“Pharaoh harden his heart”
Pharaoh hardened his heart.” Those are the words that I woke up thinking today.
Sure, when the plague hits it’s all “pray to the Lord for me, Moses.” And Moses does. And things get better for a while. Then it’s “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.” Again.
It’s not like Moses was asking for much. Not the repeal of the Second Amendment or anything. Just some common-sense gun laws. Oh wait – that’s another story. No, Moses was just asking for a holiday - a holy-day - to give the Hebrew people a chance to go into the desert and worship the Lord at the holy mountain, as had been their custom of old.
But Pharaoh hardened his heart.
Pharaoh and his ministers were not going to give up a source of wealth and power. Not without another plague, and one after that, and one after that. Not until it struck so close to home that Pharoah said, “Just go – all of you!’
And even then - he changed his mind. It took a miracle of literally Biblical proportions to get the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
We cannot expect our modern-day pharaohs to give up their sources of wealth and power voluntarily. Not a hailstorm of bullets, nor plagues of fire, wind and rain fueled by a warming atmosphere, nor an actual plague that has left over a million dead. No, pharaoh will ask for thoughts and prayers, and then harden his heart. Again.
I know that many of you are frustrated by “thoughts and prayers.” I get it. But thoughts and prayers have never been the end of the story.
“The Lord said, ‘I have indeed seen the misery of my people… I have heard them crying out… and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them…’ “
So, these are my thoughts. And here are my prayers. Yes, I pray for healing and comfort for the survivors, and for the families of those who died, and even for the family of the young man who did this terrible thing. I pray for wisdom and resolve. I pray for words, and that they might make a difference. I pray for the strength to act. I pray for a Moses - a leader, not a ruler - whose sense of justice overrides the desire for wealth and power. I pray that when Moses comes, we do not say “we were better off in slavery to violence, and fossil fuels, and the liberty to do as we pleased without a thought for anyone else.” I pray that we do not harden our hearts. I pray “Thy kingdom come.” Amen.
Today seems like a good day to weave a tallit.
