SUNDAY SERMON: The more things change…

By Rev. Stephen Baldwin

OT: Exodus 32.1-14

NT: Philippians 4.1-9

History has a way of repeating itself, doesn’t it? I remember when my dad was in his mid-40s, he started asking me to repeat myself all the time. He said he couldn’t understand me because I spoke too softly. 

And then I hit my mid-40s…and I ask everyone to repeat themselves. I can’t hear squat anymore! I have to ask my son to speak up every single day. I make this face all the time where I squint with my eyes, like that’s going to help me hear better? History has a way of repeating itself. The older I get, the worse it gets. 

This week, I went into Napa to get some windshield wipers. My buddy Josh asked me what kind I needed, so I told him. He went to the back and came out a few minutes later with a set of wiper blades. We took them out, pulled out all the little plastic parts and adapters, and started trying to put them together so they’d fit on the car. 

Before I knew it, I was saying things like, “Why do they have to make everything so complicated these days?” and “Why does everything have to change all the time?” 

That’s when I looked around the store, and 4 or 5 men with grey beards were all nodding their heads and mumbling things I couldn’t hear. I have become the old man! History is repeating itself! I’m now the one who asks everyone to speak up and constantly complains about why things aren’t like they used to be! 

It’s a story as old as time. The more things change…the more they stay the same. That quote came first from…a French writer named Jean-Baptiste Karr in the 19th century, and then a little band called Bon Jovi wrote a song by the same name more recently.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The last time I preached on this passage of the Golden Calf in Exodus there was a war going on in the Middle East. Today, there are two wars going on in the Middle East. It’s a tale as old as time. 

Do you remember what the first commandment is? “I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me.” 

Do you remember what the first thing the people do after receiving that first commandment is? According to Exodus 32, they worship another god. The more things change, the more things stay the same. 

They melt down all their jewelry and form it into a golden calf to worship. Immediately after God says first things first, never put another god before me! Unbelievable. Yet, the more things change, the more things stay the same. 

While God is exceedingly patient with the Israelites, this pushed God over the edge. God said, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them.” 

And then the reluctant shepherd, Moses, who never wanted to lead the people in the first place and had grown tired of their constant complaining, became a man. He told God that he couldn’t give up on his people. He begged God to change his mind. He reminded God that for future generations to succeed, this generation had to survive. And God agreed. 

We all agree that the more things change, the more they stay the same. However, the example of Moses stands out. He interrupted that cycle. He stepped in between God and his people. He took a stand. 

I don’t believe for one minute that God really would’ve wiped out his people, even for making the golden calf. God’s anger was an understandable response to a ridiculous thing they did. But Moses’ courage provided an opportunity for God to take a deep breath and calm down. 

We all get angry. We all say things in the heat of the moment we don’t really mean. We all lose our cool sometimes. It’s human. And it’s better to let that out than to lock it down inside and let it fester within us. 

That’s why we also need a Moses. We need someone who can calm us down, who can listen to us, who can remind us what really matters. 

The more things change, they don’t have to stay the same. We can interrupt the cycle. We can follow the route of Moses. We can stand up for what’s right and keep situations from becoming worse. 

Sometimes that means you’ve got to stand up for yourself. Moses was doing that, in a way. These were his people and their behavior reflected poorly on him. 

Sometimes you’ve got to stand up for someone else. Moses was certainly doing that. He was standing up for Aaron, who–bless his heart–didn’t really have a clue what he was doing. He was standing up for the people, who had been wandering around in the desert for years. 

Sometimes you’ve got to stand up for what’s right. Moses was definitely doing that. Did the people  make a bad decision? Yes. Was their behavior unacceptable? Yes. But did they also deserve another chance? Yes. Their lives were more important than the mistakes they’d made. 

Maybe Moses did change God’s mind. Maybe God gave Moses a chance to change himself, and he lived up to that challenge. Whatever the case may be, the point was proven that the more things change, they don’t have to stay the same. 

Philippians says to “rejoice in the Lord always.” Always. Rejoice. That’s the key to keeping the first commandment. Always rejoice. 

Why did the people turn from God so quickly, disobey the first command, and have Aaron make a golden calf? Instead of rejoicing, they fell into anger, a whole culture of anger. 

You see, Moses was still up on the mountain figuring things out with God. They were tired of waiting, so they moved onto a new leader, Aaron. They got tired of waiting on Aaron to do what they wanted, so they begged him to build the golden calf. He let the anger drive him too, gave into it, and did what they wanted. 

There is pressure on us today to give into the spiral of sin and suffering. To be angry. To give up. To think the more things change, the more they stay the same. You feel it every single day. It is much easier to give in and become part of a warring world and think it will always be that way. But we have a higher calling. 

Love God and none other. Love your neighbor, every single sister and brother. God is on the side of peace. God is on the side of love. God is on the side of his creation. 

Because while things down here feel like more of the same, God’s commitment to us never changes. Thanks be to God. Amen.