A Kernel of Hope

August 24^th, 2014         “A Kernel of Hope”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Exodus 1:8-2:10 with Psalm 124

          For the next few months, we will be following the story of Moses in the book of Exodus.  I enjoyed our sermon series from Genesis this summer so much that I decided to stick with the theme and keep exploring the power of God as witnessed through the characters and stories of the Old Testament.  I will be the only one talking this morning, but as usual, I encourage you to share your thoughts about these stories with me throughout the week.

          The story of Exodus begins with a dramatic shift; where once the Israelites found safety in Egypt, now a new king has risen in the land.  Years have passed, and this new Pharaoh does not know the ways of Joseph, and is becoming concerned about the increasing population of Israelites within his borders.  In a series of commands and judgments, the new king decides to enslave the Israelites and force them into hard labor for the state.  As the people continue to thrive, even in such terrible conditions, the Pharaoh demands the death of all male children.  It is a frightening story.

          Once the stage is set, we find the humorous and inspiring story of Shiphrah and Puah, Hebrew midwives.  The king has commanded them to kill the baby boys of Hebrew women the moment they are born.  This king must not be too bright, if he asks the women whose calling it is to aid in the bringing of life into the world, to now snuff out the lives of their own sisters’ and friends’ babies.  The women refuse the task, and give the king the excuse that the Hebrew women are so vigorous that the baby boys just fly out before they get there. 

I love that Pharaoh doesn’t question the story the midwives tell.  When it comes to childbirth he has the same response as many men, “Spare me the details”!  As this story was told for generations around the camp fire I can just imagine women winking at each other.  We know that’s not how it works.  Since he can’t stop the babies from being born, the Pharaoh now demands that all baby boys be thrown into the river.  What a sad story.

          In the midst of this era of threat and fear, a baby is born to a Levite father and mother, a Hebrew couple from the priestly line of families.  This baby boy is healthy and strong and for three months his mother manages to keep his birth a secret.  But eventually, she could hide him no more.  Perhaps the child was too big to hide, or perhaps he cried too vigorously, either way she needs to find somewhere else for him.

          The tragedy of the story is that there is nowhere else for the child.  The command of the king is that the baby should be thrown in the river, and it should have happened three months ago.  No one can hide a Hebrew boy, and no one can help this mother.  And so, in an ironic twist, this mother does just as she was commanded.  She takes the baby and puts him in the Nile, but first she builds him a little ark.

Not willing to fully abandon her son, the mother sends her daughter to watch over the basket.  Even if the baby should die, at least she will know, and have some sense of closure.  As the little girl watches on, a miracle occurs.  The daughter of the Pharaoh, the one from whose home the very command of death has been issued, finds the child and has compassion for the baby.  Boldly the sister asks after help and is sent to fetch a wet nurse, the babe’s own mother, to nurse the boy until he comes of age. 

Again women in the audience turn to one another and smile, for surely the daughter of Pharaoh noticed the waiting girl, and the heavy breasts and nervous joy of the mother.  She knew this was no simple wet nurse, she knew she was returning the babe to his mom.  The child grows and in a second heart wrenching letting go, the mother brings him to the house of the Pharaoh to be raised.  The princess names him “Moses” or “Mosheh” for she drew him up out of the waters “mashah”.

          This morning’s reading is such a wonderful story.  The characters and the inspiring role of women in the text are powerful and strong.  There is very little direct mention of God in the reading, and yet the presence of God’s hand is prevalent throughout.  This passage offers us a message of hope in the midst of chaos and fear, and I believe that it is a message that many of us are longing to hear today.

          So often we love to tell this story to children and imagine the little baby floating safely in the reeds.  But, the reality of this story is that it is a very frightening tale of injustice and systematic oppression.  Like many a poor leader before him and since, the Pharaoh is threatened by the Hebrews and so he makes them out to be scapegoats.  “The Hebrews are the problem,” he seems to say, “It’s their fault that things are so bad.  We have to crush them before they rise up and crush us.” 

