who am I?

Scripture: Exodus 2
 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. ¹²He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. ¹³When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one who was in the wrong, ‘Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?’ ¹⁴He answered, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?’ Then Moses was afraid and thought, ‘Surely the thing is known.’ ¹⁵When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses.
But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well. ¹⁶The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. ¹⁷But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defence and watered their flock. ¹⁸When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, ‘How is it that you have come back so soon today?’ ¹⁹They said, ‘An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.’ ²⁰He said to his daughters, ‘Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread.’ ²¹Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. ²²She bore a son, and he named him Gershom; for he said, ‘I have been an alien^* residing in a foreign land.’

Observation:

Moses, born a Hebrew slave, is raised in the house of pharaoh's daughter, raised in privilege and wealth.  Despite these circumstances, he identifies with the Hebrews and their plight of suffering.  So much so that he defends a slave and kills an Egyptian.  He is not accepted as a fellow Hebrew either, but seen as another violent abuser of power by the witnesses of the killing.  So he flees and settles in a foreign country.  He finds employment, marries, and has a child.  His extraordinary life in Egypt is transformed into an ordinary life of herding in the mountains and tending a family.  He is avoiding his life, ignoring his responsibilities, and forgetting his own people.  Will he have a role to play in the drama between Pharaoh and the Hebrews?  It seems inevitable, and yet he spends years as a resident alien far away from the problems of Hebrew slaves in Egypt. 

Application :

Moses has privilege and power but identifies with the powerless and underprivileged.  Who will Moses be?  Hebrew or Egyptian?  Will he retain his adopted status or will he accept his lot as a slave?  Will he use his power and privilege to help the Hebrews?  Or will he hide in Midian among the flocks and hills?
Vocation is an important part of the human experience.  We ask ourselves, "What am I meant to do with my life?"  It is an essential aspect of faith, too. Vocation comes from the latin 'vocare' to call.  Moses' life points to a higher calling.  For what or whom has Moses been born?
It is temping to ignore injustice, to choose comfort and safety over struggle and resistance. I am a white male and, as such, I experience invisible privilege.  I can choose to ignore racial and economic injustice.  Or I can accept my role to confront it.  My life and yours are meant to be extraordinary.  In the midst of ordinary callings, as spouses--parents, professionals---a higher calling awaits. Like Moses, we are free to choose whether we will live God's call or avoid it.  Sometimes shame and our own sense of inadequacy stand in the way of embracing your true self and divine calling.  Our flaws and failures tell us we're not good enough.  Moses was a murderer.  God calls broken, flawed, messed up people to embody God's liberating love.  There are people depending on us to express our faith by surrendering to a calling to live justly and mercifully for others. To find out what God has made you to be and do, this is an essential act of faith.  We took the five-fold survey (http://fivefoldsurvey.com/) to begin thinking about ourselves as called and sent by God with a mission or purpose.  I'm still learning what God is calling me to do and be.  Its a lifelong journey. 

Prayer:  
Lord, you have called us to an extraordinary life of public ministry with your children who suffer injustice.  Help us to discover and embrace our calling to confront evil and give hope.  Amen.