“So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people,
the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh,
and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
-- Exodus 3: 10-12
In the class Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, we recently finished discussing the Book of Exodus. Students were asked to write an exegesis on the relationship between the story of the Jews’ story of enslavement in Exodus and a current struggle for freedom in our world.
The responses were wide-ranging—from a comparison of the Jews’ enslavement in Egypt to issues with human trafficking around the world, the threat of global warming, reproductive and LGBTQ rights, the history of Haiti’s liberation from slavery, and the struggle for racial justice as expressed in the Black Lives Matter movement.
While I’ve asked students to write about this comparison before, the essays this year have never been better. Students are attuned to the social justice issues of our time; they are ready to act and make their mark in the world.
Nevertheless, students have been equally astute when turning their gaze inward as they were asked to reflect on what holds them back from being their best selves, and in finding ways to live “lives of consequence.”
As they reflected on the story of the Golden Calf, they found parallels between their own struggles with body image, negative self-talk, unhealthy relationships, and too much time on social media. Examining this ancient story through an archetypal lens allowed us to more easily find parallels in today’s world.
As we discussed the Israelites’ impatience, or what the English poet, John Keats, calls “the irritable grasping for certainty” in Moses’ absence, we were able to identify how, in this current climate of social unrest, rising Covid numbers, and political polarization, we are susceptible to the desire for quick and easy answers to complicated questions. In such times, golden calves seem to pop up on every corner, as the false prophets, con men, and profiteers prey on our need for quick and easy answers. But we are reminded that, in such times, finding answers to difficult questions is very often an inside job.
As Moses asks God, “who am I that I should go to pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” we are reminded that rather than looking outside ourselves for answers, we must first look within, seeking the courage and clarity that can lead to purposeful action in the world.
--The Rev. Katie Solter
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