This was certainly a burning question  frequently asked up and down the country in Family Services of the 1970s and 80s across nearly all the denominations – (Isn’t it good that we were united in some common concerns even back then!) This question was so important, that it was even sung!  Furthermore it was one of those rare cases of antiphonal singing in church, with question and answer, where musical resources allowed: Did he swim?  No! No!  Did he fly? No! No! Did he sail? No! No! No! No! …etc. It deserves our special attention.

Singing, however, adds another layer of complication which we must deal with first because it comes up in many FAQs that we shall encounter in subsequent days.  I know some folks think, together with Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) that music is totally unnecessary, or at least not as important as words when addressing such an important question. So I have no doubt that Ulrich Zwingli would say that simply asking the question How did Moses cross the Red Sea? is perfectly sufficient, and anyone found singing it in his church would have certainly been thrown out. For him, music was a man-made distraction that had no place in church. He banned it from the Grossmunster church in Zurich where he was minister, and all musical instruments were thrown out. (Today it has one of the finest organs in Europe! Sorry about that Ulrich.)

On the other hand Martin Luther, who was hanging around at the same time, said something rather different: “A person who gives this some thought and yet does not regard music as a marvellous creation of God, must be a clodhopper indeed and does not deserve to be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying of asses and the grunting of hogs.” I think he meant that music was important,  but he really could have said it more politely. And I don’t think on that showing  Mr. Zwingli and Mr.Luther could have got on well together at a dinner party. A Jesuit priest at the time,  the Rev. Peter Kunz, is known to have remarked that  Martin Luther persuaded more people (what to believe) with his hymns than with his sermons. In other words it is acknowledged that Luther’s hymnody played probably a greater part in bringing about the Reformation that all his weighty books on theology. So what we sing about is very important and in this instance it is great to see it being put to such good use.

For now, suffice it to say, that it is certainly OK to sing your burning questions in church and especially the ones the other denominations are singing about. It affirms our common concerns. And, it will forever be etched in our memory that,

God blew with his wind, puff, puff, puff, puff.
He blew just enough, ‘nough, ‘nough, ‘nough, ‘nough,
And through the sea there came a path;
That’s how he got across.

This is good enough, ‘nough, ‘nough, ‘nough, because it introduces the power of God in an impossible situation into minds 3 to 100 years old. That’s really good. But we really must graduate on to deeper questions for those with adult minds, i.e., 8 years old and upwards. If we sit at traffic lights wondering how they work and continually change from red to red and amber, green, amber and back to red, we might forget why we got into the car in the first place. Also the motorists behind will get very angry and might be incited to road-rage (a well known male pastime). As yet the phenomenon of church rage has not reared its ugly head, but it could only be a matter of time before it happens.

Why do traffic lights exist? To help us to get from A to B safely. So, the far more important question is: Why did Moses cross the Red Sea?  This is the question that ought to be sung far more frequently. This may lead to fruitful meditation, enlightenment and also prevent an outbreak of church-rage. After all, no one stops to ask, How did the chicken cross the road? We all accept that a chicken crossing a road is a bit of a miracle, given the volume of traffic on the roads and the number of dead pheasants that never made it. But, understandably, in living memory the whole British Nation has been asking:  Why did the chicken cross the road? Some people are beginning to think that possibly, after years of uncertainty, the answer is: Because she wanted to make her brexit. I, personally, disagree with this interpretation.  But to summarise: Why? and not How? is the more important question. In this instance it gives us greater insight into the mind of the chicken, it’s sense of destiny, and perhaps even  gives the chicken itself an insight into the mind of the Almighty.