Seeing the land of the promise

"And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, ... 4 And the LORD said unto him: 'This is the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying: I will give it unto thy seed; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.'

As I read this passage of Deuteronomy 34:1-6, I realized that we have reached the last of his story. At first, I was filled with rage that how could God allow him the torture of seeing? Is this another indication that our God is not fair?

In fact, nobody knows where he is buried. At least I am happy that he is among the two prophets who appeared with Jesus on the mount of the Transfiguration. Well, I am not going to dwell on the details of where his body went.

Why did God show Moses the land of the promise but not allow him in. Of course, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not see it but it was Moses who was asked to bring these people into the promised land. Moses died just before the promise became a reality.

Why did God allow him to see the land but not to enter it? It is because he broke the tablet of stones! I would not want to join the debate on the reasons. My concern as is to look at the positive aspect of Moses' end! He had seen the land of the promise but never entered it.

By now, you must be thinking about Martin Luther King Jr and his I've been to the Mountaintop speech. Like Moses, King gazed on the promised land but never entered it. For those of us who are worried about his fate, King said, "it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. 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 there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And 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." Through his personal sacrifice, we have Barack Obama running for president.

Or maybe you were thinking about those brave women who saw a day when women will be allowed to vote and lead this nation. Susan B. Anthony, yes even Lydia Chapin Taft! Most of them looked over the land but never entered it. Yet their labor led to our won Barbara C.Harris, becoming the first woman Bishop in the Anglican Communion. Hillary Rodman Clinton, the first woman to challenge men for president!

Friends, our stuggle against sexism and racism might take more than 40 years but that does not mean change will never come. We might die before our cause wins, but it does not mean we have lost. Remember, seeing the land of the promise is the greatest honor we can experience since it allows us to see how the world would become when our battle is done. It allows us to see the beauty of life without isms and gives reasons to exist.

As Christians, we are called to love others as ourselves. We may not enter or live in that land yet helping others get into that land makes us enter it before they do. Imagine where the world would be without people like King Jr, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Stephen Bantu Biko and countless others who saw the promised land but never entered it?