The Journey through Chaos

September 14^th, 2014    “The Journey through Chaos”    Rev. Heather Jepsen

Exodus 14:10-31

          This morning we continue our journey with Moses and the people of Israel.  Last week we read about the institution of the Passover, the slaughtering of the lamb, and the power of God to smite the first born of the people of Egypt.  It was a tough lesson which put us on uncomfortable ground.  But the God of Exodus has a tendency to make us uncomfortable, and maybe that is a good thing.

          Today we continue the story.  After the plague that kills the firstborn, the Israelites loot Egypt and flee the land with the spoils.  They are on the run when Pharaoh changes his mind.  Maybe he realizes it was a bad idea to let his entire slave work force escape, or maybe he figured that after the death of his child there was little more the Israelites’ God could do to harm him.  Either way he cries out, “After them!” sending his army of horses and chariots after the crowds of people traveling on foot.

          The Israelites find themselves stuck; the vast expanse of the sea in front of them, the angry armies of Pharaoh behind.  Remember, these soldiers all have suffered a loss with the plague of the first born and I am sure they had a pure desire for vengeance as they chased down the Israelites.  They don’t simply want to bring those people back; no, they want to kill them.

          The Israelites see them coming and they are afraid.  They cry out in fear “Why is this happening?  If you would have left us alone in Egypt we would have been ok, but now we will certainly die.”  They are mad at God and mad at Moses, and I can certainly understand their position.  What kind of salvation is this; to be brought out into the desert to be slaughtered?

          Moses sounds like every good pastor and hospital chaplain when he tells them to calm down.  “Do not be afraid, stand still, God will be here to deliver you today.”  God then gives the instructions, “lift up your staff, stretch out your hand, and the seas will be divided”.  God will make a way where there is no way.

          The power of the Lord surrounds the people.  An angel of God moves from leading the group to the back end along with a glowing pillar of cloud.  God goes between the Israelites and the Egyptians, providing cover as the people spend the night walking through the sea.  I imagine it was a difficult journey fraught with fear.  People would be treading through the muck and mud of the sea bed, staring at the water on both sides, probably unable to swim and afraid of what might happen if the power of God were to fail and the waters come crashing in.

          As night passes, so do the people and in the morning the armies of Pharaoh head down the same path.  You can walk through the muck of a sea bottom but you can’t drive a heavy chariot through it.  The wheels get stuck, the Egyptians are trapped, and at God’s command Moses releases the waters and the men of Egypt are drowned.  It is a second plague of death as the text tells us that “not one of them remained.”

          This is a great story about the power of God, a pivotal story in the Jewish faith.  This is their resurrection story, their birth out of death, their baptism in the waters of chaos, their moment of new life.  I have a tendency to get stuck in the same place I got stuck in last week, “But what about the Egyptians?”  But that is probably not the appropriate question for the text today.  Today is all about the Israelites.

          Though this is clearly a story about the nation of Israel, it also is a wonderful story about us, about our own lives today.  This is the story of all of us, as we struggle with hardship, as we wrestle with death, as we travel through scary places, and emerge on the other side reborn.  So, let’s back up and tell it again.

          I love that the people wander till they get stuck.  I think we do that all the time.  All of us have a tendency to wander through life until we find that we are stuck.  Can’t go forward, can’t go back.  We get stuck, and then we find God.  It’s not until we notice our need, that we find our faith.

          Often something terrible is happening in those stuck moments.  For the Israelites, it was a mob of blood thirsty Egyptian warriors that was the problem.  For us maybe it’s a cancer diagnosis, the loss of employment, the death of a beloved family member; you get the idea.  Something awful is happening and in the midst of it we say the same thing the Israelites do.  “What the heck God!?!  Why are doing this to me?  Why can’t you just leave me alone?!?”  

          If we are lucky, we have a Moses with us; a pastor, a family member, or a good friend, who goes with us on the journey.  They say to us, “Do not be afraid, stand still, God is with you.”  We may or may not hear what they say, we probably aren’t listening, aren’t even able to listen.  But the fact that someone is there with us matters.  Moses is there to hold our hand. 

          “Come on” Moses, or your pastor, or your friend says “let’s go this way.”  And they gesture off to a frightening and unimaginable path.  They point the way through a place that seems closed, unpassable, definitely not the way to go.  And you have no choice, because you’re stuck, and you really aren’t thinking clearly, and they are holding your hand.  And so you step out with them, into the un-passable path and the two of you journey together. 

You travel together through surgery and chemo and radiation.  You travel together through job applications and rejections.  You travel together through watching your loved one slip away and die.  You travel together and sometimes your feet get stuck in the mud, and sometimes you are so afraid by the landscape around you that you can hardly move, and sometimes you just stop and stare, or you just sit down on the path and break down and cry.  But Moses is there, and he picks you up. “Keep moving” he says, “It’s dangerous to stop here.  We can’t stop here.”

          The Israelites traveled all night through a dark and fearful place and so do we.  God is with us, God goes before us and behind us.  God is in Moses, or the friend that holds your hand.  But we have to take the steps ourselves.  You have to make the journey with your own two feet.  And it is not easy.

          But finally, you get across.  The Israelites made it to the other side, and eventually so do we.  We beat cancer, and slowly our body recovers.  (Or we don’t, and we experience a different sort of journey).  We find another job, or a way to live differently.  Our loved one dies, and we figure out how to begin our life again.  Like the Israelites, we are born again, a new people, baptized in suffering and chaos.

          We look back, the path is closed, and the threat is gone.  The Israelites looked and saw the threat vanquished, “Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.”  Even if they wanted to go back they couldn’t, the way is shut.  So too, we look back, and see that the threat is gone for now.  And like the Israelites we come to the same conclusion, “So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.”  (Or whoever your Moses was.

          This is the journey of faith; the big one.  And I can promise we will all take this road at least once, if not more than once in our lives.  The comfort is that God is with us, God also takes the journey.  God goes before us and behind us, a cloud of protection.  When you are on this road, God has your back.  And often, God gives us a Moses, a person to hold our hand and to show us the way. 

          Some Christian traditions talk a lot about being born again.  You come to faith in Jesus Christ, and experience a re-birth.  I think that can be true for some people.  But for most of us, being born again looks a lot more like a Red Sea Journey.  Just like our first birth involved pain, sweat, tears, and probably some fear.  So too does our re-birthing in the faith.  It’s scary.  But this is what makes us who we are. 

          So, thanks be to God for faith, which helps us move our feet for each step, even when we can’t think or see or hear anymore because we are so consumed with fear and grief.  Thanks be to God for the end of the journey, when we finally emerge on the other side, re-born in suffering, stronger than ever; people ready to begin life again.  And thanks be to God, for Moses, for our pastors, for our friends; for the ones who hold our hands and point the way through chaos.  May God be with us as we travel.  Amen.