July 23, 2023 homily on Exodus 2:1-10 and Hebrews 11:23-27 by Pastor Galen
Moses: A “Cinderella” Story
The origin story of Moses is in many ways a Cinderella-style “rags to riches” story. Moses was born a slave, a member of a race so hated and feared by the Egyptian Pharaoh that he was destined for destruction at birth. But within a day, he went from being a pauper to a prince.
Cinderella was assisted in her transformation from being treated like a servant to becoming a princess by a magical fairy godmother who was looking out for her wellbeing. And similarly, Moses ended up in the palace of Pharaoh because someone was looking out for him as well. That person was of course God, but made manifest in the presence of not just one, but multiple “fairy godmothers”—women put their lives at risk to save his.
Often when we think about Moses, we think of the man that he would become. The strong leader who led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Someone through whom God performed miracles, like parting the Red Sea so that the people could walk across on dry land, or getting water from a rock to satisfy his people’s thirst in the wilderness. We remember how God used him to bring ten plagues against the Egyptians to convince the Pharaoh to let his people go free. And we remember how he proclaimed God’s laws to the people and led the Israelites to the Promised Land.
But we often forget that Moses would never have become such an amazing leader—indeed he would never have even lived past infancy if it weren’t for the women in his life who risked their lives so he could live.
Moses’ “Fairy Godmothers”
The first woman in Moses’s life was, of course, his mother. Giving birth back in those days carried a high mortality rate, and so indeed, like so many women even today, she risked her life to give him life. And she risked her life to raise her son, a Hebrew boy, when Pharaoh had commanded that all the Hebrew boys be thrown into the river.
Then there were the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and the other Puah, mentioned in Exodus chapter 1, who had been commanded by the Egyptian Pharaoh to kill any newborn Hebrew boys who were born because the Pharaoh feared that they would grow up to lead a revolt against him. These brave midwives defied the Pharaoh’s decree. They kept the Hebrew boys alive, risking their own lives in an incredible act of civil disobedience to save innocent children from death. (I love the fact that these women are named in the Bible. This indicates that they were heroes to the Hebrew people and that their stories were told and retold throughout history, just as we tell the stories of Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks, and other Civil Rights heroes).
Then there was Moses’s older sister Miriam, who watched over her little baby brother Moses when her parents hid Moses in a basket among the reeds to keep him safe from Pharaoh’s guards. When baby Moses was discovered, she bravely stepped forward to advocate for his life and even convinced Pharaoh’s daughter to let her mother raise Moses until he was old enough to live in the palace with the princess.
And then of course there was Moses’s adopted mother, the Princess of Egypt, who rescued Moses from the river and brought him up in the palace as if he were her own son. Surely she must have had to protect him from her own father, the Pharaoh, who had issued the decree that all Hebrew boys must die. And yet she sheltered and protected Moses, hiding him “in plain sight” right there in the palace, raising him as royalty, preparing him for a leadership role that even she could never have imagined.
Each of these women put their own lives at risk within the first few months of Moses’s life. Each of them did what was right, despite the fear of negative consequences. Each of them chose to obey God rather than the Pharaoh. Each of them played a significant role in Moses’s life and formed and shaped him into the man and leader that he would become.
Models of Compassion and Justice
Indeed, it is no wonder that when Moses was older he developed such a strong sense of compassion and justice that he too would put his own life at risk to save others. First, it was defending the Hebrew slave who was being beaten by his master in Exodus chapter 2 verse 11. Then it was defending his future wife Zipporah and her sisters when they were harassed by other shepherds in verses 17 and following. And then ultimately it was standing before Pharaoh to demand that Pharaoh release the Hebrew people from slavery.
No doubt Moses was able to act with justice motivated by compassion because of the example of these strong and powerful women in his life who risked their lives to save him. Women who defended the powerless, and did what was right no matter the consequences. Through the example of their lives, they showed Moses what it looked like to defy the commands of an evil dictator, to side with the marginalized and oppressed, and to defend the powerless. Indeed, it is safe to say that Moses would never have become such a strong and compassionate leader if it weren’t for the example of these amazing women in his life.
It Takes a Village
The truth is that none of us would be where we are today if it weren’t for the sacrifices of those who have gone before us. Mothers who gave us birth. Parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, older siblings, teachers, pastors, Sunday school leaders, and mentors, who sacrificed their time and energy and gave of themselves to form and shape us into the people we are today. Truly, as the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child.
