The Red Sea: Free At Last

Exodus 14:1-30

(I wrote this for a teaching this summer; some of the children may have been present for it but many will have been away. It begins with how the Israelites came to Egypt to provide some context.)

Some of you might be pretty familiar with this story.  It is a very important story in our faith.  It tells of God’s power to command creation, of his saving act in separating the water, it tells of God’s deliverance - bringing the Israelites out of slavery. It tells us that God longs for us to be free! Free from oppression, free from sin that gets us all tangled up.  It is a powerful picture of the lengths God goes to, to free us!  God would eventually go so far to save us from our sin that he would send his own Son to make a way for us, this time the way wouldn’t come through water but through the cross, through the body and blood of Christ.  And it would be a way for all people to know the freedom and the love of God.

So… if you have never heard this story or if you have heard it 100 times I hope that you can hear it anew with your heart and your mind.

You might remember that the Hebrew people, the Israelites came to Egypt through Joseph who had been sold as a slave by his brothers. God was with Joseph when he was a slave and imprisoned in Egypt and he became a great leader in this foreign country. Now there was a severe famine in the lands but because of Joseph's leadership, Egypt had enough and even more than enough and people came from all over to buy grain. Eventually Jacob sent his sons to to buy grain in Egypt that their family would not die of starvation. Would Joseph save his brothers or would he send them away to die, as his brothers had done to him? Well, Joseph have mercy on them and forgave his brothers and offered the family refuge in Egypt. As time passed, the Israelites thrived in Egypt, Joseph and his brothers died and all of that generation passed away. And a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. This new king was threatened by the Hebrew people because they were more numerous and powerful than the Egyptians. So the new king oppressed them with labour; they were the work force of the country, they laid brick and mortar, they built cities, they worked fields.  They worked and suffered under the great cruelty of the Pharaoh who was threatened by their skill, their success, their prosperity. The Pharaoh wanted to subdue and control them.  But this was not working, they were continuing to grow in numbers and in strength.  And then Pharaoh did a very evil thing, to get rid of them he ordered his men to kill the newborn Hebrew baby boys.

One of these baby boys was put on the Nile River - maybe out of desperation or wild hope or sheer courage.  The baby was placed in a basket made of reeds and covered with tar and pitch so it was waterproof.  And this boy ended up being raised in the Pharaoh's house - he was drawn out of the water by the Pharoah’s daughter who had compassion on this Hebrew child and took him for her very own.  Moses’ was filled with tension: he was Hebrew and yet he was in the house of the Pharaoh who had spared his life when his daughter brought Moses home.  He felt caught. He was angry.  In his anger he even killed an Egyptian man whom he saw beating a Hebrew man.  When Pharaoh heard this he sought to kill Moses, so Moses fled to Midian and as time passed he married and had a son and back in Egypt the Pharaoh died.  And the people of Israel groaned under their slavery and cried out and God heard their cry.

Life in Midian seemed to be getting better for Moses until one day when he was at the foot of the mountain beyond the wilderness with his flock a bush before him began to burn BUT this fire was odd - it was not burning up the bush as you would expect it to.  The bush was flaming!  And then the voice of God, said: ‘Moses, Moses’ and Moses said: ‘Here I am”  Moses heard the voice and it said to him, “I am the God of your father, of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, I have seen the misery of your people, I have heard their cries and I have come to deliver them to a land flowing with milk and honey.  Go to Pharaoh and tell him to let my people go.”

Moses was afraid, of course he was, he would have to face the Pharaoh's family.  But God said, “I will be with you.  

So after some lengthy discussions with God and some reluctance Moses went to Pharaoh and ten times he asked the Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people go, each time Pharaoh would say yes and then his heart would become hard and he would say NO.  So God plagues upon Egypt, he turned the Nile river to blood, sent frogs, gnats, and zillions of flies, and sickness and horrible boils and huge hailstones and a swarm of locusts and then darkness and it seemed as if everything in the world was coming undone.  But each time Pharaoh would say, “make it stop and I’ll let them go.” And each time when God made it stop Pharaoh changed his mind, “actually, no, never mind, you can’t go.”

Finally Moses warned Pharaoh to let his people go or else the worst thing would happen in Egypt, the oldest boy in each family would die.  But the Israelite families would be spared.  God told his people to take their best lamb and kill it and put some of its blood on their front doors.  When God passes over your house, Moses explained, God will see the blood and know that the lamb died instead of you.”

