“Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.” Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.” But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors!” Pharaoh continued, “Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!” That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, “You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.’ Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words.” So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, “Thus says Pharaoh, ‘I will not give you straw. Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.’” So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw.” And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, “Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?” Exodus 5:1-14

“Buechner discusses the beginning of his fascination with the Land of Oz: King Rinkitink and his young friend Prince Inga of Pingaree came into possession of three magic pearls—a blue one that conferred such strength that no power could resist it; a pink one that protected its owner from all dangers; and a pure white one that could speak words of great wisdom and helpfulness. “Never question the truth of what you fail to understand,” the white pearl said when Rinkitink consulted it for the first time, “for the world is filled with wonders.” It was great wisdom indeed, and has proved greatly helpful many times since.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

“For the world is filled with wonders”, the white pearl said to King Rinkitink. Even with the knowledge we have about the ways of this world, there are still many wonders that elude our understanding. We can put people and crafts on the surface of the Moon or Mars, but we have a hard time understanding how Covid-19 kills some healthy people, and spares the life of people with underlying health conditions. Or, why did G-d allow the Israelites and the Jews to linger under persecution and death – both during their time in Egypt and then again in the Holocaust.

Why does it seem that when we are experiencing difficulties, more difficulties seem to pile on? I know this is not often the case, but just because we may have one problem does not mean a second or third may be just on the horizon. They say deaths come in threes, and sometimes difficulties come in threes as well. It is the way of chance and randomness. But our faith is not left to chance and randomness. We may feel as if the Lord has forgotten us, but in fact the Lord is continually fighting battles for us – the first battle being the battle against sin, death and the devil. That battle rages on day after day. And it is for just this reason that Jesus was sent to die once and for all times for the sins of all people. Death was defeated on the cross, but the battle against evil and sin continues, because the earth and this existence is the playground of the devil. In 2021, just like Moses, let us turn to G-d for direction, in the best of times and in the worst of times.

Pastor Dave

“Later, two women who were prostitutes came to the king (Solomon) and stood before him. The one woman said, “Please, my lord, this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth. We were together; there was no one else with us in the house, only the two of us were in the house. Then this woman’s son died in the night, because she lay on him. She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your servant slept. She laid him at her breast, and laid her dead son at my breast. When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, I saw that he was dead; but when I looked at him closely in the morning, clearly it was not the son I had borne.” But the other woman said, “No, the living son is mine, and the dead son is yours.” The first said, “No, the dead son is yours, and the living son is mine.” So they argued before the king. Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; while the other says, ‘Not so! Your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” So the king said, “Bring me a sword,” and they brought a sword before the king. The king said, “Divide the living boy in two; then give half to the one, and half to the other.” But the woman whose son was alive said to the king—because compassion for her son burned within her—“Please, my lord, give her the living boy; certainly do not kill him!” The other said, “It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.” Then the king responded: “Give the first woman the living boy; do not kill him. She is his mother.” All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.” 1 Kings 3:16-28

“THE SACRED JOURNEY: What I propose to do now is to try listening to my life as a whole, or at least to certain key moments of the first half of my life thus far, for whatever of meaning, of holiness, of God, there may be in it to hear. My assumption is that the story of any one of us is in some measure the story of us all.” (Buechner, Frederick. Listening to Your Life. HarperOne. Kindle Edition.)

Chess is a difficult game though it may look easy enough. It does not require a high level of physical conditioning, but it does take years and years of mental awareness. There might be pieces that are sitting on a static board waiting for someone to move them, but without knowing it, there are moves happening in the minds of the chess players that are being planned way in advance of the pieces being selected.    

Solomon asked the Lord for wisdom when the Lord offered him anything he might want. And it appears his selection was a wise one.  This wisdom served him well throughout his reign as king, as the above story suggests. We could only hope to be blessed with a small amount of such wisdom – especially when it comes to navigating another new year. This year, just like every new year, presents itself to us as a blank canvas, or as Buechner calls it, the continuation of a sacred journey. The picture of our growth in faith and wisdom in faith is yet to be painted.

One more piece of advice that comes from Solomon’s wisdom comes from the book of Proverbs:

“Look to the ant…;consider its ways, and be wise. Without having any chief or officer or ruler, it prepares its food in summer, and gathers its sustenance in harvest. How long will you lie there…? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.” Proverbs 6:6-11

Let us look to 2021 as the continuation of our sacred journey, and not as a blank slate for fear or regret.

Pastor Dave