9-6-26 “This Is Our Exodus: The Passover”
“This Is Our Exodus: The Passover”
I want to begin with a little story that I found on the internet. A Sunday school teacher asked the children in the class, “If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale, and gave all my money to the church, would I get into heaven?” “No!” the children answered.
“If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would I get into heaven?” Again, they answered, “No!” “Well,” she continued, “then how can I get to heaven?” A five-year-old boy shouted, “You gotta be dead!”
Last Sunday, we stood with Moses at the burning bush. Moses had been living in the wilderness for many years. He had left Egypt and started a completely different life. Then, one ordinary day, God appeared to him in a bush that was burning but was not consumed. God called his name: “Moses! Moses!” Then God said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” That was where we began last Sunday: “The God of Our Parents, Now Our God.”
Many of us first learned about God through somebody else. Perhaps it was our parents. Perhaps a grandparent. Perhaps a Sunday school teacher. Perhaps a pastor. Perhaps someone who prayed for us when we didn’t even know how to pray. We first heard: “God is good.” We first heard:
“God loves you.” Yes, we first heard Bible stories from somebody else. We have to say: “The God who was my parents’ God is now my God.” That was Moses’ moment, and also ours.
And now, in Exodus 12, we come to the moment when God is about to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt. This is their Exodus—the story of the Passover. And I believe that somewhere in this story, we can find our own story, too. I believe that everyone has their own exodus, and we all need the grace of the Passover.
The Israelites had been in Egypt for generations. It had become their life. But they had suffered and cried out to God. And finally, God heard their cries. And now God was saying: “You are leaving from Egypt.” You know, it is not easy to step out of our comfort zone. It is not easy to change our lifestyle all at once. It can be scary to leave behind what is familiar and step into the unknown.
But we know someone who left his comfort zone immediately when God called him. God said to him, “Leave your country, your hometown, and your father’s household, and go to the land that I will show you.” And he went. He left what was familiar and trusted God with what was ahead. And God told him, “You will be a blessing.” Do you remember who that was? Yes! That was Abraham.
And I think we all have an “Egypt” that we need to leave behind. Your Egypt may not look like someone else’s Egypt. Maybe your Egypt is fear, anger, resentment, guilt, grief or an old wound. Maybe it is something someone said to you years ago that you are still carrying today. Maybe it is the belief: “This is just who I am.” But Exodus tells us something important: Your Egypt is not your destiny. Israel had been in Egypt for generations. But God said, “It is time to go.”
I want to share my personal story. I am a person who likes to have a schedule and a long to-do list for each day. I feel secure when I know what needs to be done and when I can organize everything according to my plan. But sometimes, my schedule and my long to-do list become a burden rather than a help. Instead of helping me move forward, they can make me feel overwhelmed, anxious, and even stuck, especially when something unexpected happens.
I usually try to finish my Sunday sermon, bulletin, and other worship materials by Tuesday. But last Monday, I was invited to my friend’s open house party in Phillips, who was newly appointed to Phillips United Methodist Church. I wanted to go to welcome them and bless their new church and new ministry. I also had a meeting scheduled in Barron on Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. So, I thought, “If I have a meeting all day Tuesday, I need to finish everything by Monday!”
That meant I had to make a choice. If I went to my friend’s open house on Monday, I would need to finish my sermon and bulletin before I left. Or, I could come home early from the open house and work on everything Monday night before going to the meeting on Tuesday. As you can imagine, I started feeling overwhelmed just thinking about my schedule! Anyway, I couldn’t refuse my friend’s invitation. So, I went.
I enjoyed the time together, and I was grateful to be there. Then, on my way home that evening, a deer suddenly jumped in front of my car. I had an accident, and my car was damaged. Suddenly, I had to stop everything. I had to deal with the insurance company, the police, and my friends.
But my phone didn’t work because there was no good cell reception. No phone. No navigation. No connection with the insurance company. No connection with my friends. I felt completely cut off and stuck there. I tried to keep moving, praying as I went, until I found a place where my phone would work. Finally, my friend came. Some people who were passing by also stopped to help—and, wonderfully, they were parishioners from Phillips UMC. They stayed with me and helped me call the police and file a report.
Eventually, I returned to my friend’s house and had to wait for a tow truck the next day because it was a long distance from Phillips to Grantsburg. And while I was waiting, I was still stuck in my worries: “How am I going to get to the meeting?” “How am I going to finish my sermon?” “How am I going to finish everything on my list?”
My friend said to me, “I think God gave you a day off because you haven’t had a day off for a while. Please take a rest today. God will be working while you are resting.” But honestly, I couldn’t let go of my worries. So I prayed, “O Lord, help me let go of my worries and become aware of what you are trying to show me through this situation.”
I knew that worrying would not change anything. I couldn’t do anything about the situation. So, I missed the meeting, and I couldn’t work on my sermon. All my plans were broken. Can you imagine how messed up my schedule was? Maybe I needed an Exodus from my strict scheduling life, right? Now, let’s go back to the Scripture one more time. The Israelites were still in Egypt, but something had changed. They were about to move. God told them to prepare for the journey. Their bread was ready. Their sandals were on their feet. Their staffs were in their hands.
I imagine that scene: a family sitting together, eating their last meal in Egypt, but nobody is getting too comfortable. They are ready to leave when God says, “Go.” They did not know exactly what would happen the next morning. They did not know how they would cross the sea. They did not know where the journey would take them.
But they knew one thing: God was leading them. And maybe that is what faith looks like for us. Sometimes we want God to show us the whole road map before we take the first step. We want to know what will happen, when it will happen, and how everything will work out. But God does not always give us the whole map. Sometimes God simply says, “Be ready. Trust me. Take the next step.”
I think about my own story. I had my schedule. I had my plans. I knew what I was supposed to do on Monday and Tuesday. And then, in just a moment, everything changed. I couldn’t control the situation. I couldn’t fix my car. I couldn’t make my phone work. I couldn’t make it to my meeting. I couldn’t even work on my sermon when I wanted to. All I could do was pray and take the next step. And perhaps that was my little Exodus.
Not from Egypt to the wilderness, but from my need to control everything to learning to trust God. Maybe some of us need that kind of Exodus, too. Maybe God is inviting us to loosen our grip on the things we cannot control. Maybe God is asking us to stop worrying about tomorrow and trust Him with today. Maybe God is saying, “You don’t have to have everything figured out. Just walk with me.”
The Israelites had their sandals on because they were ready to move. So, as we leave this place today, I want you to remember two simple things: Open your hand. Release what you cannot control. Put your shoes on. Be ready for whatever God is going to do next.
You may not know what is ahead. But you can trust the One who goes ahead of you. You can trust the God who was with Moses, the God who delivered Israel, and the God who is with us today. So, perhaps this is our prayer: “Lord, help us let go of what we are holding too tightly. And give us faith to take the next step with you.”
Thanks be to God. Amen!