How many of you grew up watching the Cecil B. DeMille version of The Ten Commandments on TV? Fun fact, Charlton Heston’s son played the baby, Moses. Ok, how many of you have seen the movie, The Prince of Egypt? Fun fact, Treva and I went to see it in the theater on our first date. While there are several other film adaptations, believe it or not, I want to stick with these two for a minute.
Both of them have incredible presentations of the Exodus and both of them take a few liberties with the text in order to tell the story of the birth of the people of Israel. I’m not going to waste time picking those inconsistencies apart any more than I am going to tell you that the Exodus is historically problematic or mince words about translation issues between the sea of reeds and the Red Sea.
As I so often say to my wife, never let the facts get in the way of a good story! Of course, that’s not a line I would use when it comes to facts like paying the bills, or issues related to public health, disproportionate sentencing of African Americans, or any story that denies the wellbeing of the many for the comfort of the few. A good story would never do that. A good story only points to the greater truth that all the facts also support.
What we find in these movies that we love about the stories that we love is something akin to the ancient tradition of Midrash, which is a kind of re-telling of ancient stories in a way that connects with our present worldview. Not only do we see it in film, but we see it in Mathew’s Gospel. In Mathew 2:13-15, the storyteller refers to Hosea 11:1. Fun fact, Hosea was talking about the people of Israel and referring to the Exodus event. It was not a prophecy of the Messiah.
That doesn’t mean that Matthew was wrong to use it as a predictor of Jesus, as long as we understand that the author wanted us to identify the plight of Jesus with the plight of the Israelites. It’s like a movie or a play where characters break the fourth wall to make sure we get the plot. Mathew might as well have said, “That’s what I call foreshadowing!”
In the same way, we repeated the line, “This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I have called my son” in order to connect the experience of Jesus with the experience of the Israelites, and maybe…just maybe, with your experience and with mine.
Before we figure that out, let’s jump on into that Moses story and talk about how we got here. Last week we were with Joseph in prison, and we talked about the way God is with us in our own places of difficulty. Not only that, but God is still seeking to bless others through us when we are faithful to God’s direction. As hard as that may be to get our heads around, we left off with the promise that Joseph would be reconciled with his brother and would become the person that blessed the known world during a time of famine.
From that, his family and his cousins and his cousin’s cousins all came to live in the bounty of Egypt, until a new Pharaoh looked around and realized there were about as many or more Hebrews (a name which literally meant from the other side) than Egyptians. So, in a tale as old as time, he suppressed them and enslaved them, and even had all the babies thrown in the river.
Fortunately, Moses’s mom, sis, and Pharaoh's daughter all resisted (#women #don’tmess). Here’s where it gets fun. Moses (played by Charlton Heston’s real live baby) is put in a basket made of reeds. Maybe that was all they had, but I find it interesting in light of the Egyptian’s ideas about death and the concept of ma’at (judgment).
Those who have watched Moon Knight know what I am talking about here (if you haven’t don’t worry this is spoiler free), but the Egyptians believed that the bad is left in the sea of time while the good go onto the Field of Reeds. Again, I’m taking liberties with the story here but stay with me. From the beginning, Moses is prefigured as an example of the power of God to save in a way that will prove the power of God to the Israelites and the Egyptians for all the world to see. That is, in fact, the agenda that God has in mind in vv4 and 17, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.’
That line about hardening Pharaoh's heart is a tricky one. It may help to understand that in the mind of the ancient Hebrews, nothing happened apart from God’s agency or permission. Saying that God hardened Pharaoh's heart was as much an admission of God’s sovereignty as it was a way to find meaning in tragedy and chaos. It may also help to know that the Hebrew word that is translated as hardened also means burdened. Pharaoh felt the weight of his decision, and he could not let it go.
I wonder how many of us have had that experience. How many of us have felt the compulsion to stay the course no matter the cost; to protect our own interests; to refuse to give or receive kindness? How many of our leaders (or maybe some others on the international stage) have been caught in lies or just in poor decisions and yet they double down on their positions?
So it was with Pharaoh, and he brought out his war machines. He brought out his best and all the rest. The people panicked. Moses assured them. God assured Moses, then God made a way through the Sea of Reeds….reeds. Like I said before, I don’t think the facts matter as much as the truth. The truth is that God delivered them from death to life. The truth is that God created a way and they were moved as through a birthing canal into a new experience of living and being in the world.
