THE READINGS (The Message)
FIRST READING—Exodus 3: 1-15
Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of GOD appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up. Moses said, "What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?" GOD saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He said, "Yes? I'm right here!" God said, "Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father and mother: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob."
Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God. GOD said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. "The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I've seen for myself how cruelly they're being treated by the Egyptians. It's time for you to go back: I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt."
Moses answered God, "But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?" "I'll be with you," God said. "And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain." Then Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, 'The God of your fathers and mothers sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is this God’s name?' What do I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you.'" God continued with Moses: "This is what you're to say to the Israelites: 'GOD, the God of your fathers and mothers, the God of Abraham and Sarah, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.' This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.
SECOND READING—Matthew 16: 21-26
Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, "Impossible, Master! That can never be!" But Jesus didn't swerve. "Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works." Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am.
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God, You speak to us in small, still voices and in loud rolling thunder. Keep us ever on the lookout for Your words to us. Bless us this day with understanding and promise. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing to You, O God. Amen
If you were born in the 30’s, 40’s or 50’s, your image of Moses may well have been greatly influenced by the huge epic film, The Ten Commandments. Cecil B. DeMille had a way with drama and, for his time, a way with special effects. So, for many of us, when we think, Moses, we think Charlton Heston—arms outstretched, ponderous words, and bravery beyond belief. If you’ve never seen the film, rent it or watch it on YouTube in 20-something different parts or just wait until next Easter weekend when, for some weird reason, it is always shown.
But our story today features a Moses before the eloquent speeches to Pharaoh (aka Yul Brynner) and the parting of the seas. This Moses looked nothing like Charlton Heston. This Moses looked a whole lot more like one of us out for a walk in the field. We all have our stories just as Moses has his; so, who is this “wandering in the field” Moses? Moses, you may remember, was born during the time when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt. Pharaoh makes a decree that all male Hebrew infants are to be drowned at birth so that the Hebrew people cannot become strong and fight back. His mother, desperate to save him, puts him in a basket and floats him in the Nile. In a story that is probably one of the favorite Sunday School stories of all time, the child is found by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses’ sister has been watching over him from afar and when Pharaoh’s daughter finds Moses, his sister offers to find her a wet-nurse. In a wonderful triumph of good over evil, Moses’ own mother is brought to the palace to care for her own child. He, having been adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter is raised as an Egyptian prince.
Jewish scripture records only three other things about Moses before our story. As a young man, Moses sees an Egyptian overseer beating a Jewish slave. Moses, enraged, kills the overseer. The next day, he intercedes in a fight between two Hebrew men who are fighting. The one who started the fight says to Moses, “Oh, so now you will kill me just as you killed that overseer!” Moses immediately understands that his first violent act has been observed and he knows he is in danger. In fact, as word reaches Pharaoh of Moses’ deed, he orders him killed. Moses flees to Midian. With no rest for the weary Moses, he rather quickly walks into another situation that he cannot ignore. The daughters of a Midianite priest, Jethro, are being abused by the Midianite male shepherds, and Moses in yet another defense of the persecuted, rises to their defense. Moses, in every incident, champions the victims of injustice. Shortly after the last event, he marries one of Jethro’s daughters and takes up his place as a shepherd of his father-in-law’s flocks. Here is where our story picks up.
So here we are, back with Moses, out in the field. Now, you’ve got to imagine that it isn’t very exciting shepherding sheep, sheep being the rather slow, dull creatures that they are. I can see Moses walking along, lost in his thoughts, trying to stay awake in the hot sun. All of a sudden, there it is—a bush burning—but not burning up. Shaking his head, trying to get a grasp on reality, Moses looks again. “What’s going on here?” A fairly predictable question, I would say. God, noticing that Moses has stopped to look, calls to him: “Moses, Moses!” He said, "Yes? I'm right here!" God said, "Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father and mother: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob."
Moses was afraid to look at God so he hid his face. Can you see him, face down, no shoes, completely un-nerved by God’s appearance? And then, GOD said, "I know what is going on in Egypt and I’ve seen the pain the Hebrew people are suffering. I’m here to bring them deliverance and transport all of them to a wonderful place, flowing with milk and honey. You, Moses, are the person who is going to make all this happen. You will go back and bring my people out of there.” Now we might assume, at this point, that Moses wonders if he has spent too much time in the sun. The urge to put his sandals back on and run as fast as he can must have been pretty strong. Certainly, all kinds of thoughts of escape from this task must have been crashing though his mind. For some reason, Moses stays. Not that he jumps up and starts making plans to return to Egypt. Oh, no, Moses, in a whine that doesn’t seem very Heston-like says, "But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
Not deterred for a moment, God says, "I'll be with you," God said. "And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain." It didn’t take Moses long to figure out that this was proof only after the fact and that didn’t satisfy him one bit. He moans, "Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, 'The God of your fathers and mothers sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is this God’s name?' What do I tell them?" God, not letting Moses get away with his excuses, said, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you.'" God continued with Moses: "This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.” Not a very satisfying answer, but an honest one—one which forces us to ponder the vastness and completeness, and, in some ways, indescribability of this God, now speaking directly to Moses and to us. Moses, though is still not convinced. Barely taking a breath to absorb all that God is revealing to him, Moses, not unlike some of us, continues his litany of excuses.
"O, God, I have never been a good speaker—not in the past and certainly not now. I am a slow talker and my tongue doesn’t always work right.” Moses, thinking he has the best excuse now, tries to convince God that he is not worthy or talented enough for the task at hand. Now, the problem with this approach is, not only is it very unattractive, it is a lie. We already know that Moses is educated, having been rescued from certain death by Pharaoh’s daughter and he certainly had no problem speaking up to now. God, particularly unpleased with this line of argument, basically tells Moses to, well, “shut up” and reminds him that God will be doing the talking through him. Moses, not to be convinced finally cries, “God, please, send someone else.” And in a not very brotherly act, offers up his own brother, Aaron, who Moses claims is a mighty orator, to do the deed. God, however, has made the choice and Moses is it, despite his distinct lack of enthusiasm for the job.
Ok, let’s stop here and rest for a moment. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. This standing on holy ground is a lot harder than it looks and I would really like to put my metaphorical shoes back on. But I won’t. Because I’ve got to think that by now, the point of this story is starting to make itself clear. And, in case you have zoned out like Moses in the hot sun, this story is not just about Moses. It is a story about each one of us. It is the story of how we experience the Divine Presence in our lives. It is the story how each of us stand in front of God when we are called. Our burning bush may look nothing like the one in front of Moses; but if we are open and ready, we will receive such a moment that requires us to take off our shoes. Why am I so sure? I am sure because God loves us and blesses us with the awareness of our very Creator; and, when we will listen, with a sense of calling for our lives. Just as importantly, God needs us—all of us—slow of speech or slow of step, stubborn or shy, whiny or brave, to do the work of justice. This, then, is the story of Moses—God using an ordinary, unwilling, unmotivated sort of a man or woman to bring about the work of the Creator. And this is our story as well. I invite us to embrace it. I invite us to stand barefoot in the presence of God and say “yes”.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning has a simple little poem that speaks to us this day, if only we will listen:
"Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God:
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it, and pluck blackberries..."
Let us be the ones who know to take off our shoes. Let us be the ones to finally say, “Here we are!” Amen and amen.
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