Week 10: “Exodus-Toward-Egypt” -Fernandez (Sugirtharajah)

In her piece on the connections that exist between the biblical story of Jacob and his family’s exodus toward Egypt, with the Filipino exodus to America, Fernandez, brings up some very interesting points about the necessity of this exodus, as well as what it does to the psyche of the individuals who must engage in it. The most intriguing aspect of her discussion was in seeing Egypt (America) as the only alternative to eventual starvation and destruction, this comparison also fit quit well in how the families of Filipino-Americans view their American sons and daughters in comparison with how Jacob’s family viewed his position in Egypt, as “sold-laborers”. I enjoyed this piece for several reasons, but mainly because it takes a different approach to exodus, rather than the commonly discussed Exodus from Egypt, Fernandez focused on the aspects of society that make it necessary for a marginal people to enter Egypt in the first place. I think this piece challenges how we as Americans view and posit the “American dream”, and what we in the Church are proposing for those that find themselves on the outside of this dream, as we uphold it in sermons and books as a sign of God’s grace. Are we merely as the Church and as Americans encouraging a marginal people to enter Egypt once again to become the slaves and servants in our egoic imperialistic system that demands for a class underneath ourselves? and How can we as the Church combat this Egypt, both the Egypt of Emigration and Immigration?