It would be a lot more convenient for everyone involved if the chaotic, ugly, and frustrating could be safely stowed in a box in the basement while the transcendent, beautiful and adorable could be displayed prominently on the dining room table – never the twain shall meet!
But, unfortunately, that’s not the case. Opposites may be opposite, but they are not separate.
Being chosen by God is generally considered to be a good thing.
After all, when God is on your side, you must be pretty powerful, right?
But as these stories suggest, it is not that simple.
“Is the Lord among us or not?”
This may be THE question. It is the BIG question! This is the question of faith… . It is the question of human history.
We experience the eternal within the temporary, and we are filled with wonder! This is the poetic moment. The prayerful moment.
It is precious.
Someone off camera yells “Go, Go, Go!” And group of people splash out into the water. They take hands, forming a human chain.
The Pharaoh had power. He had armies. He had the rule of law.
What did Moses’ mother have? Bulrushes. Bitumen and pitch.
The atomic bombing –the most destructive instant in human history—transformed Hiroshima from a city defined by war into a city whose name is synonymous with the hope of peace.
Late in the afternoon one of the old women wiped her forehead with a rag and announced that it was time to walk over to the well.
