March 2024 Revealing Light Newsletter

A shadow points to the main object. A silhouette is only a dim outline of an object without it's complex details revealed. It's almost like saying, "If you think the shadow or the silhouette is amazing, wait until you see the actual thing revealed!” In many ways, Moses and the exodus out of captivity, where merely shadows and silhouettes of what was to come. The exodus was casting that shadow, those events were foreshadowing what would take place when Jesus entered the scene in the flesh on His way to calvary.

In the book of Hebrews, the author paints the picture of how the great Moses was only a shadow of the even greater Jesus (Hebrews 3:2-3). If you think Moses was great, look at Jesus! The Jews were excited and waited in anticipation for this mighty savior that would raise them up and out from their oppression, but that was not quite what the great Savior actually had in mind. Rome would one day fall just as any other nation. What Jesus had in mind was more eternal, raising us up out of captivity from sin and death. In this season of Easter, we are looking at these pictures between the exodus out of Egyptian captivity and of our exodus out of the captivity of sin and death. Jesus was raised up, highly exalted as our King, but not in the ways we would traditionally picture a King and Savior being exalted. He was raised/lifted up on his wooden throne of the cross, exalted highly by his thorny crown as king, and raised us up out of captivity from death into new eternal life with Him.

Read: Acts 3:22; Hebrews 3:2-3; John 3:14-15

- Daryl Struemph

Acts 3:22 (NIV) 
For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you.

Hebrews 3:2–3 (NIV)
He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.

John 3:14–15 (NIV)
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

I want to share part of the experiences we had on our trip to Mexico last July. Cinda and I came to the cities on the coast of Mexico, specifically in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, and as I always do, I went out in the morning to walk and see the place, the street, its people walk by the ocean or rivers. One of my pastimes is to see people in the normal activities, when everything is calm. After walking a couple of streets, I was surprised to see a person with a “tourist traits”, that is, he was wearing shorts, sandals and a hat. He seems American or Canadian. He also seems or look as old “like me”? The only strange thing was, that it was early, and he was carrying in both of his hands something. In one of his hands he had a long-handled dustpan, and in the other a stick broom. And to clear my doubts I spoke to him in my best English I say: “Good morning Sr. how are you?” He, responded in English too, saying in English: “Good Morning.” After his answer, I have more questions on why and how a North American or Canadian was cleaning the streets of Mexico at that time. I continued asking him, this time in Spanish: “Como se llama usted” or English “What is your name?” He responded, with an accent but understandable Spanish: “Soy Rich el estupido.” Literally, “My name is: Rich the stupid.” I responded, or rather asked him again, “Rich the stupid? or Richard the Rich?” (since Rich sounds and writes like rich or wealthy). Right away he clarified: “I’m Ricardo the stupid one! I am not rich!” and later said [that he was] from Canada. Now with his answer and information I went to the bottom of my enquiry and question. I asked him: “But why does a Canadian and foreigner like you, need to be sweep the dirty streets of my country so early? Are you working?” “No, I don’t need to work, nor do they pay me,” he replied. “So why do you do it?” I asked him directly! Because my curiosity was bugging me.

In other words [I kept asking in my head], “how [does] a tourist have to come and sweep the dirty streets where it is not your country nor do they give you anything?!” Because in this country, Mexico, nobody does it, even if they were paid, because all kinds of filth have to be swept up -- from human waste to food left overs smelling bad, papers, beer cans, and plastic bottles. Waste, that doesn’t have to be thrown on the floor because with a little education and human conscience, we all could live cleaner, just with every one “putting the trash in its place.” It could be a lot easier, including for the environment, to throw them in the trash can. All this, without mentioning the effort on money and environment costs we see and smell on streets frequented by thousands of living beings -- some of them conscious and others unaware of what they do.

Do you want to know what my good friend “Rich the Stupid” responded to me? Well please right your guess on his possible answer(s). To be continued……

- Enrique Muruato