For me, it started with my parents who set a godly example for me. When they got married they moved into an underresourced area of the city of Harrisburg, PA to assist with the Sunday School program at a small inner-city church. My dad, who worked for the Pennsylvania state civil rights agency, gave his free time to assist in the ministry of the church, all while advocating for equal rights in housing and the workplace as part of his profession. My mother was a stay-at-home mom who spent much of her time checking in on elderly neighbors and extending Christ’s love to our neighbors of incredibly diverse backgrounds, who came from all walks of life. She too was actively involved in the ministry of our church, teaching Sunday School for many years. Even now that my parents are “retired,” they run an active food ministry through their church, lead a Bible study at the local YMCA, and lead Sunday afternoon worship services at nursing homes. Through their example, they taught me what it looks like to serve those in need, all the while providing a safe and nurturing environment for my brother and me to grow up.
My older brother too was always looking out for my well-being, whether it was helping me navigate difficult social interactions at school or in our neighborhood when we were younger, or providing a place for me to live over the summer when I was in college. He too set an example for me of what it looks like to care for those on the margins of society, frequently engaging in peaceful protests and marches to raise awareness about various causes when he was a young adult.
And I could go on and on, because it wasn’t just one or two people who shaped me. It was a community of people. My pastors, my Sunday School teachers, aunts and uncles, family friends, neighbors, and the list could go on. So many of them set a godly example for me and showed me what it looks like to extend God’s love and compassion to those who are most vulnerable.
Who was it for you? Who in your life modeled justice mixed with compassion? Maybe it was an older relative who adopted you—officially or unofficially, showing up for your birthday parties and graduations, slipping you a quarter or a few dollars that you could spend on whatever you wanted. Someone who encouraged you to pursue your dreams, who always had your back, no matter what.
Maybe there was a teacher who was influential in your life. No doubt they could have taken a corporate job making twice the amount of money, but they chose to invest their time and energy into teaching young people because it was what they were called to do.
And the list could go on. Because the reality is none of us were formed and shaped by just one person. Each of us has been influenced by a community of people. And we are where we are today because of people who gave their time and energy to invest in us, simply because they cared.
Moses was influenced by strong women of faith and conviction who did the right thing, no matter the consequences. And it was the faith of those strong women in his life that no doubt inspired him to become an advocate for his people, leading them out of slavery and to the promised land.
Postscript
Over the past few days as I’ve been reflecting on the origin story of Moses as a sort of “Cinderella” story, I’ve been thinking about how fairy tales usually end with the character becoming a prince or princess, and then living happily ever after. Cinderella goes from being an ill-treated orphan to becoming a princess after she falls in love with the prince, with the help of her magical fairy godmother. Aladdin goes from being a street urchin who has to steal bread in the marketplace to survive, to becoming a prince after he falls in love with a princess (thanks to a little bit of help from a genie in a bottle). And the list could go on. These “rags to riches” stories always end with the person becoming wealthy or successful, or becoming a prince or princess or king or queen, and then the story is over and they live happily ever after, and we assume that means that they simply relish in their wealth and luxury and wedded bliss.
But in the Bible when God elevates someone to a position of wealth or power or privilege, there is always an expectation that they will use their position of influence to help others. Joseph, Moses, King Saul, King David, and Queen Esther, who we’ll look at in a few weeks. Each of these individuals was elevated to positions of power and influence, and each of them was called to use their position to help others.
For Moses, this involved leaving behind the wealth and riches of the palace in which he grew up to identify with the Israelite people who were being oppressed, as the author of Hebrews 11 points out. As it says in the Message paraphrase of the Bible,
By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king’s blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going. (Hebrews 11:24-28)
Moses, the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, left behind the splendors of the palace in Egypt to identify with his people in their suffering, which points forward to Jesus, the Son of God, who left the splendors of heaven to come and dwell among us, to identify with God’s people, and to lead us out of our enslavement to sin and death and into eternal life with God.
And so this morning as we remember and celebrate those who have helped us get to where we are today, let us remember that we too are called to use whatever freedoms and privileges we enjoy to help and empower those around us. May we respond in gratitude for the people who have set an example for us of kindness, compassion, and justice, and may we seek to be that sort of example to those who will come after us as well.
Amen!
Hampden United Methodist Church 