Friday, April 4, 2014

Friday, April 4, 2014

Exodus 2:1-22

“Out of the slavery [the Israelites’] cry for help rose up to God.”

In my younger, fundamentalist days, I debated with my atheist friend about the truth of the Bible. I argued that all of the stories were literally and historically true and he argued just the opposite. I bought into the assumption that a religious story can only have value if it is historically accurate.

     We both think differently now. While historicity is important consideration, it’s far from the most important one. I’m convinced that the Biblical writers were inviting their original audience (and us) to be shaped by the stories as they heard them year after year. The hearers were called to inhabit the stories: try on the clothing of each character and walk around in their shoes for awhile. I like how poet Billy Collins teaches his students to read a poem. He wants them to “walk inside a poem’s room/ and feel the walls for a light switch.”

    And so we come to today’s story of Moses’ birth and development. If we were to walk around in his shoes, we would feel the double privilege he must have felt. After all, he was the beloved son and brother of a resourceful mother and sister whose cunning saved his life against all odds. He was also the adopted son of the ruling Egyptian class and most likely given every luxury and opportunity of that status.

     But then Moses faced a moment of crisis in his life. He was forced to answer the question, “To whom do I belong?” Do I belong to the oppressed Israelites or to the oppressor Egyptians? When he killed the Egyptian taskmaster who was beating an Israelite slave, Moses seems to have answered the question. He was throwing his lot in with the abused people of his birth. But, of course, that isn’t completely true. When Pharaoh hears of the murder, he seeks revenge and Moses runs. He was willing to stand up for the Israelites when it was convenient for him but wasn’t yet willing to stand before Pharaoh and challenge his unjust system. Moses had heard his people’s cry for help, but that cry had not yet penetrated his heart.

    I stress “yet” because we know the rest of the story. During his self-imposed exile, Moses comes face-to-face with the identity of God and then is sent back to Egypt, this time as a changed man. God had heard the cry of the people and was working through Moses to bring liberation.

    As we walk inside the poetry of this story, fumbling around for the light switch, we are invited to see our own world through Moses’ eyes. Do we belong to those who are oppressed or to the privileged oppressors?  Surely, each life is a mixture of both. During this Lenten season, we are also invited to hear our world through God’s ears. Do we hear the cries of our own hearts and of the hearts of those around us?  

-David Shumaker