October 16, 2023 — What IF…?

What if Puah and Shiphrah Listened to Pharaoh?

“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 labor. 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 labor. 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.” Exodus 1:8-22

The story is familiar to many – after Joseph brought his entire family to Egypt, the Israelites began to grow in numbers, and in strength. In fact, they became so numerous they began to be a threat to Pharaoh and his peace of mind. Therefore, he ordered the Israelites to be enslaved and placed under undue burdens as slave labor. But the more they were worked and the more they were oppressed, the more they grew in number. It seems counter-intuitive to us – people who are placed under heavy burdens seemingly thriving under those heavy burdens. But these are no ordinary people. So Pharaoh comes up with a plan – when the midwives assist the Hebrew women in childbirth, they are supposed to kill the boys, but allow the girls to live. But because two of the midwives Puah and Shiphrah fear G-d, they do not listen to Pharaoh – and so he must devise another plan. But, what if Puah and Shiphrah did not fear G-d?

Pharaoh would come up with many different ideas for oppressing the Hebrew people – and he would be thwarted by G-d at every turn. And G-d would continue to harden the heart of Pharaoh until he finally relents and allows the people to leave. Our G-d is a G-d who will soften the hearts of some (like Puah and Shiphrah), will harden the hearts of others (like Pharaoh and Manasseh), and has Grace enough for all people. It may sound contradictory, but our G-d is a G-d we cannot know completely. But we should always remember that our G-d can and will act in time, in G-d’s time, to bring about G-d’s will – and will use the people necessary for G-d’s purposes. As such, if we remain open to G-d’s will, like Puah and Shiphrah, we may find ourselves part of one of G-d’s amazing plans.

Pastor Dave

October 17, 2023 – Devotions – What If…?

What if Lois Wasn’t Agreeable?

“I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:3-7

The meaning for the name Lois is “Agreeable or Desirable”. While there are many grandmothers mentioned in the Bible, the word “Grandmother” is only used once – and that is in reference to Lois. She is the mother of Eunice, and the Grandmother of Timothy.

It appears that Lois was just as her name implied: Agreeable. However, we have all known people who are not agreeable—people who are miserable, argumentative, and rude. We have no idea why people turn out to be that way, but miserable people are hard to be around. So, what if Lois wasn’t agreeable, but was just miserable? What if Lois did not have the personality or the temperament to pass along a sincere faith – or chose not to instruct her family in the faith?

It is evident, as those of us in the church know, that faith is something that often is handed down, from generation to generation. It is never a guarantee that our children or grandchildren will stay in the faith, but they are more likely to remain involved in a church family if the faith is handed down. Paul compliments Lois for being the Genesis of a faith that lives in her daughter, and now lives in her grandson Timothy. So, why does it matter that Timothy remained in the faith?

Timothy was a young man when he first met Paul. Timothy may have seen Paul heal a lame man in his town, and he may also have watched as an angry mob threw stones at Paul and left him for dead as recorded in Acts 14:8ff. Paul survived, and when he came back to Lystra a couple of years later on his second journey, Paul invited Timothy to travel with him. Timothy helped Paul to establish churches at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea (Acts 16 and 17). When Paul was imprisoned in Rome for two years, Timothy was right alongside him much of the time unselfishly taking care of Paul’s needs. Paul thought of Timothy not only as a very faithful friend but also as his spiritual son.

When we pass along the faith to our children and grandchildren, we never know what impact that faith may have on our family, and on the church.

Pastor Dave

October 15, 2023 — Pentecost +20A

“Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:1-14

Walls divide people – that is their purpose. They are there to keep something in or out. On our highways, we put up walls to keep the noise out from surrounding neighborhoods. In marathons, runners hit “a wall” when they reach the end of their energy and strength. Others say they’ve “hit a wall” when their goals are blocked. Those of us who remember the 80’s remember the moment when the Berlin Wall was knocked down – the same wall that had divided East Berlin from West Berlin for 28 years. Even in the church, we have walls – walls of separation that is. Archeologists have uncovered an inscription from the outer wall of Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem, the Temple which was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 CE, 37 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus. It carries a stern warning from the High Priest: “No foreigner may enter within the barricade which surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.”

How do we put up walls in the church? The un-churched tell us that they hesitate to come to church because they don’t know what to expect inside and behind these walls. They believe it is necessary to know the entire bible, or to have some demonstrated level of faith before they can join us for a service. Of course, we laugh at such thinking. We don’t believe that we are a secret society. But, in reality, we do have secret things we do, things like standing at certain times, secret titles like acolyte and lector; and secret memorized responses like “a creed”. And, most importantly, this secret act we call Holy Communion. As such, we thank Christ for His open invitation and limitless mercy and love – but then we invite that individual to learn the faith of the church.

You see, Christ the King has sent out the invitations, and decisions need to be made. Are we going to make light of the invitation, deciding that we have other “more important” things to do – and so, like the invited guests to the king’s banquet, we shame and dishonor the King? Or, are you and I going to assume the role of the servants, accepting the invitation to go out and seek to fill this sanctuary, and to show people that our walls are not there to keep people out. And, my friends, we do not go out just once, but as the text says, we are sent over and over and over again – every time we leave this sanctuary, this worship space, we are a people sent out – we are “Apostelos”, the “sent out” ones. Just like the Disciples transitioned from learner (disciple) to Apostles (those sent out), we go through the same transition.

Christ came to remove the walls of separation, all barriers, so why do we have a desire to wall ourselves in, or wall others out? We need to be a part of the King’s Invitation committee – and no excuses will be accepted. And when invited, we need to come prepared to experience G-d’s amazing Grace.

Pastor Dave