And that very night, Moses and God’s people fled Egypt and left their life of slavery behind.  They escaped under a cover of darkness out of Egypt and into the wilderness.  They didn’t have a GPS or a map.  But God was with them, he sent a pillar of fire to guide them by night and a cloud by day and when they had made it through the desert they arrived at the edge of the Sea.  What were they to do!  Behind them in the distance was the great thundering of Pharaoh's army.

They couldn’t sail or swim, it was too far, there were so many children and old people in their company.  And they began to Panic, “you brought us out here to die, there is no way out, there is nothing we can do.”

“God will do it for you,” Moses reminded them.  “He will make a way.”

but they couldn’t see it and all they heard was the sound of water and the army behind them.

“There’s no way out,” they cried.

“The Lord will fight for you and you have only to keep still.”Moses instructed them.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “take your staff and strength out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.”  And Moses did as the Lord commanded and then the Angel of the Lord who was going before the Israelites moved and went behind them and so did that pillar of cloud - it went behind them too and made it very hard for pharoah’s army to even see, it was as though the Israelites were in daylight and Pharaoh's army was in utter darkness.  And Moses stretched out his staff over the sea and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land and the waters were divided. And the people walked across the sea on dry land!

And when the Egyptians tried to follow the walls of the water crashed back and swallowed them up.

God’s people were safe.  They danced and laughed and sang and thanked God - when there had been no way, God made a way.

God made a way for his people through the Red Sea, God made a way for all people through his Son Jesus. Through the waters of baptism God makes a way for us to receive his life and become his children.  God has given us his Spirit and he will make a way for  his church, his people today so that we may walk by the light of faith.

At your baptism before the water is poured upon your head or before you are immersed in it, we hear a prayer of blessing for the water and this is what some of it says:

We thank you for the gift of water to sustain, refresh and cleanse all life.

Over water the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation

Through water you lead the children of Israel

from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land

In water your Son Jesus received the baptism of John

and was anointed by the Holy Spirit, as the Messiah, the Christ,

to lead us from the death of sin to newness of life.

We thank you Father for the water of baptism.

In it we are buried with Christ in his death.

By it we share in his resurrection.

Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit.

Let us thank God that he made a way for the Israelites and has made a way for us.

Amen.

The Labourers in the Vineyard

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard.  After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard.  When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.  When he went out again about noon and three o'clock, he did the same.  And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and He said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' And He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.'  When evening came the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage.  Now when the first came they thought they should receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage.  And when they received it them grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.  But he replied to one of them, 'Friend I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?  Take what belongs to you and go.  I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?  Or are you envious because I am generous?  So the last will be first and the first will be last."

This is the Word of the Lord,
Thanks be to God.

This parable plunges us into the upside down kingdom of God where the last are first, where our feeble understanding of work and reward is thrown out, where the younger son who returns home after spending his inheritance is given a feast and a seat beside his father.  Meanwhile the older son, the rule follower, who has worked hard and been faithful complains; he can't see that his faithfulness is its own reward, he wants further compensation for being good or maybe just for being better. Just like the workers in the vineyard who worked longer or endured the heat of the day and also complain for not getting more than those who came after them.  It challenges our sense of what is fair and it dismantles the competitive world of winners and losers.

This parable gets to some very human realities: our tendency to grumble and complain, to see what we don't have instead of what we do have. It identifies the problem of envy, our blinding pride, our sense of entitlement.  We know these feelings and the kids do too.  "She got new runners and I got hand me downs. Why is her portion bigger than mine? Why does he get to stay up later? Why do I have clean up more and get the same number of points for it?  It's not fair!"  Maybe if you are a parent you have some classic lines: "Life isn't fair. Get over it! Get over yourself! Fair does not mean equal. Be grateful!"  Grumbling and complaining in kids drives us crazy: "Who do they think they are? Why can't they see what they have? They have no idea how lucky they are!"  And yet, I am not always above it.  Too easily my pride is wounded. When my efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated I am offended - I want some kind of further compensation, some kind of acknowledgement.  I was handing out exclusive invitations to my pity party last week and found myself embarrassed by my own immaturity. I discovered in myself an ingratitude for God's generosity and mercy towards me; a denial of his love and forgiveness.  I found myself holding on and grumbling instead of letting go and giving thanks.

