Loving God, you open to us the way of salvation, especially at those times when things look hopeless.  Teach us to trust you in all things and to follow where you lead, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            Today’s gospel has an obvious theme of forgiveness – which is important, and which is hard.  It follows up on last week’s gospel and the instructions about what to do if a brother or sister in Christ sins against you.  It begins with Peter’s desire to keep count, and ends with a story that makes refusing to forgive look ridiculous.  All of this is important – as is God’s readiness to forgive all of us.  However, the crossing of the Red Sea is also important.

         We have heard bits and pieces over the past few weeks about Moses, and about God’s call to him from the burning bush, and about the Passover, and the exodus out of Egypt.  All of this is a prelude to the part of the story that we heard today, which is one of God’s great acts of salvation.  What we didn’t hear, however, is the desperation that came just before this mighty act of God.

         The people had made it out of Egypt and were camping by the Red Sea.  While they are there, Pharaoh changes his mind once again and sends out his army and chariots after the Israelites.  When the people look up, they see the Red Sea on one side of them, and the entire Egyptian army on the other side.  Where are they going to go?  They don’t see any way out, and most of them are sure that they are going to die.

         The first set of instructions that is given to the people is “to keep still”, because God is going to fight for them (Ex. 14:14).  Of course, we know how easy that’s going to be…  They are to keep still, and to watch what God is going to do, until a way begins to open for them.  This is when the instructions change, and they are to go forward into the sea.

         I have to wonder how many people today find themselves in similar situations, where there seems to be no way out, and destruction seems to be on every side.  There are the people who are drowning in debt, and the people who are, quite literally, living in a war zone.  There are the ones who are affected by fires and floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, and cyclones.  There are those who are caught in a spiral of addiction, or poverty, or abuse.  There are those who are refugees, and who literally have nowhere to go.  It is frightfully easy to look around and have a sense of hopelessness and despair.  At the Red Sea, however, we see the way forward for people of faith.

         Dallas Jenkins, who directs the series The Chosen, talks about “Red Sea moments,” which are those times when you have done everything that you can, and it still seems as though everything is about to fall apart.  He credits his wife Amanda with the concept, and tells about three different Red Sea moments when it seemed as though filming The Chosen would have to stop.  In each case, their backs were against the proverbial wall, and the only option open to them was to pray and to wait for God to act.  In each case, things happened that can only be described as miraculous, in order for them to be able to move forward with the project.  They would not have noticed God’s activity if everything had just fallen into place under their own effort.

         I had a similar experience during my time at seminary, which some of you have heard about before.  There were two bills that had to be paid, and I didn’t have the money to do so.  One was the deductible on my auto insurance after having been in an accident, and the other was the tuition for a summer course.  Knowing that I couldn’t pay, I prayed about it.  I gave it to God, asking that God would show me whether I should continue my seminary training or not.  A few days later, a cheque showed up in the mail that was the exact amount that I needed.  God is also very good at math.

         Perhaps some of you have also had times in your life when you couldn’t see any way out, or even any way through.  Perhaps some of you are even stuck by the Red Sea because of an inability to forgive.  In each case, the instructions are much the same as the ones that were given to the Israelites.  

         First of all, keep still.  Quiet yourself in the presence of God, and open yourself to God’s Spirit and God’s direction.  Then, when the way begins to open, go forward.  Follow God’s lead, trusting that God will lead you exactly where you need to go.  After all, this is the same God who created each one of us, who redeems us through Jesus, and who makes us holy by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is also the same God who has forgiven each one of us more than we could ever ask or imagine.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Lectionary 24(A)                              Exodus 14:19-31

September 17, 2023                       Matthew 18:21-35

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison 

© 2023 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved