Mark 1.1-8
Creator God, you have planted your Word in our hearts that you might harvest forth justice. So root us in your love that we may always flourish, yielding all the fruits of the Spirit from youth to old age; through Christ our Lord. Amen
Times have changed. It's just not the way it used to be any more. It used to be a time when the people of God sung of God's greatness and blessing in the midst of prosperity. The adults could relax in the presence of God while children ran through the halls. It was an age of abundance and life. Such abundance and peace were the marks of the age of Joseph in Egypt, but such marks were not of the world that Shiphrah and Puah knew. No, times have changed.
Where once peace, oppression. Where there was once singing, now there was weeping. Where once children laughed and played…well, the midwives Shiphrah and Puah had their orders directly from Pharaoh: "look at the two stones. If it is a boy, kill him; if a girl, let her live." What are they to do?
Well, the text is straightforward about what did happen: It says, "But the midwives were God-fearing women and did not obey the orders of the king of Egypt, but allowed the boys to live." It is at that point that the Bible almost becomes…deceptive. "But the midwives were God-fearing women and did not obey."
It just sounds so deceptively easy. I think that the impression that it is easy to walk away with after reading this text is that these two women had it sooooo together and were sooooo connected with God that the answer and the action simply came easy. Here's the situation: Pharaoh says, "kill the little boys. But (as we put ourselves in their shoes for a moment) we, as Shiphrah and Puah, know that God wouldn't want that, so we must disobey and then all will be well.
That's the impression that we might pull away from this text, but I don't think that that is what we should pull out of this text.
Quite the contrary, I think that we really need to look at different factors that could have played into their decision. They are Hebrew women, distinct in that they are part of a people who are heirs to the covenant of Abraham. But right now, this covenant really doesn't look like much. In fact, as they endure the oppression of Egypt, I would dare say that it appears as though God has abandoned them. From peace to oppression, laughing to weeping. Where was God when God's people really needed the help. How seriously can they really take this God who would seem to abandon the covenant people in their hour of greatest need?
On the other hand, they have to deal with Pharaoh. Now, they know that Pharaoh is definitely someone to take seriously. And he's definitely a jerk. You know that if you cross swords with this particular murderous egomaniac, then there will be consequences. Whether or not there will be consequences is not an issue. There will be consequences. No one stands against Pharaoh and survives. In Egypt, he is all-powerful. And he has issued his decree: "look at the two stones. If it is a boy, kill him; if a girl, let her live." The directions are very clear, as are the consequences of disobedience.
I can only imagine as to what went into their discernment process. They had every reason in the world to do what Pharaoh demanded. As far as they can remember in their lifespans, this is the way it has always been in Egypt. It is the way of things.
And yet, for some reason, they refuse to accept that just because this is the way things have always been done, doesn't mean that this is the way that things have to be done. And so, we find two absolute nobodies, Hebrew women, doing the unfathomable: they try something new; they disobey.
Why would they dare to do such an unusual thing, that is to defy the norm and to try something new-to attempt what was seemingly impossible. Why? Because they "feared the Lord." They were nothing but two Hebrew women, true. But most importantly, they were two Hebrew women who were willing to risk everything in order to worship God, to bring honor and glory to God here on this earth, even though it looked like God was nowhere to be found. Nobodies, yes, but with a powerful faith. And so, they risked everything.
To risk everything for the honor and glory of God. To go out on a limb in the hope that God will not just walk with, but to lead the way. It is not easy. And despite how easy the text makes is seem on the surface, such decisions to walk that path is never easy for anyone in the family of God. It never has been and it never will be easy.
Perhaps for Shiphrah and Puah, and for John the Baptist too (who we also heard about), their anchor was knowing that God is always faithful to the covenant, even when we might not be able to see it. This is something that our Presbyterian tradition really emphasizes. The Heidelberg Catechism, one of our theological documents, opens with a very significant question: "What is your only comfort, in life and in death? And the answer: "That I belong-body and soul, in life and in death-not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ…." We belong to God who is always faithful. It is in knowing that, that we can find the courage to attempt the seemingly impossible.
This congregation is facing some very difficult questions. Our town is growing, but we are not? Why is that? Do we have a future, or are we looking at eventually closing our doors? If we have a future, what might that look like?
All of these are ultimately questions about discernment: what are we being called to do in the here and in the now in order to bring honor and glory to God? To ask these questions (questions of faith) during a time when things look bleak is to live in the world of Shiphrah and Puah. What resources did they have? Nothing much, only their faith. What guarantees did they have? Absolutely none, but whenever they looked to the sky and saw the rainbow, they knew that they had God's promise. And so, empowered by faith in the promise of God-knowing that in body and soul, they belonged to the faithful God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-they did the impossible, they did something new. And that's why we find the names of two nobody women in this [hold up Bible] book of life, which we call the Bible.
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.