I don't know about you but, I find this parable compelling because through it we glimpse a greater perspective on justice, one goes that beyond what is equal or fair, to what is restorative and generous.  Jesus takes the complaint about wage and he asks us to consider the bigger question: What is harder - working in the scorching heat, or not having work? He asks us to remember two things about the owner of the vineyard: firstly, he did what he said he was going to do, he paid the agreed upon wage and secondly, he is the owner, he retains the right to be generous.  The workers are rebuffed from a strong sense of entitlement to what they believe is rightfully theirs and are reminded of who they are in relationship to the owner and that they too have received His generosity.

For me this parable hits close to home because the stories of people who are unemployed, underemployed and unable to work have been a part of the conversations in our home for many years.  'Hanging idly about in the marketplace' is a painful experience that influences our identity and our sense of self worth.  One can feel overlooked and unwanted, devastated by loss of work and the feeling that they do not possess value. The days are long, there is a lot of time to think and perseverate in which the temptation to despair is great and the work of staying mentally disciplined is rigorous.  This parable helps us to see work as a gift.  Those who went into the field first are blessed.  They had the whole day to put their mind and bodies to something productive that earned them their daily bread.  They were even able to agree on a wage with the owner.  Those who went into the field at five o'clock with only an hour left of daylight took the invitation of the landowner without even knowing what the reward for their work would be; they were glad just to be asked.  The owner took their shame and exchanged it for honour, he gave to them first though they came last, he took what was considered to be inferior and made it equal.  And all had enough.

We can think back to other stories in scripture in which we discover God providing enough: manna in the desert, water into wine, the loaves of bread and fish that feed a crowd.  All stories tell of a God who provides and who envisions an alternative economic order that is not based on merit but on grace and generosity. If you have been in the field all day, you have been blessed.  If you are called in the eleventh hour, you are blessed.

This is wise teaching for all of us to grapple with.  I hope that we will take this story home and continue to turn it over in their minds.  Maybe we will find ourselves choosing gratitude over grumbling, maybe we will glimpse generosity of God in our lives.  Maybe we will find ourselves thinking about God's alternative economy and what it might look like to participate in this economy in Edmonton and/or maybe we can share stories of the kingdom of God amongst us.

May God be with us all as we spend time in his word and teach the children this week.

Joseph, Jesus and Julian of Norwich - Reflecting on Genesis 45

Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, "send everyone away from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.  And he wept so loudly that all the Egyptians heard it and the household of Pharaoh heard it.  Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph, is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, so dismayed were they at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer.  He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.  And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.  For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.  God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.  So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.  Hurry and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.  You shall settle in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, as well as your flocks, herds and all that you have.  I will provide for you there - since there are five more years of famine to come - so that you and your household and all that you have will not come to poverty.'  And now your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my own mouth that speaks to you.  You must tell my father how greatly I am honoured in Egypt and all that you have seen.  Hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, while Benjamin wept upon his neck.  And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; after that the brothers talked with him.

Genesis 45:1-15

Joseph the proud owner of the coat of many colours and the object of his father's deepest affection; Joseph the dreamer with gifts of discernment beyond his years. On this routine morning he would say good bye to his father and leave for a day of work with his brothers not suspecting it would be the last day he would see his father for years to come; not suspecting the depths of his brothers hatred, not suspecting that he would be betrayed, stripped of his coat, beaten and tossed down a well, left for dead, and ultimately sold into slavery.  His eleven brothers would rid themselves of Joseph and take the coat stained by the blood of an animal to their father. Joseph died, they would lie, in the jaws of a wild animal.  Their father would grieve deep like every parent who loses a child.  Jacob has known much suffering in his life but this loss will almost break him. The dysfunction, the sin in his family has become so unwieldy that it has ended in this: a brother betrayed and trafficked and a lie that enslaves each one.

At the time Joseph arrives a slave in Egypt the country is flourishing and he ends up serving in the home of the Potiphar second in command in all of Egypt. The Lord is with Joseph, his talents are noted but his trouble does not end.  Soon after catching the eye of Potiphar's wife but refusing her advances, the rejected woman frames Joseph and he is thrown into jail.  It is in this place of confinement that God opens up a way for Joseph, he is treated well, respected and given responsibility. God has not forgotten him. And Joseph continues to walk with God.  Though the Egyptians enjoy prosperity the Pharaoh cannot rest, he is troubled by his dreams.  He is awakened by the image of seven fats cows coming out of the Nile followed by seven skinny cows who eat the fat cows.  And another dream seven ears of corn plump and good growing on one stalk.  Then seven ears thin and blighted come up and eat the plump stalks. (Genesis 41:1-9) Pharaoh has little imagination for what it means but feels that he is being warned about something.  His magicians and wise men are of little help and do not console him, he cannot shake this dream. He comes to Joseph on the advice of the cup bearer who remembers Joseph's gift. Joseph tells Pharaoh it is not he who will interpret the dream but God, the cows represent seven prosperous years followed by seven lean years, the second dream means the same thing but underlines the urgency. The Pharaoh is being warned to take precautions against a coming famine.  Joseph becomes an adviser to the Pharaoh, the acumen which won him such favor in the eyes of his Father, is now bringing him great honour in the house of the Pharaoh.  His power is growing - no other slave has come out of prison to rise to such heights.

