to return to your place in the text.To read endnotes, click on the the note number, then click on the
The Pulpit Committee members looked at one another. The
chairperson asked, "Well, what do you think?" The rest of the
committee was aghast. A stuttering, uneducated, inexperienced,
arrogant, old, obviously neurotic, ex-murderer as their pastor?
Somebody must be crazy! The chairperson eyed them all around
before she added, "It is signed, 'Moses.'"
You knew that, didn't you? The Moses saga is one of the
most familiar in all of scripture. From our earliest Sunday
School days we remember the story of his birth into a nation of
Hebrew slaves in Egypt, how the mean old Pharaoh had issued a
population-control decree saying that Hebrew baby boys should be
put to death, the floating basket in the bullrushes to hide our
infant hero. Finally, Pharaoh's daughter to the rescue with
Moses being brought into the palace as an adopted member of the
royal family.
We also remember that Moses was not allowed to forget his
heritage. A clever bit of deception by his big sister Miriam had
allowed him to be wetnursed by his own mother with Pharaoh's
money paying for the privilege.
Meanwhile, the Hebrew nation was languishing in its bondage.
There was the incident of Moses' murdering a vicious slave-master, and burying his body in the sand. A day or so later our
hero sees two Hebrews fighting and tries to mediate their
dispute. They know about the dead Egyptian, so he knows it is
time to make himself scarce. He eventually lands in Midian where
he settles down as son-in-law to a priest named Jethro and begins
a career as a shepherd.
Now we come to this unusual story that is the focus of this
morning's Old Testament lesson. The Burning Bush, a symbol
adopted by Presbyterians around the world to show how God can and
does turn the ordinary into the EXTRAordinary, the transforming
power that comes when the natural meets the SUPERnatural. The
bush was probably an ordinary bramble bush, the most usual kind
of vegetation in those parts. The fire would not have been that
remarkable because spontaneous combustion is not unheard of in a
dry, hot, desert country. But a fire that burns but does not
consume? Hmm. Moses comes over to investigate. Suddenly, he
hears his name: "Moses, Moses!" The voice is coming from the
bush.
Moses leans in, his head cocked to one side in wonder.
"Here I am."
The voice again. "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from
your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy
ground."
"Uh-huh." Moses, looking as bewildered as you or I might
be, fumbled around with the thongs that held his sandals in
place, removed them, then looked quizzically at the bush again.
The voice. "I am the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
Right. This is one of those passages that Bill Cosby could
have a field day with. The bush speaks...the voice of GOD!!!
Right. Am I on Candid Camera? Lucky for us, no cameras back
then. Moses responds by shielding his face, because he knew to
look at God was to die.
God says, "I have observed the misery of my people who are
in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters.
Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver
them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to
a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey..."
This is all well and good. One wonders why it has taken God so
long to notice, considering it has only been 400 years that the
people have been enslaved, but that is another story. The
present problem is God's choice of a leader - this eighty-year-old shepherd whose only entry to the corridors of Egyptian power
would be through a justice system (such as it is) that only knows
him as a fugitive from a murder charge.
As might be expected, Moses demurs. "Who am I that I should
go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Good
question. I think we can all agree that God's choices are not
always easily explained, are they?
Note something here - God never defends the decision, never
explains why the choice. In answer to Moses' "who am I"
objection, the response is simply, "I will be with you." Moses
was right - who WAS he? Nobody. No matter. "I will be with
you." And that is what ultimately counts. I love the "sign"
that God promises: "...and this shall be the sign for you that it
is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt,
you shall worship God on this mountain." In other words, the
only sign you will see is in the rear-view mirror...hindsight.
One day, when you are back here on this mountain and worshiping
with your Hebrew brothers and sisters, you will think back to
this moment and realize that God was with you all along, just as
promised.
"That is all well and good, God," Moses continued, "but what
happens when I get to Egypt and tell the people, 'The God of your
ancestors has sent me to you.' They are gonna look at me like I
am NUTS! And who could blame them? What am I gonna tell them if
they ask WHICH God has sent me, what shall I say?"
Here is where the rubber meets the road. God's response has
gotten more theological ink over the years than anyone would care
to calculate. WHICH God? "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM...
Thus you shall say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.'"
What could that mean?
A quick and dirty language lesson here: apparently early on,
someone somewhere noted the similarity of the four consonants of
the Hebrew name for God, Y H W H, and the three consonants of the
verb "to be," H Y H. So saying, be aware that Hebrew does not
use this verb as a common coupler the way English does. Where we
would ask, "What is your name?" Hebrew would ask, "What your
name?" Hebrew reserves H Y H for much more significant meanings.
