Who’s Your Moses?
Pentecost 6 – “Brushes with God” Summer Series
July 21, 2019
Grace, Mankato, MN
Exodus 14.5-7, 10-14, 21-31
Today’s artwork, “Moses Parting the Red Sea,” by twins Alan and Aaron Hicks, depicts the central event of arguably the most important story of the Old Testament: the deliverance of the Israelites. After 400 years of agonizing slavery and oppression in Egypt, it appears God answers their cries. They have been sent a savior in Moses and now they are on their way back to the Promised Land, the land promised to their ancestor Abraham. All is good; except that Pharaoh changes his mind and hunts them down with everything he’s got.
Although the Israelites have seen God work miracles through Moses with the plagues, they panic. All they see is death: in front of them in the perilous sea and behind them in Pharaoh’s army. But Moses assures them God will fight for them. The pillar of cloud and angel that have been leading the way now move behind them to protect them. And then Moses uses the staff to part the Red Sea. The Israelites are able to cross the sea and Pharaoh’s army is drowned. Death is swallowed up by death.
Let’s take a closer look at Hicks’ painting. I want you to take a few minutes to study it. Talk with a neighbor or two about what you see in the painting and how it interprets the text.
…Okay, let’s come back together and I’d like to hear a few comments…
What stands out for me right away is that Moses is dark skinned, which on the one hand makes sense because Alan and Aaron Hicks are African American and their artwork depicts black people. Yet, we also have to remember that the Israelites are Middle Eastern and are dark skinned. Moses was not like Charlton Heston from Cecil B. DeMille film “The Ten Commandments.” It is also striking that Moses is white-haired, something that actually happens to him later in the story when he encounters God. But I think his white hair shows both the experience and authority that Moses has. More to the point, I think it depicts the burden of leadership. I’m always astounded by how much presidents age in office. This was particularly true for President Barak Obama, who went from black hair to gray in eight years.
Speaking of striking, did you notice that the Hicks brothers show Moses striking the ground with his staff? He almost looks like a superhero, such as the Marvel character Thor with his mighty hammer. Though it contradicts the text, I wonder if they wanted to vividly show the power exerted by God through Moses. The bright and almost fiery light behind Moses probably shows the pillar of cloud and you can almost see the power going from God through Moses to pile up the waters. These dangerous waters now show protection instead of death. One more thing: though I don’t have an answer, I wonder if the color red of Moses robe has any meaning.
As I thought about Hicks’ painting, I wondered about the things that oppress and enslave us. I wondered about the Pharaoh’s armies that pursue us and threaten to overwhelm us. I wondered who the Moses will be that God will send us to show God’s power and lead us onto dry land. Who is the Moses who will help the young woman recently and suddenly widowed, left with kids and step kids? Where will God’s power be evident to the young person struggling with their gender identity? Will there be a Moses that can lead us from divisiveness, hateful and rampant racism in our country?
We may not know the answers to this question, but we are assured that the same God who delivered the Israelites in the Hicks painting is the same God who has delivered us in the New Moses, Jesus Christ. It is in the cross of Jesus that God swallowed up death for good. If you are feeling overwhelmed today, know that God will send a Moses, though he might be a she and may not look or work the same way as you would expect. If you don’t need a Moses now, you might be that Moses to someone else. Either way, God’s power will be made manifest in our lives. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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