Words 8.20

 Words Twice a Week 

Some thoughts on some of the lessons for Sunday -

Exodus 1.8 -2.10   beginning of oppression, birth of Moses

- “a new king, too many immigrants” – hmm

- “If the baby is a boy – kill him.”  First to the midwives, the only people in the story whose names are preserved (Shiphrah and Puah – we’ll preserve them here as well!), and then to the whole population.  It’s a harsh, blunt word, but do we do the same thing in hidden, more subtle ways?  “If he baby is black?  If the baby is Native American?  If the baby is poor?”

-the whole “Levite couple, beautiful boy, baby in a basket in the bullrushes” is just a wonderful story.  With Moses, who will be called by God to save his people, this birth story is something of an “Old Testament Christmas.’  and like the Christmas Story with Mary and the angel, it all rides on the answer/action of a young girl.

- two kinds of power – the raw power of Pharaoh, the “hidden”? (Robert F Capon would say “left-handed”) power of the women – midwives, mother, sister (of the baby), daughter (of the Pharaoh!).  Once again, God works through the littlest and lowly.  Pharaoh may be more powerful in the moment, but the women have the edge in the long run.  You do feel like if we paid more attention to the women, things would maybe go better! A nice word for the week of the anniversary of the 19th amendment! 

- note there is no indictment of Israel – they are simply doing what God has commanded (be fruitful and multiply).  God’s love is proactive, not just reactive.  John Wesley called it “prevenient grace”!

Psalm 124   Looking back we are led to praise God

- God protected/saved us from the enemy – like a flood, like a wild animal, like a hunter’s snare.  Obviously a flood is not an enemy, nor in reality is a virus.  They are part of creation.  Who/what is “an enemy”?  Or – what do you feel you have been protected/saved from?

- life is not just a two-way “us – enemy”, but a three way “us – enemy – God” experience.

- God made all – heavens and earth – and so God cares for all creation.  So it’s not even just a three-way, but a multi-way experience.

Alternate track - 

Proverbs 8.22-31     Wisdom

- Wisdom was with God/of God from the beginning, before, and as, all things (oceans, mountains, heavens/sky/clouds) were made.  And Wisdom (with God/of God) was happy in all that was made.

John 1.1-3   In the beginning…

- was the Word, and the Word was with God/of God, and all things were made through the Word.

A Prayer -

Creator, and Creating, God,

from the beginning to the end of things,

you take delight in all that comes to be,

and especially, we believe, in the birth of each child.

Help us find that same joy in other children that we find in our own,

and help us live with an intensity that each child might grow to his/her full potential.

We remember Moses and his mother and his sister; 

we remember Jesus and his mother and his friends as we pray.

Matthew 16.13-20

- who do you/we say Jesus is?  A teacher, a prophet, a friend, a good person?  How do you understand “Messiah, Son of God”?  Peter obviously didn’t completely understand it – before he has time to turn around Jesus calls him “Satan”!

- unique to Matthew’s story is that Jesus goes on to talk about the church  In the gospels, the word is used only here and in Matthew 18.17 about how to deal with people who are sinning.

- so the church is rooted not in wisdom or understanding, not in good intentions or ethical behavior, but simply in the confession of Jesus as Messiah, Son of God.  So I guess it behooves us to think more about how that fits into our life together!

- the church’s context – conflict.  The church’s power – the “keys to the kingdom.”  What does that mean?

- Peter, and by extension the church, is called to work within the church and in the world.  

- Jesus expects the disciples to know what others are saying about him/them.  What are others saying about us today – With regard to pandemic? With regard to implicit racism? With regard to caring about each other?  With regard to working in the world?

Another prayer – for St Paul’s Church (or feel free to substitute your church’s name.)

God of us all, 

here and now you call us to be St Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Help us dream/discern/discover

what and where and how you might be calling us

to be St Paul’s Episcopal Church in the years ahead.

We pray in the name of Jesus, 

who always seemed to be wandering somewhere new.

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