In our reading today from Exodus, it
struck me that Moses was from a family of Levites. The Levites are one of the tribes of
Israel. Later, in the history of the
people of Israel, the Levites will become the priestly caste with particular
religious and political duties. In Egypt,
the Levites were the only Tribe committed to God. They would be the ones defending the Law of
Moses against the worship of the Golden Calf in the desert. And after the Temple is built in Jerusalem,
the Levites will lead the singing of the psalms in the Temple service, they
will be responsible for construction and maintenance of the Temple, and will
serve as Temple guards.
The other thing that struck me in the
reading was the courage that we see in the face of injustice and oppression. Moses’ mother had the courage to save her
son. Moses has the courage to hear God’s
call and to act upon it, even though he feels inadequate and ill-prepared. We as a Church have had to have the courage
to speak out in recent years on issues where we disagree with the secular
values of our society. We must make sure
we speak with a clear, prophetic voice, but we also make sure we must speak out
of love and compassion, not out of hatred or anger or fear.
Just as the Levites were a people set
aside for a special task by God, we also have a special role in our society
today. We are to speak the truth and to
bring the values of our faith to a world that so desperately needs to hear that
message. The world often does not want
to hear this message we have to bring, but it is our duty and responsibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment