The Planner
Narrative Lectionary Daily Devotions written by Kace Leetch from Clergy Stuff.
God was a meticulous planner. God laid out specific instructions, with plenty of time for the necessary preparations, so that when the time came, the people of Israel would be ready to go. God's plan included a community caring for each other by sharing their final meal in Egypt with each other. It included instructions for the kind of meal they could prepare and eat in the short time allotted. It included instructions for how the people of Israel could escape the final death plague -- and it would be significant commitment -- a blood offering, just in case anyone was on the fence about leaving. It included instructions for how they were to dress quickly so there would be no stragglers -- no one left behind. It would be a terrifying experience, but God gave them more than enough to be fully prepared for all of it.
I am not a meticulous planner. I fly by the seat of my pants. I change my mind quickly and often. I like surprises. But when it comes to following God's call for my life -- you know, the kind of call that changes you from the inside out -- I've come to learn that sometimes that calling takes time and planning. My spouse and I are in the process of getting licensed to be foster parents for newborns. It's a journey 20 years in the making. And now we are just weeks away from obtaining the license and bringing home our first baby. I have a blend of terror and excitement (as my niece would say, "nervousited"). We have waited so long for our lives to work in such a way that caring for a baby was even possible, it's hard to believe it's finally going to happen. There are a very few things in my life that I have worked so long for. But I kept listening to God, and I knew we weren't ready until one day, we were. And I have complete faith that God will take care of all the planning. And we will be ready to go when the call comes.
Narrative Lectionary Text: Exodus 12:1-13
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household. If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs. You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the Lord. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.