Lenten Locations: The Promised Land
When I get my driver’s license…
When I am an adult…
When I move out…
When I get a paycheck…
When I am in charge…
When the kids are grown...
When I can retire….
We’ve all waited for that time when we reach a milestone. And we just know in our very souls that when we are at that time and place… well, things will be So Much Better!
The Exodus story in the Hebrew Bible is a coming-of-age story. It is the great leaving-on-a-jet-plane; don’t-know-if-I’ll-be-back-again phenomenon. And the idea of the “promised land” was palatable.
Most of us have experienced this several times in our own lives. We’re stuck in someone else’s house/ someone else’s company/ someone else’s rules… and we know that what is on the other side is going to be worth the pain of leaving! Whatever is beyond the confines of this experience – it’s got to be better. And that’s when we start dreaming of the Promised Land.
The Promised Land is a land where our work is rewarding, money is never an issue and friends are abundant and happy. It’s a place where bad people are punished and good ones are praised… A land like this is Thomas More’s Utopia, Don Quixote’s chivalry, James Hilton’s Shangri-La, Dorothy’s Kansas, Columbus’ New World or the Puritans finding their religious freedom. The Promised Land is a place where dreams come true.
So let’s look back at that ancient story to discover what we can about the Promised Land of old.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.’” Genesis 12:1-2
This is a key statement in the Hebrew Bible and in the Hebrew tradition. In fact, it is a statement attributed to the Lord several times in Genesis alone. To understand the Promised Land, we must understand the Jewish relationship with the land. The Jewish people will only live and prosper in their homeland (The Promised Land from God) if they maintain their relationship with God and carry on the mission of Abraham. In the Bible, the possession of this land is absolutely tied to their moral behavior.
Virtually every nation in the world bases its claim to its land on conquest. “Might makes right” is the historical claim of almost all nations in history. “To the victor belongs the spoils”, and so on. But the Jewish people base their claim to the Promised Land because of God’s promise to them. And God’s gift of the Promised Land to them is tied to their moral behavior.
Even though, over the centuries, the ownership and rule of this land has been under the control of various empires, under Jewish tradition, even when it is not in Jewish occupation, the land does not lose its status as the Promised Land.
Having been there in 2014, I can tell you I was captivated by Israel. It is a special place and a spiritually sensitive place. The land itself is an amazing contrast of dessert and oasis; of water and of sand; of ancient story and peoples. Mountains and plains, fertile land, and desert are often minutes apart.
The coastal plains run parallel to the Mediterranean Sea and are bordered by fertile farmland. In the north, sandy beaches are punctuated by jagged chalk and sandstone cliffs. In the south, there is also beauty, including resort towns like Eilat, which is famous for sunny weather, scuba diving and vibrant nightlife. It attracts millions of visitors every year. It is no wonder this land is fraught with ancient animosities and struggles.
The idea of a Promised Land has captivated the human imagination – because we all long for that time and place where we can finally find peace and joy. In Negro Spirituals, the Promised Land is invoked as heaven or paradise and as an escape from slavery. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get to be there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
Over the past several weeks, we’ve talked about Lenten Locations. Most of these places are not to be understood literally but figuratively – the Tower of Babel from last week, for example. But today’s place – The Promised Land – is both a physical and literal place while functioning also as a figurative place.
Chuck Berry wrote a song “Promised Land” which was recorded in 1964. It was his first single issued following his imprisonment. In the lyrics, the singer refers to himself as “the poor boy” tells of his journey from Norfolk, Virginia to the Promised Land of Los Angeles, California.
Later, Bruce Springsteen used similar ideas when he wrote his own version of “The Promised Land”. In the chorus, the lyric says “I believe in the promised land”. While Berry thought of a place (Los Angeles) as the Promised Land, Springsteen’s Promised Land is defined by what doesn’t happen there: “you aren’t lost or broken hearted; your dreams don’t tear you apart; and your blood doesn’t run cold.”
It seems to me that the idea of a Promised Land is similar to what Jesus referred to as the “Kin-dom of God”. It is a place where we live the way God intends us to live. It is our natural home. Jesus spoke of that Kin-dom experience as his ancestors spoke of the Promised Land or the Messiah, and as a Zen master speaks of enlightenment or as the Buddha speaks of nirvana. This place can become a personal reality experienced through relationships. Where is your Promised Land? What does it look like? How would you know if you arrived there?
Father Laurence Freeman writes, “The Kingdom is not a place we are going to. Nor is it a reward we are to receive for good behavior. The Kingdom upsets normal ways of thinking more deeply than the strictest of moral commandments. It is a fundamental experience of reality as it truly is. To be in the Kingdom is to live in harmony with heaven and earth, with friend and foe, with body and mind. The Kingdom is power in the sense of bonding relationship. To be in the Kingdom is to know ourselves in relationship.”
My prayer for this Holy Week is that you find your Prom`ised Land and abide in it as often as you can.
Resources Used:
“The Bible as Personal Transformation Guide” by Don Murray on January 28, 2015
www.progressivechristianity.org
www.fccsantacruz.org “What About Jesus?” Teacher, Prophet, Friend
www.myjewishlearning.com/israel/Jewish_Thought/Biblical_and_Rabbinc/In_the_Bible