Choose Your Own Adventure: God Works Through Yes and No (MPLS)

Exodus 1:8-22

Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour.

They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.” But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.

So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?” The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.”

Listen carefully to the following list and see if you can figure out what connects the things I name: 

• Hospitals and needles. 
• Schools and dentists. 
• Noises and bumps in the middle of the night. 
• Doors that slam shut. 
• Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 
• Sharks. 
• Tall Women. 
• Being different.

I’ll stop there. Any guesses?

The list is actually much longer — it includes 127 more seemingly random things. Unless you know the back story.

Michael Bernard Loggins is the author of this list that is 138 things he fears. His list was featured in the podcast, This American Life. It was published in a zine, called: Fears of Your Life, which is now a book that includes an addendum — he learned his list is always growing. He created the list while working with an arts program designed to help adults living with developmental disabilities. Michael wanted help to battle his fears. Writing them down diminished their power over him.

What would make the top 10 on your list of fears? As I think about my list, I’m pretty sure it changes depending on my current circumstances. For the last 18 months I’ve been fearful of my son stuck in Madrid during a global pandemic. He came home last week — so check that one off the list, for the moment anyhow. I imagine each of us could easily create a list of fears — the length and content might vary, but we all have an experience of fear. 

For sure, there are some that never go away — fears founded in the frailty of our humanity: fear of enough, fear of failure, fear of not being valued, fear of the unknown, fear of dying, fear of death. 

Naming our fears diminishes their power. Considering them in the context of our core identity as followers of Jesus strengthens us in faith. Our hope is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But fear is still real. Faith doesn’t rid us of fear. Faith gifts us with a particular perspective about fear. 

There’s a lot to learn about fear and faith in today’s story. It’s not a super familiar story, but it is essential to one of the most prominent stories in the history of the Judeo-Christian faith — the story of Moses leading Israel to freedom after centuries of being enslaved, the story of the Exodus.

But first, before Moses, there is Shiphrah and Puah, ordinary midwives who do the extraordinary work of helping women during childbirth. Their story matters. Without them, without their fear AND faith, Moses might not have lived and then, God only knows how the Exodus story would change. 

More than a century before today’s story, the Hebrews had made a name for themselves in Egypt through a man named Joseph. Quick review: Joseph (son of Jacob) had been sold into slavery by his brothers. Eventually, with God’s help, Joseph was considered part of the Pharaoh’s inner circle. He had a God-given gift — he could interpret dreams. His gift put to use saved Egypt from a severe famine. Joseph, his family and all of Israel were rewarded for their service to the nation. But time passed and a new Pharaoh rose to power. 

The new Pharaoh didn’t know Joseph’s story. He saw the Hebrews as a threat. He feared the foreigners. He worried that they would realize their increasing population gave them power to trick him and turn on Egypt, aligning with their enemies. Driven by fear of others, Pharaoh chose to act with cruelty. He enslaved Israel and according to the story “made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor.” Pharaoh was ruthless and when his brutal tactics failed, he upped the ante, imposing a death sentence on those whom he feared. Take the life of every boy born and eventually the people, along with their hope would no longer exist. Pharaoh’s fear incited violence and led to death. Fear of others does that.

Addressing this fear that can just as easily grow in our hearts is the motivation for a group of students and young adults from Bethlehem to participate in an immersion experience this week. It’s a different strategy than summer trips planned in the past. But it’s an important shift to learn the fullness of our neighbors’ stories. Listening to and learning from our neighbors rids hearts of assumptions and fears.

There is another kind of fear that shows up in today’s story. It’s the fear that Shiphrah and Puah exhibit. Pharaoh commanded they participate in his plan to kill. He ordered them to murder every newborn Hebrew boy. They refused. They may have feared Pharaoh but they feared God more. Martin Luther likened this kind of fear to that which lives in a child who loves a parent and doesn’t want to offend them or let them down. This kind of fear is born of respect. It’s a fear born of reverence, awe and adoration. At the center of this fear is recognizing that God is God and we are not. 

This fear blessed Shiphrah and Puah with courage to resist Pharaoh. They remembered who they were and whose they were. They trusted the prophets and remembered God’s promise: God would hear their cries and rescue them. This gave them hope for the future; it gave them courage in the present. They remained committed to their work because it aligned with the very heart of God. Resistance rooted in love for others is holy work. 

I saw a similar scene play out in a video posted by a new organization I follow on Twitter. Instead of two women it was three, not midwives but grandmothers, sitting in their webstrap folding chairs quietly singing together, “Water is sacred. Water is life. We are grandmothers, protectors of God’s good and beautiful creation.” Turns out they were also blocking traffic to stop construction for the Line 3 pipeline so they were arrested and charged with a federal crime. News about the pipeline isn’t new for me but their witness, their resistance rooted in the love for others drew me into the story in a new way. I’ve been learning and will join their writing campaign to encourage others to care for creation for the sake of generations yet to be born.  

There are many stories throughout scripture in which resistance, rooted in love, leads to life — Moses facing his past; Esther going before the King, Deborah going into battle, Elijah coming out of the cave. Entwined in these stories is faith and fear, suffering and grace, heartbreak and healing, God’s yes and no. 

This is Jesus’ story too — over and over again — in the wilderness, in the temple, in the company he kept, in the miracles he made happen. In his life, death and resurrection God reveals a fierce and forever love that stands against powers that seek to diminish or destroy life. 

Life is messy and complicated. Faith is too. A relationship with God through Jesus Christ doesn’t remove fear. It is the salvation we need to live beyond fear. 

There is a hymn in our cranberry hymnal… one I’ve grown to love over the last few years. The text is credited to Desmond Tutu and goes like this:

Goodness is stronger than evil
Love is stronger than hate;
Light is stronger than darkness;
Life is stronger than death;
Victory is our, victory is ours
Through God who loves us.

May you live this day and all of your tomorrows, assured of Christ’s victory over death and the powers that seek to destroy. And may your fear of the Lord, bless you with hope for the future and courage in the present that God would work through you for the sake of life and love. Amen.