“A deadly scourge”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Friday, March 22, 2024

Exodus 9:13-35 (Forward, p. 53) CEV p. 63

My family hails from a part of the prairies that is particularly prone to disastrous incidences of hail, so much so that a hail suppression program operated out of the Penhold Airport for many years. We used to say that if we could get past the last week of August without serious hail damage we were doing well. And certainly, anyone who has lived through a serious hailstorm can well attest to the damage it can do. Damage to plants and cars and roofs is standard. So, stripping or shattering of trees, destruction of standing crops, and injury to any livestock or personnel left outside certainly can and does happen. In fact, a later piece of Biblical history (Joshua 10:11) tells us that during the battle of Gibeon a great hailstorm killed more Amorites than the Israelites killed in battle.

Now, I, for one, would love the ‘rest of the story’. Hail usually occurs with lightning and thunderstorms—at least this is my experience—but how prevalent was this in Egypt? And if so, what weather conditions especially fostered this, and at what time of year? The text offers us some clues as to the latter as it says that the barley was in ear and the flax in bud, and thus ruined, but that the wheat and spelt, seeing as they come up later, were not affected. According to one commentary, this would place this storm in January. And, as for frequency, that source tells us that while hailstorms are not unknown in Syria and Palestine, they ‘occasionally take place in Egypt’. Maybe, then, their potential severity was relatively unknown in Egypt, which would account for the fact that Pharoah and some of his officials did not take this threat seriously and did nothing to prevent damage or injury.

But more to the point, at least for Pharoah, was that this particular hailstorm was predicted in advance, and was described explicitly by Moses as being God’s act of judgment on Pharoah’s stiff-neckedness in not allowing the Israelites to go free. Indeed, repeatedly in the Scriptures, hail is described as an act of judgment and a means of punishing the wicked and a sign of His power and wisdom. Those premises would have struck resolutely at the heart of Pharoah’s rule and power within Egypt, for he himself was considered the heir of the gods, and even a god himself. Thus, this plague, and its underlying message about how powerless he actually was, would have come as a mighty shock to him and his nation. You would think that he would have thereby learnt his lesson, but he didn’t.

But then, this should not come as a surprise to many of us. Are there not many, many things, occurrences taking place ‘out there’, that can, or should, teach us a lesson? But, do we heed them, learn from them, and take action accordingly? Far too often, we do not, and suffer the sad consequences. Maybe we need to ‘pull up our socks’ in this regard. Amen.

Forward notes: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.’”

(verse 13).

Commemoration: James DeKoven

“The Catholic piety expressed by James DeKoven in the nineteenth-century Episcopal Church cost him several bishop elections. People did not understand his absolute commitment to worshipping God with all his heart, mind, and strength. His desire for sacramental liturgy intimidated a church that was not fully comfortable bringing Catholic elements back into the Episcopal Church.

“His desire for Christians to encounter Christ in the eucharist prompts us to examine how we promote—or impede—the worship of God in our communities. We all desire to connect with the Living God in our own unique way. Imagine if we created communities of worship that allowed everyone to find their soul’s sense of belonging in a generous, imaginative, and expansive environment. We might surprise ourselves with God’s response, and the fruits of our labours would be nothing less than the actualization of the kingdom of God right here and now.”

Moving Forward: “Do you struggle with different liturgical styles? What lessons can we take from the witness and life of James DeKoven?”