The first thing they see is the carnage all around. The first thing they do is to cry out! The next thing they did is to express their thirst and hunger, and God gave them food and drink. That is the story that we celebrate today! We celebrate the power of God to save.
That may seem like a bold claim with the ongoing war in Ukraine. In fact, there are 10 ongoing conflicts around the world that are either actively engaged or potentially boiling into open warfare, according to the nonpartisan watchdog, the International Crisis Group, and at least 2 of them involve the United States directly. What are we to do?
First, we are to listen to this story about the power of God to save. Next, we are to remember, to reimagine, to recast this story in a way that connects with our present worldview. Part of that worldview includes the power of stories to help us find the truth about God and about ourselves. Part of that worldview involves an expectation that where we cannot envision a way forward, God already has one in mind.
The way forward for those of us in the Reformed tradition of faith is one of constant renewal, where we are formed and re-formed daily as God’s people; as God’s image; as the conduit for blessing and hope and peace!
Making a way for peace in this world is no small task, but it is not up to us alone. That’s what we celebrate at this table today! We celebrate the fact that even though horse and rider were thrown into the sea and the Israelites rejoiced, God wept for the loss of those with heavy, hardened hearts.
We celebrate the fact that Jesus went to Egypt and came out again, just as the people of Israel, just as all who follow the way of Jesus from death into new life! Yes, even in the wake of disasters that raise walls of water on the just and the unjust, even in the midst of suffering that we harden our hearts to because we just can’t bear it, even in the space between us in the pews, and the grocery store and the sections of town we dare not enter for fear of the unknown God is at work restoring peace!
More than that, we celebrate the fact that God is at work restoring peace here and now in the space that we share. We’ve already mentioned the Peace and Global Witness Offering, and I want to remind you that there are some stories about the impact of that offering in your bulletin. Part of that will help our friends in Cuba who are not only Recovering from a Hurricane but also battling an outbreak of Dengue Fever.
If you are interested in diving a little deeper in terms of a Bible Study on the topic of peacemaking, just let Clancy know. She has a great resource that is put out by the PC(USA) that can be used for a group or for individual study. I don’t want to discourage that in any way, but I want to close by assuring you that you are already working toward a vision of renewal and hope, and peace.
I know this because you have told me so. Listen now to some of the answers that you have given to the recent survey questions that the Session has been asking, and be encouraged, for God brings renewal every day and it comes through you, and it comes through me – for we are God’s people. Amen.
Describe FPC in seven words or less…
The best of traditional liturgy and liberation theology
A place where the inclusive love of Jesus is felt and practiced.
A place where I am not alone
Loving, Christ-centered, and welcoming
God’s people joined in love to love!
A place to feel the love of Christ
A place to grow in faith
A place of love
An encouraging home, a source of guidance
Friendly, accepting, joyful
Open, thoughtful, aware, and faithful
Welcoming, affirming, faith compatible with science
Welcoming smiles, word of God, music, bible, and presence of Spirit
Beloved Community
LOVE, COMPASSION, FAITHFUL, FUN
Supportive, uplifting, welcoming
The message of love where all are welcome
A chill, accepting place to worship God.
Everlasting, caring, loving, open, welcoming, nurturing, a song in my heart.
What has FPC done in the last 5 years that you have found energizing and exciting to think about, and /or gratifying?
Pride Fest representation
Attending the Montreat conference
Serving Meals On Wheels
Joyful Pentecost services
Maundy Thursday meal
Our welcoming open spirit
Housing PDA and other mission groups
Gratifying to deliver peanut butter to the UCO
Meet and Greet
Tabling Fête de la terre
Musical theater Sundays
Pollinator garden
Zach’s sermons
Jake’s musical talents
Snack bags for the homeless
Living Waters, Pub Theology, Special music services
Monday Study Group
Putting services online.
Fellowship dinners.
Been open to all that want to worship. Made church fun
I love the Lent/Good Friday services.
Clean water for Cuba church; maintained enduring music program; got us though the Pandemic.
Supporting local justice groups
What is it about FPC that gives you hope?
How much so few are accomplishing
The gratitude that each member gives to another
That it is consistently a place that feels like a clam amongst the storm
It is a reverent, often profound place removed from what can seem to be attention-seeking rancor & division in the outside world
Everyone’s kindness
The congregation’s determination to continue through every adversity
The way we care for others – no matter what!
