Daily Devotion for Day 17 of Lent 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 15 (NRSV)

Miriam sang and danced with
tambourines. I wonder if some
denominations want to censor this passage!

There is something about a song that can tell a story and allow it to stick with us in a way that is substantial.  It seems to stay with us better than without music.  That is why hearing a jingle can take you back to a product you haven't thought of in years.

Recent research has shown that music can even reach some dementia patients where other methods have failed.

So for the deeds of the escape from Egypt to be recorded in song is not a surprise. Much of the time when we see poetry or songs embedded in the biblical text, scholars believe that these are older traditions (older than the time the author was writing) that were added to the story that give it more weight.

The following miracle of the bitter water turning sweet could be a reprise of all that has come before.  The bitterness of slavery made the people complain to the Lord. God heard their complaint and moved to rectify the problem.  Their freedom was then sweet to them.

As we consider our own bitter situations in life, they come to all of us.  Sometimes we find that resurrection has come to them and we are made new.  Where have you seen a situation become sweet in your experience?



Picture by abbyladybug on Flickr.com, used through the Creative Commons license. 

Daily Devotion for the Third Sunday in Lent 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 14 (NRSV)

This story also shares God's mastery over
the sea which was a mysterious and destructive
force to the Hebrew people.

As I continue to read through Exodus, I find that this reading reaffirms my stand that I do not take the scriptures literally.  I interpret them understanding that they contain truth.  I utilize other passages of the Bible to help me in my interpretation which is how I deem it to be faithful.

My case in point, today's scripture if taken literally, sets God up to be rather sadistic toward Pharaoh. Whether Pharaoh deserved it or not is beside the point.  A literal reading is that God hardened his heart to pursue his former slaves and then killed him for doing so. 

At this point, he becomes a pawn in a larger cosmic game in which he has no real say in his own destiny.

What is important is for us to hear this story in the same way the ancients would have heard it.

One difference is that Pharaoh had set himself up as a deity.  If others looked upon him as a god made flesh, this story shows that God has ultimate power over any that claim godhood.

Another difference is that people that lived as slaves would have lived in fear of a former master.  The anxiety of being returned to the collar and the lash would be real for anyone ever under the thumb of another.  People freed from the modern sex slave trade shows us that psychological damage doesn't heal overnight.

So for these people to hear this story, Pharaoh is shown to have less freedom than they did.  He is entirely at the whim of God.  His own freedom is imaginary.  

It is not to be taken as a treatise on free will but rather as a story that lets the oppressed know they have God on their side.

Think of a time when you needed God on your side.  How would you tell that story today?



Picture by Oliver Clarke, flickr.com, used through the Creative Commons license. 

Daily Devotion for Day 16 of Lent 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 13:11-22 (NRSV)

The consecration of the firstborn once again points to the theme of loyalty to God.  As the firstborn had more property rights than later born offspring, we see that when they are given to God, this is keeping with the understanding of family identity being caught up with God.

This looked to me like a pillar of cloud
when I saw it at Yellowstone in 2007.

You may have heard your own family traditions stating, "we don't do those things in our family."

For a herding people, the first fruits of the flock are listed here.  Since we have now settled down in cities and towns for the most part, our giving has shifted into money deposited in the offering plate. Some have transitioned even further, setting up the regular transition of funds electronically into the church's coffers.

Our gifts to God in these new ways signify our loyalty no less than they did in the time of the Exodus.

These first gifts are in response to the freedom they have received in God.  They are still witnesses to God leading them as they see the twin pillars of cloud and fire.

As God continues to lead us today in more subtle ways, what is our response of loyalty? Have we given of our first fruits or do we contribute left-overs?  How might our giving change if we imagined ourselves consecrated to God?

Daily Devotion for Day 15 of Lent 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:43-13:10 (NRSV)

We have more priestly material as we finish chapter twelve.  It seems as if God has an idea of exclusion for humanity when we look at the instructions for future Passover celebrations.

If this priestly author lived before the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE then there was probably a sense of anxiety surrounding the likelihood of foreign invasion.  Keeping separate in the earliest time would be a matter of not polluting their traditions with the culture at large.  As we consider how Judaism has undergone persecutions, disruptions and migrations throughout history, it is amazing that their faith has survived to this day given their minority percentages within the world religions.

It is long after the time of the Exodus that the Hebrew people began to see themselves as a light to the nations.