So we translate this passage, "I am who I am," or even "I will be
who I will be." This is THE GOD WHO IS, THE GOD WHO REALLY
EXISTS (as opposed to those false gods we worship who are no gods
at all). Even more, this is the GOD WHO IS PRESENT, especially
at those moments of deepest need. This is the God with no
limits, the God who will be whatever is necessary, no matter what
the situation. In another time and place, Isaiah expressed the
name as Immanuel, "God with us," the name made even more real to
you and me in the coming of Jesus.
Of course, by the time of Christ, this divine name had taken
on a mystique of its own. In fact, the religious establishment
was ready to stone Jesus as a BLASPHEMER for using the special
name in reference to himself.(1)
For what it is worth, the establishment was at least partly
right - no, Jesus was not a blasphemer; yes, he did use the
divine name in a personal way. Over and over and over again, in
fact. And over and over and over, we find it offers a wonderful
word of comfort.
Think back to our the brief lesson from Revelation. The
Bishop of the churches in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) was
imprisoned on the Island of Patmos - Death Row. Through the
years, from one Roman emperor to the next, there had been varying
degrees of theological toleration, but this was one of those
"wrong place at the wrong time" situations. Christians, in
general, and Bishop John, in particular, at that moment were seen
as a threat to the empire. These religious renegades were
refusing to make even the slightest concession to Caesar's
power...one annual visit to the Temple of Roma, the burning of
just a pinch of incense and a muttered acknowledgment that
"Caesar is Lord" even with fingers crossed behind their back,
that's all. But NO. Not these Christians. They were saying
only JESUS IS LORD, not Caesar. That independence was hazardous
to the health of the political system, and that is why John found
himself awaiting execution.
Still, he found encouragement for himself and for the flocks
under his care in the same Lord who had met Moses on the
mountain, I AM. For John the bush was still burning. He comes
close and hears, "'I AM the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord
God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Or,
in modern English, I AM A to Z and everything in between. Then
John shares a surreal vision of the Lord in a long robe and a
golden sash, face as bright as the sun, head and hair snow white,
eyes like a flame of fire, and a voice like the crashing of a
mighty ocean. Scary stuff. But then the Lord speaks. With the
gentlest touch of the hand he says, "Do not be afraid; I AM the
first and the last, and the living one. I was dead, and see, I
AM alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of
Hades." Bishop John's message to his scattered flock was, "Hang
in there; no matter what we face, even death itself, I AM is
still in charge."
That was a good word in John's day and an equally good word
in our own. Think of some of the things Jesus said, and then
relate them to your own life.
Carefully scan the mountainsides of your life. Be alert.
Listen quietly. Perhaps a verse of scripture, a word of prayer,
a moment of fellowship, a line from a lesson, a sentence from a sermon, the touch of a hand, the warmth of a
smile. That voice. Speaking to you. The bush is still burning.
Amen!
1. John 8:56-59 2. John 6:35 3. John 8:12 4. John 10:11 5. John 15:5 6. John 14:6 7. ibid. 8. John 11:35
To the Pulpit Nominating Committee: It is my
understanding that you are in the process of searching
for a new pastor, and I would like to apply for the
position. I wish I could say that I am a terrific
preacher, but I can't - actually, I stutter when I
speak. I wish I could say that I have an impressive
educational background, but I can't - no college or
seminary, just the school of "Hard Knocks." I wish I
could say I bring a wealth of experience to the job,
but I can't - I have never been a pastor before (unless
you count the flock of sheep I have been shepherding).
I wish I could say I have wonderful pastoral skills,
but I can't - sometimes I lose my temper and have been
known to get violent when upset. Once I even killed
somebody, but, gracious folks that you are, I am
certain you will not hold that against me. I know
churches these days want young ministers to attract
young members, and I wish I could say that I am young,
but I can't - actually, I am almost 80...but I still
FEEL young. With all that which might go against me,
why am I applying for your position? Simple. One
afternoon recently, the voice of God spoke to me and
said I had been chosen to lead. I admit, I was a bit
reluctant at first, but... So here I am. I look
forward to hearing from you and to leading you into an
exciting new future. Yours sincerely,
Jesus says, "I AM the bread of life."(2)
Jesus says, "I AM the light of the world."(3)
Jesus says, "I AM the good shepherd."(4)
Jesus says, "I AM the vine."(5)
Jesus says, "I AM the way."(6)
Jesus says, "I AM the truth."(7)
Jesus says, "I AM the resurrection and the life."(8)
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