Exodus 3: 1-15 Psalm
Romans 12: 9-21 Matthew 16: 21-28
Grace and peace to you from God who created us, Jesus who redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. Amen.
A question that pastors and missionaries and others who serve the church in a vocational capacity are often asked is “What made you decide to become a…pastor, missionary, deacon…?” And of course, the answer is never a WHAT but always a WHO. Most folks have a long answer and a short answer. My short answer is that God was persistent in calling me into this ministry of Word and Sacrament. The long answer, mine and everyone else whose story I’ve heard, involves some debate between God and the person being called.
Moses’ story is no different. The people of Israel had been under the oppression of the Egyptians for many years. God remembered the covenant made with them and in our passage from the book of Exodus today, God calls Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and away from their suffering.
I think it’s important to remember that Moses wasn’t in prayer, wasn’t in worship, wasn’t seeking out service to God as a way of life. He was simply minding his own business, or in this case, the business of his father in law, tending the sheep, when he sees a bush, on fire, but not consumed. Just on fire. It captures his attention and as he goes to look more closely, God calls him by name and he answers: “I am here!”. God tells him that he is standing on holy ground and should take off his sandals, which he does. And Moses is afraid to look at God, for it was thought that to see the face of God meant certain death. But God, ever persistent, tells Moses what God has in mind for Moses, and that is to bring the people out from Egypt, to go to Pharaoh and demand their release. And Moses, like so many who hear the call of God upon their lives, begins to make a case for why he cannot do what it is God is calling him to do.
“Who am I, that I should go?” “The people will want to know who it is that sent me, what do I tell them?” I can’t do this. Send someone else.
If anyone ever tells you that being a Christian, that being a follower of Jesus is easy, you have my permission to call them a liar. Truly. Go ahead. And it isn’t because there are so called “rules” to follow. It’s because we want so very much to be in charge. To be in control. We are certain that we know what’s best for ourselves and those we love. Sometimes we couch it in terms of this is what God wants or what Jesus said, but if what Jesus said looks remarkably like exactly what we want, we should probably go back and look again.
In the Gospel reading from Matthew today Jesus told his disciples that to become his followers, they must take up their crosses and follow him. To save their lives, they must lose them. Jesus was not, however, advocating martyrdom, rather he was telling them that they needed to lose their lives much as we lose our car keys. The disciples needed to set their lives aside and follow Jesus. Some who claim to follow Jesus will tell you that God wants you to be rich or wealthy or that if you have enough faith or enough money to send to their ministry, life as a disciple will be easy. Again…liars, all. Jesus asked the rather pointed question: “what will it profit them, or us, if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life?”
There is much to which we forfeit our lives. The pursuit of wealth, addictions to drugs, alcohol, sex, food, approval, unhealthy relationships, work, or play. But perhaps the greatest thing to which we forfeit our lives is to an illusion of control. If I am in charge, then this is what will happen.
Paul offers us a look at what a life of discipleship is like in his letter to the church in Rome. Genuine love shows honor to one another and rejects evil. Rejoices in hope. Contributes to the needs of others. Shows hospitality to strangers. Blesses those who persecute you. Rejoices and weeps with others. Feeds enemies if they are hungry, and overcomes evil with good.
Beloved community, this is the life of discipleship to which we have been called….every one of us. My guess is that at some time in your life, God got your attention. Maybe it wasn’t as dramatic as a burning bush, or maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t a voice calling your name…or maybe it was. But you, each one of you, (name names of folks in congregation) were called by God and God has a job for you to do.
So what’s your response? Not me. Too busy. Not enough hours in the day as it is. Need to spend some more time at the office or worshipping God in nature or on the sports field. Not me.
Trust me on this…God is not going to give up. God is persistent. God will call and call you until you finally do what it is that God calls you to do. And it likely will not be easy. It will most certainly call upon us to do things that are counter cultural and that wrest control out of our hands. It will mean we will lose our own lives, as we think we wish to live them, and live in new ways. We will feed the hungry and show hospitality to strangers and sometimes we will get ripped off in return. And then, we are told we are to love them even more. Or let Jesus love them, but we are never to repay evil with evil.
I want to be clear here when I say that God does not desire for any one of God’s children to suffer. That is not God’s desire. And if you are suffering at the hands of another, God’s word is not to stay there. But there is suffering that comes all on its own….in the form of illness, death, unemployment, broken relationships, addiction, depression…there is suffering enough to go around and then some. And none of that suffering is caused or created or initiated by God. God is not sending hurricanes or tornadoes or earthquakes because God is annoyed with humanity. But a Christian response to suffering and from suffering calls for us to persevere in prayer, it calls for us to rejoice in hope, it calls for us to continue to live in loving relationships and loving community.
I really love Moses’ question: who do I tell the people you are? Who do I say sent me? And God answers I am Who I Am. This is a translation of the name of God known to the Hebrew people, which was Yahweh. They did not speak or write the name, because it was too holy. And here’s one of the best parts…this name of God is built upon the Hebrew verb to be. It’s a verb, not a noun. The name of God is a verb! And this is where we find the hope in this reading from Exodus. God is active! God is working and alive in the world today! God’s purposes will be accomplished with or without us. But it is better for us that we participate in the Kingdom of God now. It is better for us, not for God, that we lose our lives in order to follow God’s Son. It is better for us, not God, that we live lives rooted and grounded in love. It is better for us, not God, that we listen to the voice that calls out our names and tells us that there is work for us to do. Work for the Kingdom of God, to reach out to one another, to live in love, to let go of that control.
What burning bush captures your attention? Just look around. We live in a world that is extraordinary, created by God whose very name is an action word. The poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning understood well that the presence of God is here on earth when she penned these words:
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.
Take off your shoes, sisters and brothers. Listen, God is calling you by name. And the ground we are standing on is holy.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
0 Comments