Uh...You're Repeating Yourself...

"Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant." Exodus 6:5

What Did I Tell You Again?!
By Rev. William Dohle

Why...why...why do parents have to repeat themselves over and over and over again??

I always swore I'd never sound like other parents.  "My kids will listen the first time!"  I had visions in my head of my children, the marvel of all, who listen the first time.  I could almost taste the quiet that would descend upon our household.

Ha!  Was I mistaken.  Like other children, my kids have learned the art of selective hearing.

Take the simple chore of doing the dishes.  I start by telling my youngest son to empty the dishwasher.  Then I tell him again...and again...and again.  Finally he gets up to do it.  Then he stops.  Mid-emptying he stops to see what his oldest brother is doing.  And it takes him a little...encouraging...to start up again.

Once it's empty then it's my oldest son's turn.  He usually takes on a little more dramatic of an approach.  He throws himself on the ground and says, "No!"  Then, when he says he's going to do it, he's really not.  You've got to mention it again and again he'll argue about it.  Finally...finally...after a little persuasion he'll get up and do them.  Once he starts...he finishes (usually).  But he always ALWAYS forgets something.  And then you have to remind him to reload said item.

And don't get me started about my daughter.  Unless she WANTS to do it, she doesn't.

So why do parents have to repeat themselves?  Where does this come from?

Maybe the answer to those questions can be found in Exodus.  After Moses has come back to Egypt to speak to the Israelites.  After Pharaoh has increased their load.  Then God does something he's had to do before.  He repeats himself...again!

“I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the Lord I did not make myself fully known to them. I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, where they resided as foreigners. Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant." (Exodus 6:2-5)

Now, why would God have had to say this again?  What is the purpose of this happening here and why repeat himself?  And why, after God declares this to be true, does Moses once again repeat his old excuse. 

"If the Israelites will not listen to me, why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with faltering lips."(Exodus 6:12)

Moses repeats this twice to God, as if God didn't hear him the first time at the burning bush or the second time just moments before.

"Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, he said to him, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?"(Ex. 6:28-30)

Why all this repetition?  Maybe we see here God's patience with us and with our own humanity.  We are not super heroes.  We do not possess super-human memory, able to remember in detail what is important in life.  We are human.  And as humans our memory isn't always that perfect.  We forget things.  Or we remember things wrongly.

We need reminders of God's grace and mercy.  We need reminders of who God is and what God's all about.  We need constant reminders of God and his work in this world.

We too need reminders of our own humanity.  Of our limited nature.  Of the fact that we can't do it all or be it all or live it all, as we'd like.  We are those who speak with faltering lips.

That's why we need to gather in worship.  At churches, in whatever denomination, we hear God's Word reminding us over and over again of his amazing love for us.  We are reminded that Christ Jesus died for us and that in his resurrection we are given life.  We confess our sin and remember that we are only human, that we speak to each other and God with faltering lips.  Through Holy Communion, we are given the body and blood of Christ "in remembrance of me", given with forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, to remember and proclaim Christ's death until he returns.

We do the sing the same songs, say the same thing, and do the same actions over and over again so we can remember.  So we can know, as Moses did, that God has not forgotten us.  He remembers his covenant.  He remembers his mercy.  And nothing will separate us from His love!

God, we remember the wrong and forget the right.  We easily forget you and what you gave us.  Remind us again of your love, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.