Living in the Spirit
September 5, 2017
Scripture Reading: Exodus 12:1-14
For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance. –Exodus 12:12-14
We cannot imagine worshiping a carved image or even a natural phenomenon ascribed sacred status like the gods of Egypt. Much of the Hebrew Bible deals with the challenge of idols mostly those of other nations distracting the Hebrew people from their monotheistic commitment to God. The interesting thing about idols is that one can project onto them whatever properties one desires of a god as idols are void of purpose or meaning.
I fear, idols, by other names, are just as confounding for us today.The collection of things, materialism, is a current idol that has existed for some time and is easy to identify. We must have the latest phone, TV, shoes, etc. We tsk, tsk ourselves about it as we hand our credit cards to pay for our latest “Just gotta have it.” What about the idols that are so much a part of our lives, we do not recognize them?
I was surprised by the NFL’s position and much of the public’s response to the football player, Colin Kaepernick, who took a knee during the national anthem in protest of the rampant racism in our land. Taking a knee in most cases is a sign of humility, not an insult. Could Mr. Kaepernick have been saying in his action that racism goes against everything for which our country stands? All [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness*. When we do not subscribe to the basic values of our country we are dishonoring it. Have we reduced the flag of our country to an idol, an empty shell with only the meaning we chose to give it rather than our country’s defined identity?
Racism might not be an epidemic, had faith communities followed the tenets of God recognizing that God created all humans in God’s own image and all humans are thus God’s people. God who commanded us to love God and to love one another set the standard for living within the framework of our creation.
Do we imagine Joshua doing the ancient equivalent of taking a knee when he spoke these words recorded in Joshua 24:15:
Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’
Perhaps we all need to take a knee whether in the stadium to support the defined identity of our country or in our houses of worship regarding our relationship with God as we decide who we serve.
Prayer: Lord, open the windows of our hearts and help us to see that which is so ingrained we accept it as normal. Forgive us of our sins of commission, when we discriminated against any other. Forgive us of our sins of omission when we stand idly by allowing racism to exist. Empower us to do justice. Amen.
*From the US Declaration of Independence