Alright...I fully realize this topic sounds about as uplifting as a trip to the dentist AFTER you have had your flu shot. We live in a world with so many negative forces. Currently, we are still dealing with violence in communities between African-Americans and police. We are in the midst of a political climate that feels like there is blood in the water. There is a fragile peace in Syria and Israel/Palestine...but emphasis is on fragile right now rather than peace. Not to mention the things in our own individual life. The stresses and strains emotionally, physically, spiritual and mentally. I am sure you are saying, "Thanks for bringing up the Biblical Plagues, Wes, but I think I will pass."
But part of the point of the plagues is shining a light on the problems that impact our communal life together. Part of the point of the plagues is the inter-connectivity of the luminous web of creation. Awhile ago scientists put out a theory about the plagues saying that there was a burgundy blood algae that poisoned the Nile River and turned it blood red (Exodus 7:14-24). That in turn caused the frogs (Exodus 7:25-8:15) to leave the water and seek safety on land...which in turn caused the frogs to die not having access to clean water...which in turn caused lice and flies (Exodus 8:16-32) to increase because of the lack of frogs to control the population...the increase of flies affected livestock (Exodus 9:1-7) causing disease....and those who still ate the livestock had illness such as boils (Exodus 9:8-12). During this time, Egypt was prone to volcanic eruptions which would impact the atmosphere causing violent thunderstorms and fire (Exodus 9:13-35). Locust were also common in those days. 1 ton horde of locust can eat as much as 2500 humans do daily...which puts my son's teenage appetite into perspective. There were sand storms that could spring up worse than London fog (Exodus 10:21-29). Finally, given all this destruction around them, death of humans...particularly the youngest and most vulnerable...did happen (Exodus 11).
Whew...let me catch my breath.
So, that is one way to look at things. But you can also read the plagues Biblical. Terence Fretheim wrote about how Exodus echoes Genesis. In his interpretation, the plagues represent a reversal of creation. Whereas in Genesis 1, you start off with chaos, darkness, and no life...in the plagues that is where it all ends. So the plagues slowly reverse creation. Whereas God separated waters...now the water is blood. Whereas God said to the animals to be fruitful and multiply, sometimes too much multiplying impedes our fruitfulness. Whereas God wanted light, at the end of the plagues there is darkness and death. Creation reversed as the people of God endure the pain and suffering of Egyptian oppression.
Another way to look at this is societal, when one group of people fails to thrive, the whole system is broke. We see this racially in our country today. We continue to segregate and oppress people, pushing them to the fringes. Yet, such a response only further exasperates the issue. We cannot, as Moses tried to do after hiding the Egyptian guard in the sand, act as though the past brokenness of racism no longer exist. The ways we have treated those forcefully brought to our country and than legally dehumanized and treated as "less than" continue to have ramification and consequences that plague us. Only when the problems that cause the most hurt and harm are brought out in the open, only when a wound is exposed to the healing...albeit painful...elements of air and light can healing happen...but also risks of continued infection. We are a body together, interconnected as Paul said in 1 Corinthians, yet we so often still have our mouth saying to the foot, "I have no need of you.... until I say something less than brilliant."
There are problems we still need to deal with as the people of God. There are still plagues that hurt and harm people today. There are still people crying out to God for liberation. There are still beloved children of God enslaved through sex trafficking and other manipulation. There are still people who work three jobs and never see their children and still told to "pull themselves up". There are still people pushed to the side and sneered at because of who they love. There is still much that plagues us...and the church is called by God, as God called to Moses, to be part of the liberation of God's own people.
May there be more than a trace of God's grace and guidance as we seek to respond to God's own people and our very neighbors this day.
Amen.
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