Leaving abandonment behind

James Cathcart July 10, 2024 6 4

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Exodus 1:22-2:4 (NRSVA)

(1) 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ‘Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.’

(2) 1 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him for three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. 4 His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

Even in the bleakness of sorrow Moses’s sister does not abandon him. In the sweeping foundational story of Exodus there is space for the tender grief-stricken bravery of a young girl.

We are so grateful for all the people who stand with us through difficult times. Who aren’t willing to let go, or give up, or abandon us.

Prayer:

Lord God,

With you we are never abandoned

and we are never alone,

we are never forgotten.

And in every generation

and in every location

there are brave souls

who respond to your call to compassion

and goodness

and who refuse to abandon, to leave, to forget.

Who stand by us

through sorrow and terror

confusion and longing

hurt and betrayal.

The beauty of selfless care

that gives for no return,

and through any trial,

is a phenomenon

you started

and for which we are

eternally grateful.

They do not leave us behind.

In fact,

all that they leave behind

is a legacy.

We thank you God for those legacies

known and unknown

sung and unsung.

Amen.