Out of Fear and Into Hope
Notes
Transcript
p / Vasily Arkhipov
/ I doubt you recognize the man in the photograph, and I wonder how many of us even know his name. This man is Vasily Arkhipov (Vah-SEE-lee Ar-KEY-pov), and on October 27, 1962 he may have saved the world as we know it.
/ He was the second in command of the Soviet submarine B-59 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Located deep underwater near Cuba and unable to receive outside communication due to mandated radio silence, the crew had not heard anything from Moscow in days when they were detected by the US Navy.
p / Image of submarine
/ The Americans released explosives intended to force B-59 to the surface. The crew was unsure how to proceed. Battery power in the submarine was dwindling, and the extreme heat in the vessel became unbearable. Some members of the crew suspected that war had broken out and wanted to launch nuclear warheads toward the US mainland to aid the Soviet offensive.
/ Of course, if war had not broken out, this action would certainly begin one and likely result in global devastation. The captain and the third-in-command both wanted to launch the missile, but Soviet protocol required that all three officers make the unanimous decision to strike, and Arkhipov wanted to think about it. He eventually decided that he wouldn't agree to the launch, but instead would wait for orders.
p / Image of submarine
/ As Arkhipov’s cooler head prevailed, the sub surfaced. The US Navy surrounded them and forced them to return to the Soviet Union in shame. For years, Arkhipov endured taunts in his home country for choosing to surface.
/ However, in 2002, Robert McNamara, the former US Secretary of Defense, publicly acknowledged that Arkhipov's decision prevented a nuclear war at “the most dangerous moment in human history.” Arkhipov is a notable example of someone who displayed self-control and integrity despite direct pressure to do the opposite.
Exodus
Exodus
/ Our scripture from Exodus today reminds us that throughout history courageous men and women chose to do the right thing even when it cost them dearly. Sometimes it cost them their reputations. Sometimes it cost them their positions. Sometimes it cost them their freedoms. Sometimes it cost them their lives. But they did the right thing no matter the cost.
/ We all like to think that in pivotal historical moments we would have behaved honorably. Surely, we think, we would have been repulsed by the slave trade. Certainly, we hope, we would have taken some risks to save lives in Nazi Germany. We think back at the history of our own nation and hope we would have been brave when bravery was called for, compassionate when cruelty might have won the day, strong even when standing up for an unpopular cause. We all like to think that we would be heroes in the story if we were a part of the story, but who are we kidding? There are almost always heroes among us, and the heroes are almost always few.
/ That’s why we can name Vasily Arkhipov (Vah-SEE-lee Ar-KEY-pov)
/ That’s why MLK Jr. has come to be respected by conservatives and progressives alike, and my guess is that most people who read MLK Jr. seriously would appreciate him even more
/ And that’s why today we look at two heroes in the history of faith, two women we know almost nothing about, but what we do know is that they’re heroes
p / Shiphrah & Puah
The Egyptians were making life hard for the Hebrews
++The Hebrews were becoming quite numerous in Egypt, causing concern
++The Egyptians attempt a cruel population control measure
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,
“When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.”
The Hebrew midwives were given direct orders by a powerful empire to do horrific violence.
/ The question, what gives them the courage to do the right thing? What are their heroic actions based upon?
But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.
Fear of God
Fear of God
/ There is a biblical understanding that there is a fear of the Lord that’s appropriate: We know that God is great in love and great in power and God likes some things and detests other things, and that it’s best to avoid actively participating in something God is against. We people of faith know that we can align ourselves with God or set ourselves against God. And to set ourselves against God results in pain and disaster and broken hearts. There’s nothing wrong with having an appropriate reverence for, or fear of, the almighty Lord of the universe.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Shiphrah and Puah
Shiphrah and Puah
They feared the Lord, and they knew it was better to defy the king than to defy the King of the Universe
++They let the male children live, despite clear orders to do otherwise
++They got a jab in at the empire
So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?”
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
Several things happen
++The Hebrews continue to multiply
++The midwives are blessed
++Pharaoh takes matters out of the midwives’ hands and issues a blanket order to his people
A Challenge for All God’s People
A Challenge for All God’s People
We will often face pressures to do the wrong thing
++We will always have the option of letting our love for God, our fear of God, our desire to live godly lives, and our reliance on the Word of God determine our actions
/ Let’s look at some models of courage in the gospels
Models of Courage
Models of Courage
The Magi, knowing Herod wants to take a page out of Pharaoh's playbook, depart secretly
++Nicodemus, despite other leaders’ rejection of Jesus, meets with him and urges an open mind
++Joseph of Arimathea removes the Lord’s crucified body and places him in a tomb
/ You will discover other examples of courage as you read and study and learn. And you will find that, as you walk with the Lord, you’re more courageous today than you were 5 years ago. And if you walk with Jesus, grow in Jesus, live in love with Jesus, you’ll be more courageous in 2024 than you were in 2022
Shiphrah and Puah
Shiphrah and Puah
/ I love the way Paul draws 1 Corinthians to a close, and we could do far worse than to make this our motto for the week ahead.
Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.