Basket Case
Lectionary Readings: Exodus 1:8-2:10; Psalm 124; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:21-28.
A man from the family of Levi married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and had a son. She saw there was something special about him and hid him. She hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer she got a little basket-boat made of papyrus, waterproofed it with tar and pitch, and placed the child in it. Then she set it afloat in the reeds at the edge of the Nile. Exodus 2:1-3
You’ve heard this story many times: One of the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt decided the Israelites were becoming too prolific. He decided that the best method to control the population was to have all the male babies killed. Moses’ mother devised a way to save her special baby who eventually grew up to save the Israelite nation from the evil domination of the Pharaohs. Moses is one of the main spiritual leaders in Judeo-Christian heritage but would never have lived past infancy, had his mother not devised this ingenious plan.
I recently received an e-mail which described various humorous signs posted by churches. One of them claimed that Moses was the first “basket case”. A basket had been part of the plan that saved Moses’ life—the basket kept Moses afloat until the Pharaoh’s daughter noticed and then later adopted him. However, the accepted definition of a basket case is a person who is emotionally or mentally disabled, who can no longer cope or is too impaired to function. Although Moses spent some time in a basket at an early age, his times as a true “basket-case” came during his adult life after he fled Egypt as a fugitive and when God was recruiting him for service via the burning bush. God’s plan for Moses did not end with the life-saving basket and although Moses had several episodes that could qualify him as a basket case, God continued to call and use Moses in fulfilling His Plan.
The point of all this is that God has a plan for each of us. Much of the time we, like Moses, have no idea what the outcomes or goals will be for that plan. Many of us are called to a certain profession or task, but we may never really understand the significance of that calling on the lives of others. We struggle to know if we’re doing the right thing or heading in the right direction. Sometimes even the suggestion of a change of plan results in confusion, disbelief and fear for us. What are we to do? Paul says: “Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him…You’ll be changed from the inside out…God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:1-2 from the Message) All of us are called to a greater service than we could ever achieve under our own power. God can use even our own times as a “basket-case” for His Plan. What He needs most from us is a true surrender to serve Him and then He provides the direction, the circumstances, the words, the strength and maybe even a basket-rescue.
Dear Loving and Forgiving God, I apologize for my lazy approach to life and for my unwillingness to follow where you have called me. I am sorry that I have refused or have been reluctant to surrender my will to yours. Please continue to call me so that I might have another opportunity to surrender myself to you. Use me as I am in the circumstances you have placed me, but continue to change me so that I may be more like the child you want me to be. Help me to see You in each person I meet and find ways to fulfill your Plan for my life. Thank you for hearing me and all of your children as we pray this prayer and thank you for the “baskets” you send us in order to save us again and again. AMEN
Chyrl Budd
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