The Birth of Moses
I know a beautiful weaving when I see one. But that’s about the extent of expertise I bring to any conversation about the art form. So, to prepare for our sermon series we’re beginning today, I not only prayed and studied scripture but I called an expert weaver. Now Hulda, a member of this congregation, would never claim to be an expert but she is from my perspective. She knows a whole lot more about it than I ever will. So I called her a few weeks ago and spent a morning learning from her as she showed me how, and listening to her as she talked about the wonder of weaving.
I learned a lot. Took notes. I won’t read them to you but I do want to share with you one insight in particular. Hulda talked about the fact that before you weave, there is a plan and the plan involves 2 steps. First, figure out the pattern and then second carry it out. That doesn’t exactly sound difficult—even for a novice like me. But the reality is that weaving doesn’t just happen. It’s a form of art but it’s also a discipline that requires intention and attention. I think her comment offers insight to faith as well.
Our series Richly Woven will keep us firmly rooted in the Exodus story for the next 6 weeks. It’s a story fundamental to who we are as people of faith, even though many generations have passed since this story took place. It’s a key thread to understanding something about God and a whole lot about us.
For many of us, Hollywood has had as much of an impact on our sense of the story as scripture, maybe more. For my generation and those older it’s hard to imagine the story without thinking of the movie The 10 Commandments and its star Charlton Heston. Could there have been a more perfect Moses? I’m guessing he portrayed Moses better than Moses could have portrayed Moses! For my generation and those younger it’s Raiders of the Lost Ark that informs our imagination. Both—good movies. Neither—particularly accurate in their depiction of the story.
The book of Exodus begins with Pharaoh’s decree to kill all males born to the Hebrew people. Israel was growing in numbers and power. Enslaving them made little difference. Feeling threatened, Pharaoh first asked the midwives to kill all the male babies as they were being born. The midwives refused because they feared God. Pharaoh then ordered all the infant boys to be thrown into the Nile to drown. That’s where we picked up with our reading today. We begin with the birth of Moses and in just a few verses are fast forwarded to a moment in his adult life. Neither part of this story mentions God but both parts help us to see a Divine pattern at work in the world. And the Divine pattern is this: the cry of the people evokes God’s care. It’s a life-giving pattern that moves people from pain to praise and from need to hope.
As we take a closer look at the text I want to invite you to help bring the Divine pattern into focus by weaving a refrain into the sermon. Periodically I will life up the prayer: save us as you promised. When you hear that prayer, please enter into it by saying: “We will trust your word.” So, you’ll need to be paying attention and listen for your cue. Let’s practice. I’ll pray: Save us as you promised. We will trust your word. [Now if you’re nervous about forgetting, no worries. Open your worship folder and notice right before the second reading, we just sang the same words. They’re in that second line. So feel free to keep that right in front of you, and then you’ll be ready for when the moment comes.] Remember your cue, here it is: Save us as you promised, we will trust your word.
Now back to the story. It’s not one of those unfamiliar Old Testament stories. Moses’ birth story is probably one of the most well-known birth stories in the bible—second only to that of Jesus. Interesting that we retell Jesus’ birth story every year at Christmas—but Moses’ birth story is not ever a part of our readings as determined by the church. Maybe because his birth story as told in Exodus is only a half a verse long! Check it out: verse 2: “The woman conceived and bore a son”. That’s all we get! The theologian Walter Brueggeman suggests that this story is not a birth story at all. The story catches our imagination because it’s about a baby being rescued.
First Moses’ mother hides him to protect him from Pharaoh’s death sentence. When he gets too big for that, she puts him in a basket and sends him down the very river that was meant to be his death. But Pharaoh’s daughter sees the basket, hears his cry, has pity on him, and rescues him, raising him in a new life.
Sound familiar? It’s the Divine pattern at work! Pharaoh’s daughter acts in a Godly way—the cry of Moses evokes her care. God may not be named in this story, but there’s no question, God is at work through her. Do you see the holy threads? Hear the cry, show compassion, restore to life.
This is a story about being rescued. And who among us doesn’t have a heart for that? We’re bombarded by stories from around the world in which people are in need of rescue—from violence and hate, from famine and disease. The need is overwhelming—and not just on a global level but in our personal lives as well. Debt that suffocates us, a prognosis that terrifies us, a person who’s betrayed us, a loneliness that haunts us.
We tell this story of Moses from long ago because it continues to be our story today. We need to be reminded that in the midst of overwhelming suffering and death there is a divine pattern at work. It means living with eyes of faith, trusting that the cry of the people evokes God’s care. Save us as you promised. We will trust your word.
