
A couple of weeks ago, I had surgery to replace a faulty
part of my right knee.
All went as
expected and the recovery process is remarkably smooth and remarkably
fast.
My first real
outings were to attend services at our local
synagogue and church.
I was unimaginably
touched by the tender care
and concern I
received in both places.
Much prayer for
a full and complete healing, offers of meals (which I readily accepted), tender
visits from members of both congregations, lots of emails and phone calls with
good wishes.
(This “double belonging “
really pays off in a crisis!
)😁 At the synagogue there was sensitive
“accompaniment” into and out of the building lest I stumble and fall.
My food appeared in front of me at the table
during the Kiddush lunch that follows the service.

When I entered the church on Sunday morning, the pastor
greeted me and suggested that I sit in the front pew so that I would have more
room for my less than flexible leg.
My
husband located a chair to place in front of me so that I could “elevate.”
Another church member walked by and glanced
at the chair and commented “that’s way too high
and uncomfortable” and she quickly brought another chair that was a much
better fit.
She looked again and said
“you need a cushion under your leg” and promptly disappeared, returning a few
minutes later to place a
wonderfully
soft cushion under my leg.
Ahhhhh!
Just right.

I reflected on the caring I had received across the weekend
services.
Some verses from Exodus
(3:7&8) kept reverberating in my mind, words spoken by G-d to Moses in the
conversation where G-d is
about to
commission Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
Robert Alter in
THE HEBREW BIBLE: A
Translation With Commentary renders the words this way: “
I indeed have seen the abuse of My people
and its outcry because of its
taskmasters. I have heard, for I know
its pain. And I have come down to rescue
it from the hand of Egypt and bring it up to a goodly and spacious land…” The
Message translation reads: “
I’ve taken a good long look. I’ve heard their cries. I know all about their pain. I have come down to help them, to pry them
loose from the grip of Egypt.” And
one further variation from the New International Version: “
I have seen their misery. I have
heard them crying out. I am
concerned. I have come down to rescue…”

The micro inevitably leads to the macro.
Pharaoh rules with a harsh and unkind fist
gloved in the desire to limit Medicaid, requiring people to work in order to receive government health benefits, to reduce Social Security
benefits, to cut food stamp programs, to maintain unconscionable wealth in the
hands of the few while infrastructure deteriorates, white supremacy flourishes
and
anti-semitism slithers openly once
again like a toxic basilisk permeating the land with its foul, fatal breath.
And G-d says to Moses: “I have taken a good long look and
seen their misery. I have heard their cries.
I have come down to help them - to pry them loose from the grip of
Pharaoh.” The action words have seemed
to me to be a kind of formula for pastoral care - to see and hear and
understand the pain of another - - and then to take action in the other’s
behalf. This is certainly what I
experienced in my encounters in my beloved faith communities where
people care for one another and observe each other’s vulnerabilities - -
pay attention - - and act to relieve
sadness, pain, discomfort where they can - - where I was seen and attended to.

The election year is unfolding at a rapid pace.
In a still wide field of candidates, there is
much uncertainty yet about who is most likely to unseat Pharaoh. The divine
model provides a good gauge of character for figuring it all out - - can we
elect a winning candidate who clearly sees the devastating pain of this
country?
Is there one among the many who
can hear the cries that surface among people too long denied justice and full
participation in American life and government?
Is there one strong enough, attentive enough, compassionate and
empathetic and savvy enough to pry us loose from the grip of Egypt?
Perhaps a more important question is “Are there enough of us
who will listen to the challenge that is placed
before Moses to become the means through which the seeing, the hearing,
the concern and the action are made manifest in the service of a greater
wholeness for all?” Time is short.
Vicky Hanjian
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