable to confirm was ever displayed at Kelvingrove.  Perhaps my memory is defective, perhaps the postcard was on sale without the original being displayed, perhaps it didn't even come from there... Whatever the bare facts, the painting evokes fond memories, enough to prompt me to walk all round the gallery to confirm it wasn't there and then to search online for a picture of it.

Cherry Ripe was, for some reason, one of the pet names my Dad used for me when I was small, so I guess that's why he chose this postcard for me.  The card is long since lost, the memories are faded and undoubtedly rose-tinted, but the image still has the power to evoke a sense of wellbeing and pleasure, which is good enough for me.

I have a kind of working hypothesis about grace that runs roughly thus: it's not that God lifts you out of challenging situations, but that God somehow transforms them from with in.  I am also very clear that grace is a free gift - it cannot be earned or deserved, it cannot be requested or desired, it just is, the unexpected moment of goodness, or hope, or meaning or whatever it is, in an otherwise demanding context.

This afternoon I took myself off for a walk, and more or less on a whim, went to Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, hoping that I might find some postcards to add to my collection of memory prompts for my Mum - after all this was one of her childhood haunts, a comparatively short distance from where she grew up.

And then I found myself realising how serendipitous it is that I now live and work in Glasgow, and so can easily go hunting for postcards or take photos that might prompt memories for her.  I then I wondered if maybe this was another example of grace... not that God had sent me to Glasgow for this purpose, but that, given this situation has arisen, one means of God entering and transforming it is achieved by me being here, now.

I found a few postcards that I think might be helpful, and then spotted a book, a collection of photos taken mostly in and around Partick in what was, evidently, a very hot summer in 1955.  I'm not sure that Mum was still in Glasgow then, she may have already gone adventuring to the USA, but the images are pretty much contemporary with her lates teens and will, I hope, prompt some conversations when we get to share them.

I think it's grace because it isn't something I could have 'manufactured'... had I lived elsewhere the opportunity would not have arisen, at least not naturally.

Tomorrow is Mothers' Day, and somehow this year it feels especially important that I take time to give thanks for my own mother, and all she has done for me, for us, for over half a century.

With this pair of chapters, I think it is the details, the choice of words here and there, which is perhaps most striking.  We are also granted another glimpse of the frank, even somewhat stormy, relationship Moses has with God.

In the good old days...

It is striking that the section opens "now when the people complained..." as if it is pretty miuch a given that they will.  We recall from Exodus that the grumbling and mumbling  began almost as soon as they left Egypt, now we hear it again, only this time with some different details... there is a 'rabble' craving rich food and people as a whole are weeping.  It may be, so let's name it and move on, that this is another version of the material in Exodus, but it may not be.  I'm choosing the latter, because it seems plausible and perhaps more realistic - looking back to "the good old days" is rarely a one off, it is something that can recur whenever people are tired or demoralised or dispirited.  Back in Egypt... In the good old days...

It can be hard to keep moving forward when the going is tough, hard to put our trust in leaders who, perhaps, we feel have forgotten what we remember.  It can be hard not to give way to rose-tinted remembering whilst conveniently forgetting all that used to annoy or oppress us.

It can be equally hard to stay positive, to keep looking forward when others are clearly struggling.  Not wilfully opposing or undermining, not being a 'rabble' but perhaps being among those who find it all too much. If not weeping, maybe experiencing some sort of inner turmoil.

It's all too much

Last Sunday evening, on a spur of the moment decision, I went to a church service which was exploring something around the idea of where and how we might encounter God.  One of the readings was the account of Elijah on Mount Horeb and his utter despair, so much so that he wanted to die.  Such stories both trouble and reassure us - these were real people with real emotions.  We see something similar here.

Moses looks around and it's all too much for him, he turns his anger to God and lets rip...  Why have you done this to me?  Am I the mother of these people (interesting to ponder with tomorrow being Mothers' Day)?  What have I done to cause you to do this to me?

Just as with Elijah, the response from God is largely practical.  Moses is to appoint 70 people to help him... Perhaps another clear overlap with, or repeat of, the Exodus narrative where his father-in-law tells him to do this, albeit this time with a divine mandate.  Or maybe, and I think this is a legitimate reading, it is the same seventy men called out again, and this time, seemingly on a one-off basis, granted a measure of spirit normally granted to Moses.

It is, I think, at least in my own experience, easy to delegate or devolve responsibility nominally, to give people a role and then not really let them exercise it.  I don't mean micro-management, that interferes with every detail (though clearly that would be possible) but almost the opposite, just carrying on taking on too much and then getting angry, upset, stressy or disillusioned along the way.

I find it strangely reassuring to think that Moses, and others in the scriptures, were as slow to learn thigns as sometimes I am or we are!!

You want meat...

Oh how I love the form of God's response to the demand for meat... you want it, you'll have it.  Meat for breakfast, meat for dinner, meat for tea.  Meat until it's coming out of your noses... 

I often joke that when I was seeking settlement last time around, and whilst having expressed a willingness to go anywhere, had noted a preference for "Midlands and North" (assuming of England), and that God's repsonse was, you want north, my child, I'll give you north.  Thankfully, what God gave me bore no resemblance to what happened for the Israelites... I haven't been glutted with northness!

The quails arrived and the people, at least some of them, gorged themselves on the meat... and some of them became so ill they died.  This is described as God sending a plague on them, but I suspect a reasonable, rational explanation would be severe food poisoning caused by eating poorly prepared meat.

It's a strange story, and I'm not going to look for a neat moral, but there is something, I guess about the old adage to "be careful what you wish for"... sometimes what we think will make us happy or fulfilled actually just brings unexpected challenges and disappointments of its own.  And of course sometimes, as in my desire for 'north', it can surprise us with the unexpected.

Now that's not fair...

This section ends with Aaron and Miriam coming to Moses to raise objection to his Cushite wife - for, we are told, he has a  Cushite wife.  God becomes angry with the two of them - there is no-one as humble as Moses, how dare they speak against him?  And when the cloud lifts, Miriam's skin has become leprous whilst Aaron, former maker of golden calf and now ordained as priest, seems to get off with no ill effects.  Sorry, but that's not fair!  It's another example of am emerging society in which women bore the consequences and men could, seemingly, get away with whatever they did.

... But the people wait...

Miriam was shut out of the camp for seven days as a result of her skin condition.  And the people waited for those days to pass before they set off again.  They could have gone on without her.  Could have given up on her.  Could have left her where she was at the mercy of the elements or any other nomadic wanderers.  But they waited.

Sometimes it is really challenging in any situation to wait for others.  Not those those who might be deemed 'unclean' but those who maybe need more time to come to terms with ideas or changes, new thinking or experimental practices.  Hard for those who are inspired or excited by the new; equally hard for those who need time to think, to pray, to adjust.

There have been times when I've needed years to work through ideas - sometimes I think I should just give in and go with them, because, thus far, I've never gone back to an old 'place' afterwards.  And sometimes once I've 'got it' it's hard both to continue to make time and space for others who are still working it out, whilst not frustrating those who think things really ought to move further and faster.

There have also been times when I've wanted to move on faster and further than others were ready for, and have had to learn to wait, to adjust, to adapt.

Waiting, being patient, these are not my greatest gifts - at least in relation to myself.

I've never understood why Miriam suffered and Aaron didn't, and I guess there will always be situations that make no sense to me, but I am moved, encouraged and challenged by the small, important detail that the whole people waited for her to be ready before they moved on again.