Needed: a New Moses
MOST people only read about troubles prevalent in inner cities; they don't live there. And in such cases, the maxim "Out of sight, out of mind often seems to rule. It's a dangerous precept when justice and healing are so urgent. When a significant portion of the population needs to deal with the actuality of daily violence, massive unemployment, poor educational opportunities, and discrimination, we all share a responsibility. It makes no difference where we live. It makes no difference whether we have c ontributed to the problems or not. We bear a responsibility for healing them.
It was Cain who, when asked about his brother, replied, the Bible records: "I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? Today's society is in danger of following Cain's destructive example. It is not a pleasant fact, but the sin of today is complacency in the face of the inequities so prevalent in the inner city.
When the children of Israel were oppressed in Egypt, God, divine Love, raised up Moses to free them from subjection and inequity. Moses' declaration of God's message has echoed down the centuries: "Let my people go. Are you willing to let the Moses in you be called into action?
Moses did not find God's charge to him easy. But his innate spirituality made him conscious of God's law. He felt the compelling power of divine law within. He came to know God as the great lawmaker. This made him incapable of ignoring injustice. The operation of divine law broke through apathy. It unloosed the chains of hopelessness. It empowered Moses to do what most thought was impossible--to make a profound change in the lives of common people.
What does it mean to be a Moses today? It means breaking ranks with Cain. It means searching for an understanding of divine law and responding to its discipline. It's a willingness to follow God's leading. Christ Jesus lived a life devoted to the welfare of mankind. His example removes the hopelessness behind the question "What can I do? With a knowledge of God's saving power, we can reflect that power in intelligent and effective action. We can engage in the healing action of daily prayer. We might also
help set different political priorities or contribute our time or money. The possibilities are endless. But they are truly effective when they come as the result of prayer.
Few feel naturally adequate to follow Moses' example, but Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes in Pulpit and Press: "Perchance some one of you may say, 'The evidence of spiritual verity in me is so small that I am afraid. I feel so far from victory over the flesh that to reach out for a present realization of my hope savors of temerity. Because of my own unfitness for such a spiritual animus my strength is naught and my faith fails.' O thou 'weak and infirm of purpose. ' Jesus said, 'Be not afraid'! . . .
"Is not a man metaphysically and mathematically number one, a unit, and therefore whole number, governed and protected by his divine Principle, God? You have simply to preserve a scientific, positive sense of unity with your divine source, and daily demonstrate this. Then you will find that one is as important a factor as duodecillions in being and doing right, and thus demonstrating deific Principle.
Each of us has the natural spiritual capacity to respond to the great heart of divine Love and thus to express sufficient care about our neighbor to pray earnestly for his and her welfare. We can learn enough about divine law to help demonstrate its power to deliver people from oppression. Those seeking spiritual guidance in this effort will find the history of Moses, as recorded in the book of Exodus in the Bible, a sound starting point.