Word to the Wise
Monday, July 13, 2015 - Monday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 1:8-14, 22 and Matt 10:34—11:1]A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful the people of the children of Israel are growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave our country." [Exodus]
With the beginning of the Book of Exodus, a whole new story unfolds. The time of the patriarchs is past. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are gone. A "Pharaoh who knew not Joseph" is now in power and the saga of the Israelites' delivery from slavery and the story of Moses now takes center stage. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this story in both Jewish and Christian faith. One might call it a "commanding narrative" because so much is rooted in it. Although there were stories of deliverance in Genesis, they were mere preludes to Exodus.
Every culture has its "narrative." In the United States, the story of the Pilgrims coming to North America has a commanding presence, and their own faith relied on texts like Exodus. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960's relied strongly on the story of deliverance in Exodus. I urge the Beloved Congregation to read the first 15 chapters of Exodus so that the entire story is before you as we go through the selections from the lectionary over the next few days. Today the new Pharaoh "who knew not Joseph" decides that the Hebrews are a threat and tries to reduce them through infanticide. This begins the "story within a story," - the story of Moses. [This influenced the evangelist Matthew in his account of Herod's effort to destroy Jesus.] Consider your own experiences of "deliverance." AMEN
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