We have survived and thrived against many odds
The sermons usually give me hope
The positive attitude of our Pastor and church members. We can do this!
That there are young people actively involved
It's always here for me.
It has been and will be.
People keep showing up.
Both of them have incredible presentations of the Exodus and both of them take a few liberties with the text in order to tell the story of the birth of the people of Israel. I’m not going to waste time picking those inconsistencies apart any more than I am going to tell you that the Exodus is historically problematic or mince words about translation issues between the sea of reeds and the Red Sea.
As I so often say to my wife, never let the facts get in the way of a good story! Of course, that’s not a line I would use when it comes to facts like paying the bills, or issues related to public health, disproportionate sentencing of African Americans, or any story that denies the wellbeing of the many for the comfort of the few. A good story would never do that. A good story only points to the greater truth that all the facts also support.
What we find in these movies that we love about the stories that we love is something akin to the ancient tradition of Midrash, which is a kind of re-telling of ancient stories in a way that connects with our present worldview. Not only do we see it in film, but we see it in Mathew’s Gospel. In Mathew 2:13-15, the storyteller refers to Hosea 11:1. Fun fact, Hosea was talking about the people of Israel and referring to the Exodus event. It was not a prophecy of the Messiah.
That doesn’t mean that Matthew was wrong to use it as a predictor of Jesus, as long as we understand that the author wanted us to identify the plight of Jesus with the plight of the Israelites. It’s like a movie or a play where characters break the fourth wall to make sure we get the plot. Mathew might as well have said, “That’s what I call foreshadowing!”
In the same way, we repeated the line, “This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet Hosea, “Out of Egypt I have called my son” in order to connect the experience of Jesus with the experience of the Israelites, and maybe…just maybe, with your experience and with mine.
Before we figure that out, let’s jump on into that Moses story and talk about how we got here. Last week we were with Joseph in prison, and we talked about the way God is with us in our own places of difficulty. Not only that, but God is still seeking to bless others through us when we are faithful to God’s direction. As hard as that may be to get our heads around, we left off with the promise that Joseph would be reconciled with his brother and would become the person that blessed the known world during a time of famine.
From that, his family and his cousins and his cousin’s cousins all came to live in the bounty of Egypt, until a new Pharaoh looked around and realized there were about as many or more Hebrews (a name which literally meant from the other side) than Egyptians. So, in a tale as old as time, he suppressed them and enslaved them, and even had all the babies thrown in the river.
Fortunately, Moses’s mom, sis, and Pharaoh's daughter all resisted (#women #don’tmess). Here’s where it gets fun. Moses (played by Charlton Heston’s real live baby) is put in a basket made of reeds. Maybe that was all they had, but I find it interesting in light of the Egyptian’s ideas about death and the concept of ma’at (judgment).
Those who have watched Moon Knight know what I am talking about here (if you haven’t don’t worry this is spoiler free), but the Egyptians believed that the bad is left in the sea of time while the good go onto the Field of Reeds. Again, I’m taking liberties with the story here but stay with me. From the beginning, Moses is prefigured as an example of the power of God to save in a way that will prove the power of God to the Israelites and the Egyptians for all the world to see. That is, in fact, the agenda that God has in mind in vv4 and 17, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.’
That line about hardening Pharaoh's heart is a tricky one. It may help to understand that in the mind of the ancient Hebrews, nothing happened apart from God’s agency or permission. Saying that God hardened Pharaoh's heart was as much an admission of God’s sovereignty as it was a way to find meaning in tragedy and chaos. It may also help to know that the Hebrew word that is translated as hardened also means burdened. Pharaoh felt the weight of his decision, and he could not let it go.
I wonder how many of us have had that experience. How many of us have felt the compulsion to stay the course no matter the cost; to protect our own interests; to refuse to give or receive kindness? How many of our leaders (or maybe some others on the international stage) have been caught in lies or just in poor decisions and yet they double down on their positions?
So it was with Pharaoh, and he brought out his war machines. He brought out his best and all the rest. The people panicked. Moses assured them. God assured Moses, then God made a way through the Sea of Reeds….reeds. Like I said before, I don’t think the facts matter as much as the truth. The truth is that God delivered them from death to life. The truth is that God created a way and they were moved as through a birthing canal into a new experience of living and being in the world.
The first thing they see is the carnage all around. The first thing they do is to cry out! The next thing they did is to express their thirst and hunger, and God gave them food and drink. That is the story that we celebrate today! We celebrate the power of God to save.
