"I Have Heard Their Cry" - Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

I Have Heard Their Cry
Pentecost 19 – Narrative Lectionary 2
October 4, 2015
Grace, Mankato, MN
Exodus 1.8-2.10; 3.1-15

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. … But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.

God said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry…”

If I count correctly, I have lived in fourteen dwellings in my lifetime, spanning five different states (two of them two different times). Each move had its own ups and downs, sometimes work-related, sometimes school-related. Finding a new place to live, new doctors and other service providers, a new church in some cases and, hopefully, new friends. This last move to Mankato was one of the hardest: Cindy and I had lived in Winona the longest period in our marriage, 10.5 years. We had made a lot of friends, both of our daughters graduated from high school and college there, and I in particular had built up a network of colleagues and community connections. In some ways, moving to Grace and Mankato was almost starting over. As much as I knew God was calling me here (and still do) there was a fair amount of grief and loss. That Cindy didn’t join me for a year didn’t help, either.

Yet, as difficult as these moves have been, I can’t imagine what it was like for my ancestors to leave their homeland, Sweden and Norway and come to this country. Crossing the ocean; making their way to Wisconsin and Minnesota; learning a new language; and starting over makes my experience pale in comparison. It’s not hard to make the leap from my ancestors’ immigration to the refugee and immigrant crises in our world today. The reasons for moving from their homeland to another are various: some are escaping persecution or a dangerous situation while some are looking for better opportunities for work. Unfortunately, one factor seems to be present in all of these scenarios: fear of the immigrant people.

Since our last week’s reading about Jacob newly named Israel, his family has immigrated to Egypt through a series of God-directed events. Joseph of the “Coat of Many Colors” fame was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers ending up in Egypt. This inveterate dreamer is also able to interpret dreams and rises to prominence in the king’s household by correctly interpreting the king’s dream of an impending famine. The same famine serves to reunite Joseph with his father and brothers. The king, out of gratitude, invites the Israelites to move en masse to Egypt where they settle as honored guests. Our story today picks up with the ominous statement that a new king arises who didn’t know Joseph and the role he played in saving Egypt from the famine.

Though the word is not used, clearly the king of Egypt is afraid of this immigrant people. There isn’t any hint in the text that the Israelites aren’t anything but good, faithful citizens of Egypt. Even so, fearing that they could take over the country, the king orders them to be oppressed and when that doesn’t work, orders the brutal murder of innocent boy babies. Ironically, the more he oppresses the Israelites, the more they flourish. In a second bit of irony, although it is the male Israelites that he fears, it is the women who “rise up” to thwart his plans, including a young girl and his own daughter. God hears the cries of his people and recruits Moses as his agent in securing their freedom from bondage and slavery so they can inhabit the land promised to their forbearers. The Exodus story is a definitive one for the Jewish people and, in the person of Jesus who secures our freedom from the slavery and bondage of sin and death, for Christians as well.

In closing, here a few thoughts how the scripture passage today might inform our actions toward refugees and immigrants in general and the crises around the world in particular. First, we must not let fear rule our actions. Have we not learned anything from the persecution of Native Americans in our early history and those of Japanese and German heritage during World War II? I might add that fear of those who have a different religion or political viewpoint is probably our most current problem.

Second, we must do what we can to support immigrants and refugees. Lutherans in general and this congregation in particular have stepped up before and we can do so again. There is information in the bulletin about how you can send resources to Lutheran Disaster Response. (By the way, this congregation recently donated money through our endowment fund to help two young Sudanese boys with living and education expenses; bravo!) Finally, we must look at the ways we continue to oppress God’s children because we don’t do anything about poverty and hunger, inadequate educational and work opportunities, low wages and health benefits. I’m sure you can think of others.

The question God poses to us is not whether we will make a difference in the world this next week; it is what we will do to make a difference. Wherever people are hurting, God is in their midst. We don’t bring God to the oppressed and enslaved; God is already there, waiting for us to show up and join in the work. That is truly holy ground. Amen.