Moses and the K-Pop Demon Hunters

 

Exodus 32: 7-14
New Ark United Church of Christ, Newark, DE
September 14, 2025

Photo of a large metal sculpture of a revolver with its barrel twisted into a knot.

So much for the proverbial frog in the slowly incremental boiling water. The heat has been turned up and we are all feeling it. I have colleagues who are worried about preaching today. There are Cecil County teachers, staff, and students who are frightened that they will be in danger this coming week due to a threat. Transgender friends and neighbors are once again the existential scapegoat in the face of predominant right-wing, White Christian male violence and hate.



After the horrific gun violence and irresponsible journalism of this past week, Bernice King, daughter of MLK Jr., posted these words: “We need to stop the lie of ‘There’s no place for ____ violence in this country.’ Because clearly there is a place. Historically and presently, this nation has been place for policy violence, mass violence, genocidal violence, gun violence, economic violence, and other forms of violence.” Denying and subverting this essential truth about who we are only serves the ever-increasing use of violence.



Science fiction author Isaac Asimov wrote, “Violence is the last resort of the incompetent”, as in authoritarians, White supremacists, and nationalists of all stripes. There is a difference between the violence of the oppressor and the violence of the oppressed, and yet the oppressor tends to see themselves as the hero or the victim and never really the perpetrator. The truth is, in the face of powerlessness and wanting control, violence and aggression feel good. And engaging in violence enforces the myth that all of life is a zero-sum game, winners and losers, and losing is not an option.



In this morning’s scripture, it is God who is opting for control through violence. And before I go any further, when talking about the God of the Israelites, let us put an end to the words “Old Testament God”, as in, that God is a violent God but the God of Jesus is different, evolved, better. To do so is a malignant form of antisemitism, a violence of its own. Remember that Jesus was steeped in the Hebrew scriptures and it was that God whom he called Abba, Father. The Christian interpretation of Hebrew scriptures requires that we be humble, respectful, and intentional.



The God who created heaven and earth, the God who vowed never to destroy humanity again, who has remained in covenant and relationship with God’s people despite their waywardness, God now says to Moses that Israel is your people that you brought up from Egypt. God disavows connection with these stiff-necked people which then makes it easier for his wrath to burn hot against them.



Throughout history we human beings have continued to engage in murder, racism, ethnic cleansing, forced marches, enslavement, eviction, unending poverty, the death penalty, war, and genocide because we have disavowed our connection to our so-called enemies by declaring them less than human. Whatever we want to accuse God of, we ought first to look in the mirror. We humans demonize one another on the daily.



If human beings are made in the image of God, why should we be surprised that God has a dark side? And yet that is precisely how we find Moses. Twice we read, “And the Lord said to Moses” without an intervening word in between. Moses is gobsmacked to hear what God is saying, unable to reply to a God who sounds more like a destructor and a demon himself than a liberator.



The truth is, we all have a dark side, we all have our demons, and we keep them hidden, we disavow them every chance we get or we project them onto others, and we think this is the way to wholeness, to harmony. Which is pretty much the plotline to the movie “K-Pop Demon Hunters”, a surprise summer online blockbuster. I had no intention of watching it until a friend raved about it last Sunday. The movie deals with the roots of our demons, like fear, shame, jealousy, rage, and our proclivity for both evil and good. It is only through acknowledging our demons, our scars, when we stop lying to ourselves about who we are, and allow our darkness and our light to meet one another, that wholeness and harmony can be achieved.

And so Moses talks God down from the desire for utter destruction, reminding God of promises made, of his reputation as a liberator and not a destructor. Moses challenges God and God’s behavior toward the Israelites. God hasn’t exactly been attentive to their needs. The people had to complain and cry out for food and then God supplied the manna. The people cried out in thirst and God gave Moses instructions to strike a rock with his staff and water came forth. The people were bitten by snakes and God gave Moses the ability to heal the people by raising up a bronze serpent before them. It’s been a complicated relationship from the beginning, but Moses refuses to accept violence as part of it.



God repents, that is, changes his mind and relents from doing evil. God has power for destruction and for liberation and chooses liberation. It’s not too far a stretch to say that God was hurt by the actions of the people, forming an idol and worshiping it. A jealous God, yes, but also passionate about his people. Psychotherapist Nadia Addesi writes, “They said, ‘Hurt people hurt people’. I answered, ‘Not all hurt people hurt people. Some spend their lives making sure no one else feels what they did. Some break cycles. Some build safe spaces. Some turn pain into purpose. Hurt people don’t just hurt people. Hurt people heal people too’.” A hurt God can heal people too.



Moses compels God to make a choice about who is this God who calls us forth. We have that same choice before us. We don’t have to stay where we are. We can use our power for destruction and violence or for liberation and healing. We can face our darkness and shame and our light and our tremendous capacity for goodness and be a whole person. Not perfect, not even close, but forgiving, compassionate, brave enough to face the truth about ourselves, which gives us courage to do the hard work of loving others and bending that moral arc toward justice. And being in community with people who are willing to make this choice is what gives us hope. Hope that does not disappoint us. Amen.

Benediction – enfleshed.com

Empowered by the Holy Spirit,
let us go and take our place in the whole of things,
faithfully tending the work that is ours
to live, to practice, to unlearn, to share.
Not saviors nor powerless, but faithful participants.
Steady in love and solidarity.
May it be so.