That may seem like a bold claim with the ongoing war in Ukraine. In fact, there are 10 ongoing conflicts around the world that are either actively engaged or potentially boiling into open warfare, according to the nonpartisan watchdog, the International Crisis Group, and at least 2 of them involve the United States directly. What are we to do?
First, we are to listen to this story about the power of God to save. Next, we are to remember, to reimagine, to recast this story in a way that connects with our present worldview. Part of that worldview includes the power of stories to help us find the truth about God and about ourselves. Part of that worldview involves an expectation that where we cannot envision a way forward, God already has one in mind.
The way forward for those of us in the Reformed tradition of faith is one of constant renewal, where we are formed and re-formed daily as God’s people; as God’s image; as the conduit for blessing and hope and peace!
Making a way for peace in this world is no small task, but it is not up to us alone. That’s what we celebrate at this table today! We celebrate the fact that even though horse and rider were thrown into the sea and the Israelites rejoiced, God wept for the loss of those with heavy, hardened hearts.
We celebrate the fact that Jesus went to Egypt and came out again, just as the people of Israel, just as all who follow the way of Jesus from death into new life! Yes, even in the wake of disasters that raise walls of water on the just and the unjust, even in the midst of suffering that we harden our hearts to because we just can’t bear it, even in the space between us in the pews, and the grocery store and the sections of town we dare not enter for fear of the unknown God is at work restoring peace!
More than that, we celebrate the fact that God is at work restoring peace here and now in the space that we share. We’ve already mentioned the Peace and Global Witness Offering, and I want to remind you that there are some stories about the impact of that offering in your bulletin. Part of that will help our friends in Cuba who are not only Recovering from a Hurricane but also battling an outbreak of Dengue Fever.
If you are interested in diving a little deeper in terms of a Bible Study on the topic of peacemaking, just let Clancy know. She has a great resource that is put out by the PC(USA) that can be used for a group or for individual study. I don’t want to discourage that in any way, but I want to close by assuring you that you are already working toward a vision of renewal and hope, and peace.
I know this because you have told me so. Listen now to some of the answers that you have given to the recent survey questions that the Session has been asking, and be encouraged, for God brings renewal every day and it comes through you, and it comes through me – for we are God’s people. Amen.
Describe FPC in seven words or less…
The best of traditional liturgy and liberation theology
A place where the inclusive love of Jesus is felt and practiced.
A place where I am not alone
Loving, Christ-centered, and welcoming
God’s people joined in love to love!
A place to feel the love of Christ
A place to grow in faith
A place of love
An encouraging home, a source of guidance
Friendly, accepting, joyful
Open, thoughtful, aware, and faithful
Welcoming, affirming, faith compatible with science
Welcoming smiles, word of God, music, bible, and presence of Spirit
Beloved Community
LOVE, COMPASSION, FAITHFUL, FUN
Supportive, uplifting, welcoming
The message of love where all are welcome
A chill, accepting place to worship God.
Everlasting, caring, loving, open, welcoming, nurturing, a song in my heart.
What has FPC done in the last 5 years that you have found energizing and exciting to think about, and /or gratifying?
Pride Fest representation
Attending the Montreat conference
Serving Meals On Wheels
Joyful Pentecost services
Maundy Thursday meal
Our welcoming open spirit
Housing PDA and other mission groups
Gratifying to deliver peanut butter to the UCO
Meet and Greet
Tabling Fête de la terre
Musical theater Sundays
Pollinator garden
Zach’s sermons
Jake’s musical talents
Snack bags for the homeless
Living Waters, Pub Theology, Special music services
Monday Study Group
Putting services online.
Fellowship dinners.
Been open to all that want to worship. Made church fun
I love the Lent/Good Friday services.
Clean water for Cuba church; maintained enduring music program; got us though the Pandemic.
Supporting local justice groups
What is it about FPC that gives you hope?
How much so few are accomplishing
The gratitude that each member gives to another
That it is consistently a place that feels like a clam amongst the storm
It is a reverent, often profound place removed from what can seem to be attention-seeking rancor & division in the outside world
Everyone’s kindness
The congregation’s determination to continue through every adversity
The way we care for others – no matter what!
We have survived and thrived against many odds
The sermons usually give me hope
The positive attitude of our Pastor and church members. We can do this!
That there are young people actively involved
It's always here for me.
It has been and will be.
People keep showing up.
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