The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea. In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.
You would think the Egyptians, watching their Hebrew slaves rushing into the cleft water of the Red Sea, might pause at least for a moment before rushing in after them. Had they perhaps seen a passage open in the sea before and thought it was safe? I don't think so. Could it possibly mean the God of these miserable people was fighting for them? You would think so! But neither Pharaoh nor his bloodthirsty army nor his eager horses hesitated to throw themselves unto the breach.
There's no cure for stupid.
I recently read the essay of a young man who has sought out each of his 32 half-brothers and -sisters. He did not know them before; they had no acquaintance with each other. Their only connection was a sperm donor whose sole message to them, as he pocketed his cash, was, "I wish them all the luck."
These isolated siblings were bred by what he calls a "huge, inadvertent social experiment." Their mothers -- he claims two without differentiating biological from spiritual -- preferred a safer, asexual breeding to the complexity and mystery of marriage.
This author does not condemn his mother's decision. He has no choice but to accept the social experiment as normal. He does not ask if his mother's decision should be considered moral or immoral, good or bad. Her ability to conceive asexually, with the support of an indifferent society, made it right. Might makes right.
He never mentions his grandparents. Did they come around to their daughter's point of view? They had little choice but to love their grandson. Or perhaps they were estranged from their daughter by that other social experiment we call divorce; and never knew the boy.
The scriptures tell us the Hebrews saw the Egyptian army and its horses washed up on shore after the catastrophe. Egyptian historians make no mention of it. If it happened as the Bible says it did, they obviously preferred not to remember it. They would forget the stupid move, and not have their descendants reflect upon it.
The Church, with its foundation in the Word of God, remembers both catastrophes. We will not forget that a human child has a right to live in the home of his biological father and mother, a married-for-life couple in a sexually-monogamous relationship. This is how God intended it from the beginning.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.