Exodus 1:8-2:10 and Matthew 16: 13-20
Last week, we ended our Family Fun Day Sunday story with Ocho in such a happy way—Joseph was reunited with his brothers and forgave them. The ancestors of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph were all gathered to Egypt—the land of enough—growing stronger and more numerous. And then we hear this ominous turn in the story—“Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.”
Isn’t that just how things go?
People are in relationship and thriving… and then someone begins to see and label another as a threat. This new king saw danger whether the Israelite people stayed in the land or left, so he constructed a system of slavery. The more they were oppressed, the more numerous they became and so the story goes, “the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.” Their fear turned them into monsters—and they treated the Israelites in cruel, ruthless and bitter ways. In fact, they ordered the midwives to kill the boy babies as they were born. It was not only to get rid of any potential future army or uprising, but it was to destroy their hope.
An artist, Hannah Garrity, reflects on this story—“Of course, the midwives should break the edict of the king. However, it takes incredible bravery to stand up to human power. It is incredible that they were fearless enough to defy and lie to the king. The moral is easier said than done: we must always do the right thing, even when it puts out lives in danger. Be brave.”
In this situation, the clever minds and sheer courage of Shiprah and Puah is remarkable. Shiprah and Puah are the two midwives who are named as heros in this story because they save all the babies from this evil plan. They don’t say “no” to the king. They simply don’t do what he commands, and then they tell this great God-blessed lie, “Sorry king, we don’t even get there in time to help these vigorous Hebrew women—the boys are born well before we arrive.”
And as Lisle Gwynn Garrity, the artist who designed the beautiful cover image today notes, “the impact of their actions, like the waters of the Nile, ripples out far beyond them.”
Garrity also says this about their hands in the painting, “They are the hands that said no to a power-hungry ruler but yes to a God of justice—to a God who transforms a story of massacred into one of liberation.”
In the short-term, the babies were still not out of danger though… because we hear that the mother of Moses kept him alive by hiding him for three months. And when she couldn’t hide him any longer, she put him in a protective basket that she made and placed him where someone could save him—and sure enough, the Pharaoh’s daughter discovered him. Miriam, Moses’ protective big sister, was watching. Smart girl, she offered her own mother as someone who could continue to breast feed and care for the child, and in fact, now Pharaoh’s daughter would pay Moses’ mother to care for him until he grew up. And in this way, God saved Moses and his family from threat and placed Moses in the household of Pharaoh.
What a complicated and miraculous story—and this is just the beginning of God’s plans for saving the Israelites. And it makes me wonder, in what situations in our lives are we being called like Shiprah and Puah to do the right thing, even in the face of power, to be brave?
In what situations in our lives are we—like Moses and Miriam, their mother and the Pharoah’s daughter, placed exactly where we need to be in relationship with others for present and future transformation? None of the rest of the story could unfold as it did without each of them carrying out their unique part.
Moses truly had a “third-culture” identity—he was truly Hebrew and he was raised in the very center of Egyptian culture, as the Pharoah’s grandson. What a very unique view he must have had as he grew in awareness of the situation… that some of the people he loved were oppressed and that others were oppressors, and that human-created systems of injustice harm everyone in the system. But in situations of harm and danger, there are always those—like Shiprah and Puah—like Moses’ mother and sister, Miriam—like the Pharoah’s daughter—who resist and interrupt harm, who protect and cultivate others and make room for all.
Generations later, Jesus came along in a situation where the king of the day was called Caesar. Instead of Son of God, a kingly title, Jesus called himself Son of Man… as if to say that Jesus’ identity was grounded with the people. But Simon Peter, one of Jesus’ closest followers, said even more about Jesus—Simon Peter said that Jesus was the promised one who would save them from oppression because it was God’s hope, God’s vison, God’s dream for them. And Jesus answered that after this, Simon would be known as Peter—which means rock—because on this kind of foundation, this kind of understand, a whole new kind of faith would grow. From this kind of faith community, God would save people from worship of oppressors and oppression and would begin to turn to one another and love. This was and is God’s dream and hope for us.
This is the hope, the vision, God’s dream that we’ll sing about and pray for… and when we are brave like Shiprah and Puah, Moses and Miriam, Pharoah’s daughter, Jesus, Peter… when we are brave, we will act and bring it into being. It’s not that it happens all at once or that we see God’s vision unfold perfectly… but we do glimpse it.
On Friday, we hosted John Arlandson’s funeral… and although none of us imagined that we would be grieving John’s death and celebrating his life so very soon after Ivy’s death last November, it was very moving to see so many of the same family, friends, loved ones gathered again. It was very meaningful to see how the Hospitality team and so many people of Christ gathered around the Arlandson family with their presence, love and support. And then, later that same day, we celebrated at the ordination of now Pastor Carrie Stiles, our former intern pastor. I was so moved at the group of people who were able to attend—especially after so many of you worked all day to set up, serve and clean up at the funeral. It was such an honor to be with you as we sang the Cambodian Lord’s Prayer at Carrie’s invitation. I was so grateful to see the many ways that we showed up for Carrie. Thank you to those who were able to come—the witness of your presence was meaningful. These are just two of the ways that people of this part of the body of Christ showed up for one another this week… and I know that there are many, many more ways that you showed you care, that you protected and helped others, that by God’s grace, you gave a glimpse of God’s deep, expansive love. It is not always easy to do the next right thing, especially in the brokenness that surrounds and impacts us, yet this is God’s call and invitation. So, thank you for all the ways you are already responding to God’s callings and may we be brave to say yes to God’s next right thing.
