A FAILED LIBERATOR

Exod. 2:1-15a

          Yesterday’s first reading said that Pharaoh, fearful that the Hebrews living in Egypt as slaves were becoming too numerous, ordered that every newborn Hebrew son must be thrown into the Nile. When the baby Moses is born, his mother obeys the letter of Pharaoh’s decree, though not its intent. After hiding her child for three months, she places him in a waterproofed basket among the reeds at the river’s edge. There the baby is found by none other than the daughter of the man who has ordered his destruction. A remarkable coincidence? That is the modern view. For the biblical mind the rescue was the work of God himself – a conviction which lives on in our saying: coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous.

          So it comes about that this son of an oppressed people is brought up at the royal court. Grown to manhood, Moses is not content simply to enjoy his privileged position. Seeing a fellow Hebrew being abused by an Egyptian, Moses kills the oppressor, and buries the man’s body in the sand. At great personal risk Moses has done something truly great: he has struck a blow for the liberation of his people.         

When Moses goes out the next day and sees two of his own people fighting, he tries to separate them. They are resentful. “Are you thinking of killing us, as you killed the Egyptian?” they ask. Moses was confident that he had covered his tracks. Horrified to discover that his blow for justice is known, Moses fears for his life, and flees. He becomes a refugee, stripped not only of the privileged life he has enjoyed hitherto, but also of the family and social ties which were so important in the ancient world. The courageous crusader for justice has become a Nobody. The story does not end there, however. As we shall hear in the coming days, God still has something for the failed liberator to do.