Fred Rodgers was quoted to have said: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”
When we listen to our Old Testament lesson this morning, we hear a story that would incite fear in young and old alike if such news would come across our television screens today. If we fix our eyes on Pharaoh and on his decrees, all we see is death. Calling for the murder of all boys born to Hebrew mothers, we realize Pharaoh’s decrees would bring destruction not only to the male children, but to their families and to future generations. We imagine heartsick parents having their beloved children ripped from their arms. We recognize that the hope for the future would be gone.
We still hear stories like this on the news today.
The evil at the heart of Pharaoh’s decree is, in many ways, unimaginable. It is extreme. It is cowardly. What kind of king would feel threatened by a baby? What kind of king would wage war upon those unable to defend themselves?
We ask these questions, still, today.
We see in Pharaoh’s decree the extreme ugliness of systemic evil. We see Pharaoh using his power to oppress a nation, by destroying families on a very personal level.
We see this pattern in the world today.
Good news is only found in this passage if follow the advice of Mr. Rogers and we look for the helpers.
The Old Testament lesson that we heard in two parts today is a narrative that speaks of salvation coming from surprising places. It is a story that speaks of the strength of the weak and the weakness of the strong. It is a story that demonstrates that big evil can be thwarted by small acts of great courage. It is a story that shows how the helpers make a difference.
Moses, the great prophet of Israel, who would lead the slaves out of captivity and into the Promised Land, is just a baby when our story begins. These opening verses of the Exodus narrative show us how Moses was able to not only escape Pharaoh’s infanticide, but be strategically positioned to rise to prominence in Egypt and, himself, be an instrument of liberation.
But when Moses was just a baby, with no capability of his own, saving grace comes his way through the courageous acts of amazing women. One act of courage paves the way for the next, until drastic change has taken place. The stage is set by the Hebrew Midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who refuse to comply with Pharaoh’s decree. They refuse to be agents of death, when their call is to help bring life into this world. Their fear of God overcomes their fear of Pharaoh, and so they, simply, do not act as he wills. They assist in the birth of both boys and girls, and protect the boys who were born by lying to Pharaoh – telling him that the Hebrew women are strong, and deliver their own babies with no help from them.
And so Pharaoh decrees that boy infants should be thrown in the Nile. And then Moses is born. He is protected by his mother – who first hides him, and then surrenders him when hiding him will no longer keep him safe. She places him in a basket in the Nile, not to harm him but in the hopes that he will be found and saved. Moses’ sister watches as Pharaoh’s daughter sees Moses in the water and rescues him. She hears as she claims him as her own. And she suggests that Moses’ own mother nurse him. By the acts of these five women, Pharaoh’s decrees are nullified in Moses’ life. Life comes out of death. And, what’s more, the life that is saved will lead to the salvation of the Israelites from oppression. Life breeds life.
One commentator says:
“Women are here given such a crucial role that Israel’s future is made dependent upon their wisdom, courage, and vision. They make a difference, not only to Israel, but to God. God is able to work in and through these women and that creates possibilities for God’s way into the future with this people that might not have been there otherwise.”1
When we turn on the news each evening, it is evident that, still, in this day and age there are children who remain disproportionately vulnerable even in this country.
- There are unarmed African American young men being gunned down in our nation’s neighborhoods. And there is prevalent violence in our city streets that still claims the lives of boys and girls, men and women, well before their time.
- There are unaccompanied minors from Central America crossing the borders of this country, seeking asylum on their own.
- There are children whose lives are threatened by malnutrition, abuse, inadequate health care, systemic failures of the educational system, and poverty.
- There are children whose lives are threatened by a culture of systemic oppression – racism, sexism, cis-sexism, heterosexism – which continues to claim the lives of our young people – through gunshots or suicide or bullying.
And when we hear these stories, we know all too well that while all children are created equal, not all children are treated equally, or have equal opportunities in life. Statistics on poverty, education, homicide rates, childhood illness and more…point to staggering disparity across dividing lines in America. We know all too well that there is an uneven playing field in America – and things like the color of your skin, your gender, the neighborhood in which you were born, and who your heart chooses to love can impact your access to resources and opportunities in this nation – and across the world. The racial-ethic oppression of Pharaoh’s day still has not been fully eradicated in our time.
We need to look for the helpers.
- We need to see the faces of those who are seeking to not only broker peace but justice in Ferguson.
- We need to see the faces of those who are giving haven to children who arrive in this country with little more than the clothes on their back and the name of a loved on in their hands.
- We need to see the faces of those who through in small and large acts of courage work to fight bullying, eradicate poverty, ensure that every child has three nutritious meals a day.
- We need to see the faces of those who seek to bring gunmen to justice – whether it is a young man in a rival gang or a young man in police blues pulling the trigger.
We need to look for the helpers. We need to lift them up, empower them, and follow their lead as they too seek to bring life out of death and pave the way toward a future with hope.
But our call as people of faith is to do more still, than plan I Spy game, looking for the witness of those whose actions bring us hope and comfort.
Our call is to BE one of the helpers. For as we see in the Exodus narrative, God can take even the smallest acts of courage, hope and love and bless it. God’s grace can multiply the impact of our actions so that our contributions can have a real and lasting effect on people’s lives – and on the lives of our community and our world. Nothing we offer is too small. No initiative of love or justice or peace or hope or welcome is inadequate. We can make a difference.
The need is great. And so is the call. As Christians we cannot turn a blind eye to the needs of others. James Cone says: “The Church cannot remain aloof from the world because Christ is in the world.”2 We cannot sit back and watch as the world runs itself – for if we do so, we ignore the real presence of Christ in our midst; and we ignore the central invitation at the heart of our call as Christians: to love. To love in risky, life-giving ways.
We must speak up for those whose voices are silenced. We must make space at the table for those who have been disenfranchised because of the color of their skin or their gender or who they love. We must welcome those who have been labeled and judged and wounded simply because the politics of the world foster the survival of the fittest over the well-being of all.
We are called to love. And as we see in the Gospels, love is more than a feeling. Love is an action – fostered through acts of compassion, justice, welcome and peace.
We are called to participate in the ministry and mission of a God of LIFE. If we wonder what God is up to in the world, we are to find those that the world calls the least and the lowly and extend our love and help and kindness. That is what Christ did – and what Christ does in us and through us and in this world. The God who called Moses to life, who called Moses out of the Nile, who called Moses to liberate the captives is the same God whose life-giving aim is worked out in us and through us.
What death-defying act are you called to today? What death-defying message can you proclaim? What death-defying mission is yours?
Step into your call knowing that the God of all life goes with you, always. Amen.
1 Fretheim, Terence E. Exodus. (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching). p 33.
2 Cone, James. Black Theology and Black Power. P 84.