Is there a special place you go to get away to find yourself?

Sometimes in order for us to really know who we are, we must withdraw from other people.  Jesus spends time alone in prayer throughout his ministry.

This time of reflection for us upon the book of Exodus allows us to have individual time with God and to discover who we are in the midst of this story.  How does "the teaching of the Lord may be on your lips" weigh with your own understanding of your faith?  Which of God's scriptures influences you the most?





Photo by "Image Catalog" on Flickr.com.  Used through Creative Commons license. 

Daily Devotion for Day 14 of Lent 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:1-42 (NRSV)

Christianity would do well to understand
our Hebrew heritage to better grasp our own faith.

If you have been following along the readings, you might have discovered a difference in style for today's text. Many scholars believe that there were different sources of writings that were later edited into one story.  In today's reading, the Priestly source is rather easy to spot in that it is concerned with dynamics of worship (specifically the Passover here).

As we think about worship, the celebration of Passover is a major part of the worship life in Judaism today.  I attended a Passover hosted by the Jewish Student Association when I was in college.  It was fascinating to see the story come to life through their liturgy which involved eating!

As we think about how they recount this story, it is a reminder that they were once slaves and yet became free through God's intervention.  As Christians, it is no coincidence that our own narrative has similar elements.  The apostle Paul speaks of being slaves to sin and becoming free through God's intervention in Jesus Christ.

As we focus on the resurrection, we can see the resurrection taking place in the freedom of the Israelites after being slaves for over four hundred years.

This allows us to ask the important questions, "Where has resurrection occurred in my life?" and "Where is resurrection still needed?"



Picture by Eczebulun (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Daily Devotion for Day 13 of Lent 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 10:21-11:10 (NRSV)

I find it fascinating that the Egyptians are plunged into darkness while the Israelites walk in the light.  While you might look at this as literal and miraculous, one could also take this spiritually.  It allows us to examine ourselves, and ask, "Am I living in the light?"

We also see the breaking of final ties here between Pharaoh and Moses.  It appears that Pharaoh is on the verge of losing it.

Then we have the warning of the final plague.  The death of the first born is difficult to understand if we live outside the culture of inheritance.  Within the Hebrew people, the first born represented the future of the family line.  It was about identity.  To cut off the first born is to cut off one's vitality.  Their stability in their expectation comes crashing to a sudden halt.

They would be asking, "What will become of us?"

Just like that, God can change our path and the road we thought we were on comes to a dead end.

Sometimes abrupt changes in our lives are very disruptive and full of grief.  But these abrupt changes can also allow us to wake up in a sense.  To reset our lives is sometimes necessary for us to embrace life.  We may find that we've been walking in darkness for too long.

What does it mean for us during Lent to step into the light?


Photo by James Walpole, Flickr.com creative commons license.  

Daily Devotion for Day 12 of Lent 2016

Scripture Reading: Exodus 10:1-20 (NRSV)

Now the officials are putting pressure on Pharaoh rather than on the Israelites.  We see the tide turning from when the pressure was originally on the Hebrew people in making more bricks without straw and being punished if they didn't fulfill their original quotas.

For God to state that the reason behind all the plagues and the delays is to make the Egyptians look foolish seems to me an interpretation that was later inserted into the story rather than the actual words of God.  I do not believe that God is petty and this certainly implies pettiness on God's behalf.  A people that had arisen out of slavery might certainly need to cast them in this light as redemption for all of the years they struggled in servitude.  

It is not surprise that Pharaoh would only want to allow the men to go.  The women and children would serve as hostages to ensure their return.

However, we see the premium that God places on all the people going out to worship. Within this desire, we see God's system of value over the world's system.  Women and children are just as important as the men and if they are not all allowed to participate, then more trouble is on the way!

If we imagine that only children fuss,
we are fooling ourselves!

It is only relatively recently that women and children have been accorded human rights and these are still not universal depending upon the country or region. Sometimes people today would rather have the babies or children taken out if they are too noisy.  Youth sometimes whisper or play on their phones.  Yet, this passage seems to remind us that all are needed for worship.

What do we each need to do in our prayer life to have a more charitable attitude toward welcoming those who may seem different or have a different approach?

After all, I don't think any of us would like to see a return of the locusts!



Photo by Kyle Flood from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (Waaah!) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons