Liberation in Egypt

A peoples’ revolution arising in Egypt has drawn the world’s attention in the last three weeks. It is not the first nonviolent uprising to take place in the cradle of civilization.
We remember that God led Moses and his people on an exodus out of slavery in the land of Egypt. Their path of escape from Pharaoh’s bondage was marked by a pillar of cloud by day and the light of a pillar of fire by night.
We remember that wise men traveled through the deserts of this region for two years, to find the Christ child and lay their gifts at his feet. They were guided by the light of a star shining in the east.
We remember after they visited Jesus, the magi returned to their home by another way, warned in a dream that King Herod wished to extinguish the light of this newborn Messiah. They engaged in a courageous act of nonviolent civil disobedience, refusing to collaborate with the powers of the Empire.
We remember that in the third century after Christ’s birth, the monastic movement was emerging on this same Egyptian desert.
One of the early monks had a dream. He saw a large group traveling in the desert at night without a road. In the distance they could see a light they were traveling toward, but they could not see how to reach it.
However, these people believed there were persons in front of them who were able to see the light and how to reach it, and so they had each placed their hands on the shoulder of the person ahead of them, in an unbroken line reaching to the front.
So long as they stayed connected in this way, they were safe.
But a few persons thought this procedure was too limiting. And so they announced they knew a better way to reach the light and promised that if others followed them they would reach the light more quickly and more easily. And so small groups would break off and follow these persons.
But soon these small groups found they were hopelessly lost, wandering around in circles in the desert. And then these small groups would in turn split up into even smaller groups, each disagreeing with the others and each seeking to find the light on its own.
The monks were guided by this dream and decided that their path of rigorous spirituality should never be separated from the wider church.
We gather in worship today as part of a revolutionary movement that is led by a single light: Christ, the light of the world.
We see Christ’s light in stars, in fire, in the face of a toddler . . . the one who was the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. When Christ was born, God moved into our neighborhood.
The church is not an institution, it’s a movement. Sometimes it’s even a revolution. May we stay together, moving into God’s future, seeking to walk in the light of Christ.
And when we cannot see the light ourselves, let us put our hands on the shoulders of someone else, and simply follow. . . . in an unbroken line stretching to the source of all light.
The stories of scripture light our way to the future.
God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. May the revolution continue. Amen.