In our scripture readings for Exodus Sunday, God chooses Moses as the deliverer of his people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses, however, has repeated objections to being this deliverer, despite God's assurances of his success. So God provides Moses with everything he could possibly need, so that his people can be free. And that includes – in foreshadowing of what God provides US for OUR freedom – the killing of the firstborn of the people of Egypt....
It was the year 2001. I had started the process of discerning my call to ministry, but at the same time, I was the new father of a baby and a toddler, so I was in absolutely no hurry. Part of the process of discerning a call to ministry is to write a 5-10 page autobiography, talking about your journey in faith. Three hours work, maximum. I slow-rolled it for months! Whenever I reluctantly sat down to work on it, there was always something better to do. And I'm ashamed to think of it now, but another part of the process was a multiple-choice psychological test. Not only did I slow-roll that too, I also had the thought, “what if, instead of answering the questions the way I think they WANT me to answer, I answered the questions the way I think they DON'T want me to answer?” Maybe...just maybe...I would be declined for ministry. Maybe, I would get Corporal Klinger's holy grail from the TV show MASH...a section 8, mentally unfit to serve. I could tell myself that I tried, but God would have to send someone else....
Moses' call to ministry did not need much discerning! God spoke directly to him from the burning bush, and he laid out exactly what he wanted Moses to do, AND he told Moses exactly how it would go. Moses WOULD be successful at convincing the elders of Israel of his mission, and after many powerful miracles, Moses WOULD be successful at leading the people to worship God in the wilderness in a state of freedom.
But Moses is reluctant! “What if the elders don't believe me?” he says. GOD just told you they WILL believe you! But, to reassure him, God gives Moses three miraculous signs to prove it: the staff of God that can become a snake, the leprous hand that is healed instantly, and the ability to pour blood from the Nile River.
Moses is still reluctant! “I have never been eloquent, not even now that you have spoken to me,” he says. GOD determines who has the gift of eloquence! But, to reassure him, God declares “I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.”
Moses is still reluctant! “O my Lord, please send someone else!” GOD decides on the right person for the mission! But, to reassure him, God declares “your brother Aaron shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him.” Finally, Moses is all out of excuses, and he has been given everything he could ask for, to deliver the people to freedom.
What is it about our society, that WE are reluctant to deliver people to freedom? What is it in our nature, that we are more like Pharaoh - quick to enslave others, and stubbornly loath to release them? In our local politics, we are reluctant to REMOVE restrictions and regulations, and eager to implement tighter controls, with more licenses and permits required. In our global politics, we are reluctant to criticize the side imprisoning hostages, and eager to blame the side trying to free them. In our charity, we are reluctant to empower people, and eager to create dependency in people. In our personal relationships, we are reluctant to forgive people, and eager to be offended by people. In our churches, we are reluctant to proclaim God's grace, and eager to preach God's law. God asks us to set his people free, and our response is, “but then they won't be indebted to us, they won't benefit us...they won't be inferior to us. It's going to take a mighty hand to compel us to promote the cause of freedom.”
God gave heed to the misery of his enslaved people in Egypt. And God used his mighty hand, over the course of nine plagues on the Egyptians: frogs, gnats, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, deep darkness. And it culminated with the most tragic plague of all, the death of the firstborn of Egypt. That is what it took to secure the freedom of the people of Israel.
And what it took to secure OUR freedom was the death of another firstborn – the firstborn son of God, Jesus Christ. And with his mighty hand, God raised his son Jesus from the dead, awakening us to the depth of God's love and the beauty of God's plan – eternal life. Through the grace won for us by Jesus' death, we have been freed from the guilt of our previous sins, freed from the fear of God's wrath, freed from the finality of death. And in our baptism in the Triune God, we have aligned ourselves with the God of freedom, to become the next generation of deliverers from slavery.
Moses had the staff that turned into a snake – what can WE expect from God as we reluctantly take on this mission? We HAVE the signs – the hearts that are changing, the healings that are occurring, the relationships that are reconciling, the momentum that is building for freedom. We HAVE the words – the original, powerful words from Jesus and the apostles, and the newer, eloquent words from people like C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel, and Charlie Kirk. And we HAVE the assurance, as God's adopted children, that final victory will come to the side of freedom – that everything else we need will be provided, so that God's people will be free...for eternity.
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sweep away our reluctance and enable us to be effective agents of freedom, drawing all people to you. Help us to use our freedom for your purposes, in Jesus name, amen.