Exodus 3:1-15 (NIV)
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law,
the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side
of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2
There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of
fire from
within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire
it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, "I will go over
and see this strange sight—why the bush does not
burn up."
4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God
called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am."
5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground." 6 Then he said, "I
am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God
of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look
at God.
7 The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.
I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned
about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of
the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious
land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry
of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are
oppressing
them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites
out of Egypt."
11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and
bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12 And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you
that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt,
you will worship God on this mountain."
13 Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his
name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
14 God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to
the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
15 God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God
of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has
sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered
from generation to generation.
A gentleman named Wesley Lord said, "God may be invisible,
but there is no excuse for failing to see Him."
That’s an interesting assertion, isn’t it?
I suspect many people would have difficulty understanding
what Wesley Lord was saying. After all, lots of people struggle
with coming to terms with God.
They ask questions like “Where was God when this
or that happened?” and “If there’s a God
why doesn’t He prove it by doing this or that?”
Others, who are perhaps a little less sceptical, would
love to understand God but the whole concept of what God
is like, where God is and how God operates leaves them confused
and in doubt.
Even Christians who know God don’t always have a
firm grasp on being able to recognize God’s presence
except, perhaps, in the extraordinary circumstances we
call miracles.
God is invisible.
No one alive knows exactly what God looks like.
No one alive has seen God’s face.
No one alive really understands how God might look spiritually or even physically.
We all have our ideas—our fantasies of God: the bearded
man on a throne, the brilliant light, the spirit that’s
warm and loving.
God, though, is invisible.
But does that mean we cannot see God?
Wesley Lord says “No”.
He says we can, indeed, see God.
And our Scripture lesson offers us a window.
Last week we were talking about how the Hebrews came to
be slaves in Egypt. How the Egyptians feared the abundant
numbers of God’s people and sought to control and subjugate
them. One way of oppressing the Hebrews was to have the male
infants killed. Because of plotting by the Hebrew midwives
this terrible order wasn’t carried out. One of the
infants who was saved was named Moses.
Moses was saved from death and eventually brought up in
an Egyptian home—adopted into royalty.
While a youth, Moses intervened in a squabble and killed
a man. Fearing retribution, he ran away from the life of
luxury he had known.
As our lesson begins, Moses is much, much older. He was
looking after the sheep of his father-in-law. Life had certainly
changed for Moses. He had experienced many twists and turns.
But in a very real way, his life was just about to begin!
Our lesson is the famous call of Moses by God.
A call for Moses to confront the Pharaoh and demand that
the Hebrews be freed from slavery.
A call that led to an incredible journey in the wilderness
for forty years.
A call that saw God’s people eventually enter the
Promised Land.
And it all began with a burning bush.
Moses, while watching over some sheep, noticed a bush on
fire. The bush burned but wasn’t consumed. The fire
didn’t harm the bush. It didn’t destroy the
bush. Curiosity caused Moses to go over to it.
Not only did the bush burn—it also talked—at
least a voice came from the bush. It was the voice of God.
God was present in the bush. God was present in that place.
And because God was present there, it was a holy place—a
distinct place—a place of honour—a place different
and seperate from any other place.
Moses was instructed to remove his sandals as a sign of
respect.
At that place God spoke to Moses. God identified Himself
to Moses. God told Moses what God wanted Moses to do.
God was seen, even if indirectly. God was heard. God’s
presence was felt. And all that made the place holy.
All that made the moment holy.
What an amazing event that must have been!
What an amazing experience for Moses!
Standing on holy ground!
Standing on holy ground!
If that kind of thing happened to sceptics, there would
be no more scepticism about the existence of God, would there?
If that kind of thing happened to those who were struggling
with doubts about God, those doubts would be resolved once
and for all.
If that kind of thing happened to Christians, we would
be able to grasp God’s love and care and direction
for us without any need of another miracle.
Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of burning, but
not consumed, bushes around, except for the Presbyterian
Church in Canada logo.
But there are many places—many moments when we can
find ourselves standing on holy ground. These are the places—these
are the moments Wesley Lord was talking about: “God
may be invisible, but there is no excuse for failing to
see Him.”
As we grow in our faith and mature more and more—as
we come to know God better and better—we can become
more sensitive to seeing God, hearing God and feeling God’s
presence.
Not in burning bushes, not in spectacular miracles, not
in ways that always catch our breath—but in ordinary
moments that become special.
If we want to see God we need to look for God with expectation
and sensitivity.
We need to be open to possibilities that may seem fairly mundane at first glance.
We need to interpret events with a new frame of reference.
An unknown author pointed out one way:
“The little child whispered,
" God, speak to me"
And a meadowlark sang.
But the child did not hear.
So the child yelled,
" God, speak to me!"
And the thunder rolled across the sky
But the child did not listen.
The child looked around and said,
" God let me see you"
And a star shone brightly
But the child did not notice.
And the child shouted,
" God show me a miracle!"
And a life was born
But the child did not know.
So the child cried out in despair,
" Touch me God, and let me know you are there!"
Whereupon God reached down
And touched the child.
But the child brushed the butterfly away
And walked away unknowingly.”
One of the joys of my life is our backyard. We back onto
a green space with Duffins Creek running through it.
You can’t see the creek but you can
see the trees and the birds and the chipmunks and the sunsets. You can
hear the creek and the birdsong and the crickets.
I sit on our little deck with bird feeders all around me and nature at our
back door and I am in the presence of God. My backyard becomes holy ground.
It is a place separated from the world. It becomes special.
And it’s not just the element of nature. It’s somehow much
more than that. In the quiet I can sense God. If I listen by reading a
scripture
passage out there or simply listen in the silence, I can hear God speak.
It happens regularly.
It isn’t earthshaking.
It doesn’t feel like a miracle. But it warms the heart and intensifies
my understanding of who God is and what God is like.
The holiness nurtures me.
I understand what St Teresa of Avila meant when she said, “We need
no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to find a place where we
can be
alone.”
Holy ground isn’t found only outside. It doesn’t
always have to do with bushes and nature.
I have stood on holy ground in a hospital room as a child
was born.
I have stood on holy ground in a hospital room when someone has died.
God’s presence has been tangible in those places.
You could feel God. There was absolutely no doubt that
God was there.
I have stood on holy ground watching our kids play soccer.
I have stood on holy ground as I have passed out a food voucher to someone
in need.
I have stood on holy ground when someone has confided a confession and when
someone else has shared a joy.
Any place—any place can become holy ground.
Any situation can become an expression of God’s voice and God’s
presence.
Whether we recognize them or not doesn’t mean they
aren’t there.
God’s presence and voice call out whether we see
and hear or not.
God isn’t only in the spectacular. God is the God
of the ordinary as well.
And so, if we train ourselves to look, if we expect to
see, if we assume God will be there—we will find holy
ground. We will stand on holy ground time and time and time
again. We will see God. We will experience God’s
love, care and direction.
Once upon a time, there was a far-away land that was ruled
by a vicious king. His iron hand reached into every corner
of his subjects' lives. Every corner—except one.
Try as he might, he couldn't destroy their belief in God.
In his frustration, he finally summoned his advisors and
asked them: "Where
can I hide God so the people will end up forgetting about him?"
One suggested hiding God on the dark side of the moon. This idea was debated,
but was voted down because the advisors feared that their scientists would
one day discover a way to travel into space and God would be discovered again.
Another suggested burying God in the deepest part of the ocean. But there was
the same problem with this idea, so it too, was voted down.
All kinds of ideas were suggested and debated and rejected. Until finally the
oldest and wisest advisor had a flash of insight.
"
I know," he said, "why don't we hide God where no one will ever even
think to look?" And he explained, "If we hide God in the ordinary
events of people's everyday lives, they'll never find him!"
And so it was done. And they say people in that land are still looking for
God - even today.
(Unknown source, www.eSermons.com, November 2001)
Looking for God?
"God may be invisible, but there is no excuse for failing to see Him."
We see God when we find holy ground.
And holy ground can be found as close as a sunset, as close
as a moment of silence, as close as care offered to someone
in need, as close as help received
when we are hurting—as close as the ordinary.
(1690)
© The Rev. Dennis Cook, St. Timothy’s Presbyterian
Church, Ajax, ON, Canada
