VICTIMS

Moses was used by God to save the children of Israel from the slavery of Egypt. If you know the story you will remember that he was hidden in the bullrushes so that he would not be sacrificed. His mother found herself in one of life's hard places. She couldn't just give him up to be killed so she had to find a way. In the end she hid him in just the right place for the princess to find him. I often wonder if she had done her homework and knew that this was a place where the princess went and that she would just love to have ababy all of her own. Did Moses's mother plan it all so that she would get paid for looking after her own son ? What would we call that today? Doing the double? Many years later he found out that he was really a Hebrew and not an Egyptian. When he saw that Egyptian beating one of his people he saw red and, making sure that no one was watching he struck out and killed the bully. What he failed to realise was that he was seen but not by the Egyptians, it was a Hebrew. The next time he interceeded to separate two Hebrews from fighting he got an unexpected reaction which caused him to flee the country.

He discovered that compassion and good intentions are not always good enough. You would have thought that all the Hebrews would ahve been united against the common enemybut here they are fighting each other. Years of being at the bottom of social and economic structure diminished their capacity for hope. The text tells us that God heard the groans of his people from Egypt and delivered them to the promised land "but they did not listen to him because of their discouragement and bondage".

As a community we are possibly on the verge of a new era in community relations but after so many years of the bondage of the "troubles" can we hear the good news? The last 30 years of conflict and disruption and community mistrust we are ALL damaged. We are all victims. Little did the Egyptians realise it but God was setting them free as well as the Hebrews. Both Hebrews and Egyptians were brutalised. In every conflict the oppressor and the oppressed are damaged its just that oppressed know they are damaged the oppresor does not. But what about the situation where there is no clear oppressor or oppressed? Does that make it all the worse?

When people are damaged they need help to put their lives together again. So who needs help in Northern Ireland? How are we going to get that help? Perhaps the place to start is by recognising that we are all victims and we may even be able to help each other instea of fighting each other just like the Hebrews!