The famine spreads across the lands to the house of Jacob; once wealthy and powerful they are becoming desperate and hoping to buy grain in Egypt.  It is here they will bow down to Joseph and at his feet they will be shown mercy and will ultimately live.  One could hardly imagine a more dramatic moment where such breadth and depth of emotion would be felt. Imagine the relief of seeing family in a foreign land but the arms that you want to throw yourselves around last beat you and cast you off, the flickering hope that would beat inside Joseph that he would once more embrace his beloved father.  Imagine the faces of their brothers when they realize this man who has them at his mercy is the one they betrayed. Or the torment of having to confess this lie and wait for justice. And their own faint hope that their brother, who was sold for a slave is the one who will save them.  Could it be that be that Joseph would exchange their emptiness for fullness, their bankruptcy for wealth?

As we hear this story we are confronted with difficult questions: did God really plan for these terrible things to happen to Joseph so that his family would be saved?  Does God bring tragic circumstances into our lives as a part of his 'good plan'?  These are hard questions which probe our deepest beliefs about God, is he really good? Can he be trusted?  How is he at work in the world? People will answer these questions differently and in truth they are deeply mysterious and beyond our full knowing or understanding.  However, I believe that this story tells us about a God who redeems, who makes a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert.  It tells of a God who takes our pain and suffering, our own brokenness and our burdens and bears them in himself.  It tells of a God who can give us hope in place of despair, certainty for our futility, mercy for judgement and freedom from slavery. Though we will walk through deep waters and suffer pain we know that we do not walk alone and we trust that God is always working his good and redemptive ways in our world. We look back at stories in the scripture and we find mercy and grace at every turn where there might only have been judgement.  God clothes Adam and Eve, he provides an ark for salvation, a ram for Abraham and Isaac, and his own Son, Jesus, the revelation, the very Word of God, who leads the great exodus for all people in all times: freedom from our slavery to sin and life in place of death. And we add our own stories to the great witness of the salvation, providence and redemptive work of God in the world.

This story also teaches us about trusting the goodness of God in the midst of our own suffering.  Joseph's response to the suffering in his life is instructive; Joseph stays true to God, his heart does not stray he remains loyal, patient and submitted, accepting his circumstances even when they were unjust.  He knew the leading of God and had faith that God was making a way for him through hardship in this foreign land.  Although God provides for Joseph and Joseph recognizes this I appreciate that the story does not skirt or trivialize the reality of his pain, he is working this out throughout these years in exile. Joseph names his first son Manasseh, he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and my Father's house."  The second is named Ephraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes."  And when he first meets his brothers his responses to them are conflicted; there is anger and compassion, stinginess and generosity. He wants to bless them but this is not easily done.  He wants to see their character, can they be trusted?  Will they tell the truth? How will they respond when their feet are put to the fire?  And when he can no longer hold it in, the pain of saying his name brings with it a cry so loud and deep that it is heard throughout the Pharaoh's home.  It is a cry of anguish, I am the one whom you sold as a slave, the one despised and rejected, the one who will save you, who will offer you a future and a hope.  Do you see Christ throughout this story? And then after the cry there are words of forgiveness, words of peace.  There is a long embrace and weeping for all that has been lost and for all that it is forgiven, for restoration of relationship and for new life.

A spiritual writer reflected that Julian of Norwich a 14th century Benedictine monk who lived in a time of social upheaval and death by black plague shared many of Joseph's disciplines and as well as his unwavering trust in the goodness of God.  Julian wrote, "Just as our flesh is covered by clothing, and our blood is covered by our flesh, so are we, soul and body, covered and enclosed by the goodness of God.  Yet the clothing and the flesh will pass away but the goodness of God will always remain and will remain closer to us than our own flesh."


"All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well."
-Julian of Norwich