How many times in our own culture have we heard these stories told about others in our midst?  “It’s the gay agenda that is ruining our culture.  It is the illegal immigrants that are taking our jobs.  It is the black people who make our cities so dangerous.”  The fear and oppression that the Israelites experienced in Egypt is echoed throughout our culture today.

          The wonderful thing about this story, and the story of Exodus as a whole, is the power of God to bring hope in the midst of such a climate of fear.  In this morning’s reading, the people are struggling against a corporate systematic oppression.  The government and the community are conspiring to keep the Hebrews down.  And yet, God’s power for life surges on.  God’s power for love moves through the lives of individuals to change the world.  God’s justice is on the horizon, a kernel of hope found in a baby boy with a death sentence on his head.

          This morning’s story is a woman’s story.  It is about midwives and mothers, sisters and daughters.  It is about smart women, using the gifts that they have to bring about change and justice in their world.  It is about doing one small thing to make a big difference in the life of just one person.  In this story, we witness God moving against the powers that be, by moving through the actions of the powerless.

          We hear these stories all through our culture today as well.  All over our country women are banding together to bring about justice and peace in little ways in their neighborhoods and communities.  Women are on the border, helping to secure the rights and safety of the most vulnerable in our nation.  Women are in Ferguson, preaching and sharing messages of a justice that can come only from peace.  Women are in cities and towns, making a difference in churches and classrooms and homes.  Changing the world one small effort at a time, the power of God is working through women in our world. 

          The message of our reading this morning is one of hope.  Though the Israelites are down and out, a captive slave population in the land of Egypt; God is working to bring about their salvation.  Even though they haven’t yet cried out for help, God is working to bring about their salvation.  Through the actions of midwives, mothers, daughters, and sisters God will plant the seed that will liberate thousands of people.  It is awesome.

          In our modern setting, it is good for us to be reminded that this is the way that God works.  So often we want God to fix things instantly on a grand scale but it doesn’t work like that.  God seems to prefer to fix things bit by bit, through small actions of grace and love, carried out by ordinary people like you and I. 

          I enjoyed the lectionary’s pairing of this reading from Exodus with Psalm 124.  Psalm 124 is a powerful reminder that God is always on our side, even when things appear at their worst.  The psalmist states that the flood would have swept us away, the water was going over our heads, but God is with us and we have survived.  Like a bird we were trapped in a snare, but God is with us and we escaped. 

Have you been there?  Have you had those flooding trapped moments?  I sure have.  Coming back from Africa, I have felt the worries and cares of this life bowling me over.  Wave after wave is striking me from care and concern for folks we met in Malawi, to worries about folks here at home, to stresses about Olivia starting Kindergarten and new routines, to stresses about how exactly I was going to manage to get everything done this week.  The waters were rising and I felt like I might go under at any moment.  It has been so helpful for me this week to remember that God is here.  God has a hold of me.  God is in control.  Though it might not be a big voice from heaven or a shining light, I am confident that God has seen me through the week, in the little moments I have shared with other people. 

This week, these two texts reminded me that God has been working to bring about justice, peace, and hope in our world and even in my own life.  The situation of the Israelites enslaved and oppressed by their own government in Egypt was a hopeless situation.  And yet God was working, and liberation was on the horizon.  The situation in our own nation and world often seems hopeless and full of despair.  And yet God is working, and liberation is on the horizon.  The situation in my own life, as a pastor and mother, is sometimes overwhelmingly stressful.  And yet God is working, and liberation is on the horizon.

I hope that you too, can find a kernel of hope this week.  Look for the little workings of God in the world around you.  And be confident that the little things that you do, will have a big impact at some point in the future.  Shiphrah and Puah were just doing their jobs, helping babies be born.  Little did they know that they were playing a key part in the birth of a nation.  Amen.