Fast forward and the story takes us to Moses as an adult. Having been raised as an Egpytian he’s given authority to oversee the work of the Hebrew people. But he doesn’t see the work to be done. He sees the people forced into labor, oppressed by the government. When he sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, he intervenes, killing the Egyptian and hiding him in the sand. His strange behavior—acting on behalf of the oppressed—gets people talking. The word is out so Moses flees from Pharaoh, leaving Egypt for a place called Midian. As he sat by a well to rest women come to draw water for their father’s flock. But shepherds come and bully them. Again, Moses intervenes. He sees the injustice and responds with care. Moses comes to the women’s defense. He hears their cry, has pity on them and rescues them. Sound familiar? Again, it’s the Divine pattern at work! Moses acts in a Godly way—the cry of the women evoke his care. God may not be named in this story, but there’s no question, God is at work through him. Do you see the holy threads? Hear the cry, show compassion, restore to life.
It’s another story about being rescued. And do any of us ever tire of hearing stories like that? The world lives under the threat of chaos—terrorist acts, economic instability, personal crisis. We are people in need of being rescued. It’s the reality of life. But in faith we look for a Divine pattern that promises to be at work, trusting that the cry of creation evokes God’s care. Save us as you promised. We will trust your word.
God has not yet been named in the story but in these last few verses of the chapter that changes. The author makes it clear: there is a Divine pattern at work in the world. The cry of the people evokes God’s care: “out of the slavery [the Israelites] cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.” The first exodus is about to unfold. But it won’t be the last.
For these are the sacred threads that weave a Divine pattern of hope and new life: the cry of the people evokes God’s care. As we hear this particular story in the weeks ahead, trust that your story is part of this bigger story.
To help us remember this truth we’re inviting all of you to stop by the table in the Gallery where you will find strips of cloths. On this cloth, write your name and in the weeks ahead we will weave your name, with names of others who’ve lived in faith, then on All Saints’ Sunday, November 6th we’ll have a visual symbol of the beauty of lives woven together by God’s grace.
In the mean time, I send you out from this place with a challenge: look for the Divine pattern that is present in the world and in your lives. Then live in it. For every time you show compassion and every time its shown to you, it’s God who is in your midst weaving the threads of life into God’s own sacred story of saving grace, a story ultimately revealed in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Save us as you promised. We will trust your word. Let all God’s people say AMEN!
Connect
Isn’t it ironic? It’s like a free ride when you’ve already paid, it’s the good advice that you just didn’t take….” These lyrics (http://www.metrolyrics.com/ironic-lyrics-alanis-morissette.html) from the Alanis Morrisette song ring true most often when you don’t want them to. No matter how well we plan an intended outcome and think through how we’ll make it happen, we can find ourselves in the exact opposite place from where we expected to be. I layout every meal, chore, errand, phone call, etc. in my Google calendar to ensure I get everything I “need” to get done as efficiently as possible (guilted, in the process into squeezing in just a few precious minutes of quiet time with God). Then, the wireless network goes on the fritz, I lose the battery charger to my phone and all H#@! breaks loose…or not. Makes you wonder whether maybe God’s plan for my week was to enjoy the simple freshness of the CSA, take my daughter to the park instead of doing the laundry, and give my debit card a break.
Consider:
- What threads of irony recur in your life or are evident around you?
- When have the actions you took had the exact opposite effected from what you intended? What did you chalk it up to? How did you respond?
Grow:
Isn’t it ironic…. that we often need to be saved most from ourselves? Natural disasters can claim our homes, job loss can claim our financial future, major illness may claim our lives. However, it is our own patterns of transgressions that claim us from a grace filled life.
I recently learned that Exodus is a story of redemption – of God (re) claiming the Israelites. Many of us may view this book (and maybe the entire Bible?) as a tale of hope; a reminder of God’s promises to always be with us no matter how bad it gets. But, it seems that (ironically), God’s promises are played out through a pattern where we, his people, are lured away from him by the “shininess” of our own desires. So, over and over, God responds with saving grace to the cries of his people – “Save us [from ourselves}…again!”
Read:
- Exodus 2:1 - 25
- Sermon: http://bethlehem-church.org/worship-and-arts/sermons (Sunday, September 18, 2011)
Consider:
- When have you been redeemed, claimed or “saved” by God? What might you have been saved to do?
- Think about a time when you had to choose between serving two masters? What issues did you struggle with? What decision did you ultimately make? What were the deciding factors?
Today’s Gospel is chock full of ironies. The powerless midwives and relatives of Moses disobey the orders of an earthly master in recognition of their divine master. The river Nile – a place that should have led to his death - is the place where Moses is saved. Pharaoh’s daughter disobeys her father and saves a Hebrew child (how did she get this one by him?!?). Pharaoh’s fosters education and leadership skills in a Hebrew, who later uses these abilities to lead the Hebrews away from Pharaoh. Moses is saved so that he might later save. However, ironically, not from the position of Egyptian leadership and power from which he was raised, but as a Hebrew shepherd who trusted in God to forge the path and equip him for the journey.
Close
Oh, Great Redeemer, we are people in need to being saved. Free us from the snares and knots we weave around ourselves. Turn our hearts and minds away from the snags that cause your plan for our life to unravel. Knit us with the attentiveness, discipline and faithfulness to follow the pattern you laid out through the life of your son Jesus. Save us as you promised; we trust your word. Amen.
