Remembering Together

Exodus 12:1-13, 13:1-8

“Remembering Together ”

02 October 2016 St. Andrew’s Military Chapel Singapore

            What would this community do if I came here one Sunday and said, “Get ready to leave tonight. It’s a new beginning for us. We are going to leave all of this behind for good. God told me it’s time to go so we’re out of here?” We’re not under oppression, so you’d probably let out a few nervous laughs to humor what you assume is some weird joke or bad sermon illustration. You’d definitely question my sanity and at least one of you would text the Admiral and medical letting them know to check on me ASAP.

            But, then I up the stakes and say that not only are we all leaving tonight, but that you have to take only what you are wearing, leaving all of your valuable belongings here in Singapore and that before we go, we’re all going to have a final meal together at our homes. Those that are single or in small homes will combine with others families so that we are not wasting the last bit of food we’ll consume. There won’t even be time for the bread to rise we have to leave that soon.

            On top of all that, when we prepare the meat for our dinner, has to be prepared and cooked in a certain way and we need to leave some blood on the doorposts to mark our family as safe from an unseen danger that will wipe out anyone who isn’t hearing and believing my message. Even more, the meal we will eat together will mark the new year and our new life and be a focal point of our community forever. We will gather each year having the same meal and retelling the story of this night because God led us away and saved us.

            At this point, would I be speaking to an empty chapel? Would there be some police here to make sure I made it to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation? Would you have gone straight to my house after leaving here to pack up my belongings so you could send me on my way as I predicted?

            Granted, our situation is a bit different. We aren’t enslaved by a powerful country nor have we seen nine supernatural events occur based on my speaking with the leader of the powerful nation (what we know as the plagues). So why did Israel follow Moses? And why would God want a day that looked like a failure (getting run out of a country) as a new year tradition told forever?

            I’m sure that Israel followed Moses with some hesitation and second-guessing, they are humans after all. In a few chapters they are complaining about not having enough food and having to eat the same manna day in and day out. They even complain to Moses, they’d have been better off dying at the hands of Egypt than starving in the wilderness.  

Israel had faith that Moses spoke for God, they’ve even seen some pretty impressive things done by Moses and Aaron on their behalf. But even impressive miracles aren’t ever enough to really get that many people to leave everything behind like in this story. Moses’ words were in line with what God intended for Israel and he had years of time spent fighting for Israel. Long enough that Israel knew Moses wasn’t a false prophet. So, they trusted that God was speaking through Moses.

Nowadays, we’d worry that Moses was a false prophet, so much so that I’m not sure that society or even the church would recognize a true prophet if one were to speak God’s word. We’d find reasons to dismiss what they are saying. She doesn’t look like me. She’s a Democrat. He’s a Republican. He’s speaking to them, not me. That isn’t happening in my city.

Even with decades of hindsight, are we even willing to admit someone was prophetic? I think we give Martin Luther King, Jr. that title for the words he spoke and his actions to fight for civil rights in the US. But, are we looking for the prophetic words in rap lyrics and the words and actions of Black Lives Matter or are we seeking ways to discredit what they are saying? They are calling us to listen, truly listen to what they have been fighting for decades. Even if one disagrees with the tactics employed, maybe Black Lives Matter is speaking a prophetic word and calling us to follow them to a new place free of distractions so we can fully see and appreciate the pain from which they are crying out for deliverance.

Perhaps the vigor and coming from those on the economic margins of our societies to disrupt the current way of doing business is a prophetic word that we are ignoring. I think of the surprise that Britain actually voted to leave the EU, as well as other elections where people are voting on how global economic realities are affecting them locally. Is this a prophetic word on how economies around the world relate to each other and how they affect local communities?

Based on how things turned out, I’m glad that Israel followed Moses, but are we now living in a time where we are at best tone deaf to and at worst actively silencing prophetic words around us?

Maybe that is why God, through Moses, said that Israel would always remember the night they were spared and fled Egypt. Especially as the moment that looked like defeat and cowardice back then was actually a victorious moment not just for Israel, but for the world. So why mark a day such as this one for remembrance? Why not the day Abraham followed God’s call? The day the presence of God descended onto the tabernacle? The next day when Israel truly washed away the bonds of slavery at the Red Sea?

            We don’t have to look too far for a modern example of this type of remembrance. Our brothers and sisters from Australia and New Zealand remember a day of defeat every April in Anzac Day. If you haven’t made it to Kranji War Memorial for one yet, make sure to go next year.

            This year Philip Green, the Australian High Commissioner, spoke about why they annually remember a day of defeat in Gallipoli. He said it was a day in which Australia and New Zealand “gained a sense of nationhood and identity with a new self-consciousness that arose from a moment of national crisis.” He also discussed the importance isn’t just what a society remembers but also how society remembers events. For Aussies and Kiwis, the rituals of Anzac day helps them “reflect on [their] shared history and learn from it. These rituals provide an atmosphere for reflection, a way of reimaging our past and its connection to our present.”

            He highlighted that Anzac day is an “active and changing way in which we configure the past, understand the present, and imagine our future. How we do it matters to our collective sense of self, and the collective sense of our futures.” There is also a tradition of welcoming more people into the remembrance and into the story of Anzac so that other societies can learn from a shared remembrance.

            Sounds a lot like what God and Moses were going for with the remembrance of Passover as a focal point in the life of Israel. Even today, the story is retold to the newer generation and to people like myself who have been invited to Seder meals because the story is important and tells a great deal about God’s character.

            Telling this particular story and re-enacting the conditions of a sudden departure remind every generation that God is a God of deliverance for the oppressed and a God that works for the flourishing of all people regardless of their belief system. That God wants everyone to participate in the economy of God and to weave their story into God’s own story in the world. All of this is a vital task for those who claim God as the God of all creation.

            We have to retell this story, God’s story, again and again both to society and ourselves. Because if we fail to tell this wonderful story of grace and redemption for all, then other stories will fill the vacuum. And we know that not all stories promote human flourishing. Those are the stories of the false prophets.

            It is our job to go forth from here remembering God’s story and re-enacting it as often as we need to keep it fresh in our minds and the minds of the generations that come after us. We are also called to hear the similar chorus in stories around us and invite those stories into God’s story, to show them how they are a vital piece to complete God’s tapestry of a place where all are welcome and flourish. For even threads colored with defeat are woven into a beautiful scene when they are included in God’s story.