Sermon for Pentecost 12, 8/27/17: No Basket Cases

Sermon for Pentecost 12, 8/27/17                    Exodus 1:22-2:10                        No Basket Cases        

    This little story, which you probably remember from your own childhood, is situated between two larger, better known ones. So let me place it for you.
    BEFORE it comes the story of Joseph, the youngest of 12 brothers in a Hebrew family, envied by them (remember the coat of many colors from dad Jacob) and thrown into a pit by them to die, captured and enslaved in Egypt. But Joseph gained respect in Egypt, was given a high place in Pharaoh’s court, brought all 11 brothers and his father there, and they prospered.
    AFTER it, baby Moses grows up to be called by God to lead the Hebrew people out of slavery in Egypt (remember the escape across dry land when God parted the waters for them?).
   
In between is today’s story. We didn’t read the whole thing, so here’s the fill-in:
    Years after Joseph’s death a new king arose in Egypt, one who nothing for the story of Joseph. Instead, he was anxious over the numbers and strength of the Hebrews in his land. To keep them in check, this king enslaved them.
    In his paranoia, he ordered the Egyptian midwives to do away with male babies born to Hebrew women. But those midwives, who of course were in the business because they loved babies, wouldn’t do it. Pharaoh grew even more paranoid. He commanded all his people to grab every Hebrew boy baby they saw and throw him into the Nile.

    You heard the rest today….. Moses’ mother, fearing for his little life, finds a basket for him, seals it (watertight), and hides it in the reedy shallows of the Nile, setting his big sister to watch him. Pharaoh’s daughter goes down to bathe in that cool water, which was the closest thing to a bubble bath a princess in that time could get. And the story unfolds from there.
    Turns out the princess adopts that baby into Pharaoh’s household, right under his own nose. Now that’s a God-sized irony!

    God put the right pieces into place for this story to become a miracle:
* a mother who would do ANYTHING to save her baby
* a big sister who watched faithfully (maybe she even gave that basket a little push when the princess came near). And a Hebrew nurse who turned out to be the baby’s own mother!
* an Egyptian princess whose heart was bigger than her fear.
And each of them was part of God’s miracle! Thanks to them, Moses was NOT a basket case!

    Of course, God is the master of creating success from failure, new starts from sure disaster. The stories of Jesus gives lots of evidence:
* Jesus was born to a couple of peasants with no plans to birth a baby together and no resources to support one. And as he grew, he faced resistance at every turn. But through this unlikely story, God brought all of us to salvation. The tiny baby in a feed trough might have looked like a basket case, but with God there are no basket cases.
* And then there’s Peter, looking time after time like a loser. Oh, I know today he exclaims boldly, “You are the Messiah, the son of the living God.” But come back next week and hear him try to hold Jesus back from his journey to the cross. Jesus yells at him, “Get behind me Satan!” Peter had so many ups and downs (including denying he ever knew Jesus), you’d think Jesus wold write him off. But no, Peter gets chance after chance at a new start. With God there are no basket cases.

    And wonder of wonders, the people in these stories stepped into them willingly:
* Mary, 14 at most, was not ready to be a mother. She could have said ‘no way’ when God’s angel proposed the plan. Joseph could easily have refused to get involved. But together, they agreed to God’s plan.  
* and Peter. Time after time he has to pick himself up, brush off the guilt, and let Jesus start him over again. Of all people HE is to become the rock on which the church is built—proof that even for those who fail and fail again, with God there are no basket cases.

    How does this little story about baby Moses stand up to these big stories? There’s one detail in the Moses story that makes it a standout.
    This one detail is one little word. Curious? Go back with me to one of the earliest Old Testament tales, the Noah story. God sees the wickedness of the people and calls for a clean sweep. Noah is to build a boat big enough to save two of every animal and all of his family. It’s an ark, made of wood and sealed to be waterproof in the flood. And through it life begins anew for the whole world.
    Here’s the link between that big story and the Moses story: in today’s story of baby Moses, our translation uses the word ‘basket’ to name the container for the baby, but that word in Hebrew is the same one used in the flood story. ‘Ark’ and ‘basket’—same word.
    They both are cradles of new life—the ark, a new start for a world in trouble; and the basket, new life for one baby, and through him a new start for the whole of God’s people. Ancient listeners would have caught that connection. And the message it sends: In big stories and littles ones, God is at work, bringing new life, turning basket cases into leaders. And God still is.

    I was thinking about the basket that Moses floated in and remembering today’s backpack blessing—a basket and a backpack aren’t so very different. One holds books and notebooks, pencils and maybe a special note from mom, a little surprise. The other held a baby.
    But the basket couldn’t feed the baby. Someone had to step into the murky waters, catch that basket, and feed that child.
    The backpack contains just the right things for success in school, but it can’t produce success. Someone needs to step into that child’s story: into the classroom to explain the math, into the library to open the book, up to the table to sit with that child and show her that she is not a basket case.
    Maybe you will be that person: in the hallways here at church; over at COSKids, sitting with a child for one hour a week to encourage and listen; or in Sunday School once a month, where you can build a child’s confidence in God’s promises.  

    Here’s the beautiful thing: NO ONE here is too young or too old. NO ONE here is too new to church. NO ONE here is too awkward or unsure. Every one of us can step into God’s plan for someone’s life. We are the body of Christ, Paul says. And together, as we offer ourselves to this church and this community, God will make us a powerful force for new life, for all kinds of second chances. Because in God’s community, friends in Christ, (and I really believe this) there are NO BASKET CASES. 
    Thanks be to God. Amen.