Is your state open?  Churches and essential businesses should be open?  We should open in phases?  Let’s open the economy!  It’s hard to figure out what all this means and at the end of the day who benefits from opening it all up.  What if we open too soon?  What if we don’t open soon enough? 

When the President said that houses of worship are essential to their communities and that they should be open—I want to believe that he meant “that they CAN be open.”   I didn’t hear it as an executive order.   I believe that churches need to make their own assessment based on facts and factors.   I don’t know if the president has a grasp on the ministry that is taking place while church doors are locked.   I think he was giving permission to the church leaders that want to open their doors to their congregations.   However, this is a decision that should be made by each individual congregation.

Back in the time of Moses when all the plagues were being visited upon the Egyptians (and the Israelites), Pharaoh was making important decisions for the good or detriment of his people.  If he let the Israelites go, then the plagues would stop.  If he kept the Israelites in bondage—there would probably be more plagues.   It was a pretty simple correlation.  However, Pharaoh didn’t see it that way.  There was no science to back up Moses’ threats.  Everything seemed pretty circumstantial in the beginning.  But don’t you think after five plagues- Pharaoh would have put it all together.   But he couldn’t see it that way.   The Israelites were vital to the economy of the Egyptians and he couldn’t just let them go—the Egyptian economy would have collapsed and everyone would have blamed Pharaoh.  So…Pharaoh held on—even when the evidence began to mount that the Israelites’ God meant business.    And after all, it seemed some Egyptian magicians could produce the same results.  Pharaoh fell into the “You’ve got your facts, and I’ve got mine” trap—and then subscribed to the “this is just a huge Israelite conspiracy.” 

The Israelites had their own issues.  They were to put lamb’s blood over their doors—as a sign that they were believers, and if they did, then their house would be “passed over” from the terrible plague.  I wonder if they all did it.  Maybe most did—but don’t you think there were a few that didn’t buy into pandemic plague idea.   We aren’t really sure what happened to them (though they probably weren’t passed over—they just lived the rest of their lives as slaves to the Egyptians).   

After the Tenth Plague (yes, believe it or not it took 10 plagues), Pharaoh finally submitted to the ‘facts.’  He let the Israelites go.  But then someone tweeted something or whispered in his ear and Pharaoh had a change of heart.  He gathered the army and pursued the Israelites.  Ten Plagues and Pharaoh still didn’t get it!       

The Israelites took off for the Promised Land.  They followed Moses into the wilderness but right up to the Red Sea.  With God’s help Moses parted the waters, gave them water to drink in the desert and food to eat!  Yet, they complained all the time.  They quickly forgot that God just did amazing things in Egypt and while they were on the run in the desert.   Their fickle faith caused them to incessantly whine and complain.  “Things weren’t so bad in Egypt.”  “You brought us out here to die in the desert.”  “We should have stayed put in Egypt.”                

This past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend, and I was saddened at how quickly “re-opening” has taken over the hearts of the fickle faithful.  There were parties everywhere and people were not practicing the simple things that were asked—limit the gatherings, social distance, and wear a mask.   I can only assume that these same people are not diligently washing their hands before they touch objects in high traffic areas and are putting their fingers in their mouth and eyes. 

I want things to be “normal.”  I want to go to parties and be social again.  I want to go to the barber and enjoy live music.  I want to be with my friends without a computer in my face.  I want to worship with my entire church family under one roof—but I absolutely don’t want to go back to Egypt.

In the wilderness it’s chaotic and confusing—but if keep walking the path—we will get to the Promised Land.  It may take a little longer than we imagined when we left—but we’ll get there!   Amen.