advent reflection on pharaohs, wall street execs, justice...and a partridge and a pear tree

*Spoiler Alert* There is NOTHING about partridges or pear trees in this post. Sorry if this ruins the post for you, but I trust you'll get over it quickly enough;)

A friend of mine at Seminary asked me to write a short reflection relating Exodus 5:1-2 to the labor movement, which will be included in a collection of writings/devotions for the upcoming Advent season that his labor rights organization is publishing. Honestly, I hope it makes you a little uncomfortable - both by causing you to look at what our country values based on the gods it serves, and also in challenging you to reflect on what you value, who you serve, and if you're willing to stand up for people who are currently exploited in the 'land of the free and the home of the brave.'

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.” Exodus 5:1-2

History has a notoriously long and checkered past regarding the exploitation of others, particularly of laborers. As harsh and unreasonable as Pharaoh was to the Israelites he had enslaved and forced into hard labor, he was not the first, the last, the worst, or particularly outstanding in the unjust treatment of his workers.

Vast inequality of wealth and power in a society has - and does - result in abuse of those in the lower classes, including the working class. Whether it is Pharaoh or the CEO of a major multi-national corporation, when that much power and wealth is concentrated in only a few hands, power and wealth will corrupt them. In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh shows no compassion, justice, or mercy to his laborers. He refuses to give them any rest or respite from their work. In fact, if you read beyond verse 2, you will find that Pharaoh actually commands the supervisors to make their labor more difficult! Power and wealth are his gods, so why would he need to acknowledge or obey Yahweh, Lord of the Israelites?

Listening and obeying Yahweh and choosing to treat his laborers humanely would diminish Pharaoh’s gods of wealth and power. The gods Pharaoh worshiped are the same gods worshiped on Wall Street today. Greed, wealth, power, and personal fortune may have morphed from ruling over all Egypt to owning yachts, an impressive 401k, and the newest limited edition Mercedes-Benz, but they remain the same destructive forces they have always been on society.

The good news is that those gods, those false idols, are nothing compared with God. We know the end of the Exodus story. Yahweh prevails, punishes Pharaoh and his realm with plagues and destruction, and liberates his people from their oppressors. The laborers are set free from the soul-wrenching, brutal work they were forced to do for many years, and they were finally able to set out for the Promised Land. Was it easy? No. It took courage, strength, endurance, persistence, vision, and faith – which were all provided by the God who loved his people tremendously. The God who still loves his people tremendously. He still hears the cries of those who labor under awful conditions, who are desperate for respite and rescue, and He will answer them.

The question is this: will we continue to compliantly allow the gods of power and wealth to retain their hold over our society, or will we hear these cries for help and respond obediently to living out God’s call for justice?