Your Burning Bush

We live in a time, where people can get messages to one another in any number of ways. Messages are constantly being sent back and forth, to and from. Email, voicemail, answering machines, messages left with secretaries, letters, memos, faxes, direct mail, Fed-Ex, UPS, DHL, postcards, newsletters, forum posts on the internet, facebook, myspace, Linked-In, text messages, and the list could go on and on.

But in addition to being able to receive messages any number of ways, this also means we can MISS messages for any number of reasons. A missed message could mean a loss of business. A missed message could result in confusion about where to meet. A missed message could mean a missed opportunity.

But that’s not the only thing we have to worry about.

We worry about missing messages completely, while at the same time, we might MIX-UP messages, which make life just as worse. A mixed-up message in the game of baseball could be the end of the game, and even worse, the loss of a game. Batters come up to home plate, looking to their coaches for signals and direction. A touch on the nose, a nudge on the eyebrow, a sweep across the chest, a pull on the ear, a touch on the helmet, or a pat on my leg can mean any number of things. But if we do it in a different order, a pat on the leg, a touch on the helmet, a pull on the ear, a sweep across the chest, a nudge on the eyebrow and a touch on the nose, can be just as confusing and lead to even more mixed signals.

Mixed messages make life just as confusing as we try to decipher the message, and to determine what course of action we, personally, should be taking based on the mixed messages. We receive mixed messages from politics, from the news, from loved ones, from partners, from our co-workers, from our bosses, from our teachers, our friends. We receive the mixed messages and then we try to determine how we will respond to those confusing messages.

Sometimes we are even guilty of sending mixed messages. We might not mean to, but we are just as guilty as the next person of sending a message that has lots of different meanings.
And in all of this confusion, of messages with multiple meanings, messages that have been lost, and messages that aren’t clear enough, it’s NO WONDER that we pray for clear messages from God.

A message from God probably tops our list when we think about mixed messages, messages that have been completely missed, and messages that confuse us. We wonder if that particular thing in our life was indeed a message from God, or just a happenstance. And if we are fortunate enough to determine that it IS a message from God, what does it mean for us? What is that message, that alert, that call, asking us to do? How are we supposed to act now that we’ve received a message from the Divine?

We pray for messages, for communication, for direct interaction and direct contact with God. We pray for clear messages about how we are supposed to live our lives as Godly people, as Christians following the way Jesus has given us as an example, and for clear messages that tell us what we are supposed to do with our lives.

But how many of us are like Moses? How many of us receive this message, and then act as if we are not capable of doing the things God is asking us to do.

We can’t be sure of whether or not Moses was ASKING for a message from God, or praying for direction from God, but we can be sure that Moses received that message. The story of his message has been passed down for years. A burning bush, a plant that burns with fire, but is not consumed by the fire or burnt up. It has the voice of God coming from it, speaking to Moses, giving direction to him, and leading Moses to his legacy.

Whether we remember the Charlton Heston version of the burning bush, or if we remember the Disney, animated Prince of Egypt version of this story, we remember a man, surprised by a burning bush, instructed to remove his shoes before he is able to speak with the Divine, before he is able to approach the Divine.

Moses was a shepherd, keeping watch over the flocks of his father-in-law, when he comes across a burning bush that did not burn up in the flame. We can only imagine the excitement Moses must have felt, to be in the presence of the Divine; the excitement, the confusion, the pure joy that it must have been to be in direct contact with God. But at that same moment, Moses must have felt sheer terror. If God is going to speak to me, it is most likely NOT simply to say hello; it’s probably not to simply offer a pat on the back and a “how ya doin’ Moses?” Chances are, God would have something for Moses to do, a task, a duty or a mission.

How many times have we done this? We continually ask for and pray for God’s presence, God’s love, God’s attendance in our daily lives. We ask for God to be with us, but not to make us do anything “hard”. We ask for God’s presence, but we don’t want to have to do anything special, or out of the ordinary in order to see and feel God’s presence.

But it doesn’t quite work that way, and Moses has reached that point, at which God is asking him to do a very difficult task. God has asked Moses to liberate the hundreds of thousands of Hebrew people who have been turned into slaves by the Egyptians; to liberate the Israelites to a life of freedom, and to lead them through the wilderness, before leading them into the promised-land.

And on top of Moses’ initial objection to this job, his objection that he is a nobody – who is he, but a lowly shepherd – to be confronting the King of Egypt, Moses comes up with any number of excuses that he might get out of this task – claiming that the Israelites will who ask who sent him, that they wouldn’t believe him, and that he was a terrible public speaker. But we all know the ending to the story – God has answers for Moses’ fears and excuses, telling Moses that God will be with him, telling Moses God’s name, “I am who I am,” giving Moses a sign himself, turning his walking stick into a serpent, and promising that his brother Aaron would be there to help him speak.

So, in the end, Moses could not bring himself to ignore God’s call. There wasn’t anything that Moses could say or do, that would allow him to ignore the call from God to lead God’s people to a better life. Moses’ instincts for comfort and safety, for the status quo, to continue leading his “normal” life, were pushed aside, and God’s call could not be ignored. God responded to Moses’ objections, reminding Moses that God would always be with him; that EVEN IF Moses was in fact a “nobody,” Moses wouldn’t just have “anybody” with him, Moses would have the Great I AM with him.

Perhaps we all feel that way at times. We still ask for, and pray for God’s presence. But it’s not that we don’t want to know God, or to do God’s work, but that when we are confronted by God, to do something out of the ordinary with our daily lives, we wonder “why me?” Not “why me?” as in, “God why don’t you just do this yourself,” but “why me” as in, what special gifts do I have to offer in order for me to do this?

But God does not confront us, does not call us based on the things we have done in our lives, only after having seen what we are capable of.

No God does not call us, only after an interview period in which God critiques and assesses our abilities. Rather it is God’s presence that allows us to do amazing things.

It is God’s presence that allows us to do the things in our life we never thought possible.

It is God’s presence in our lives that allows us to have the courage to stand up for those who are oppressed, and who cannot speak for themselves.

It is God’s presence in our lives that gives us the audacity to think that we might make this world a better place.

It is God’s presence in our lives that gives us the confidence of eternal life with God.

It is God’s presence in our lives that allows us to lead others into a life with God, knowing God’s love and presence.

We get baptized, that we might remember God is always with us, in all we do.

We dedicate babies, that we might remember God is always with the little children, and that we are to raise them with this knowledge of God.

We celebrate communion, that we might remember God’s presence with us in Jesus Christ.

We say the Lord’s Prayer, that we might remember God’s holiness, God’s call for us to do God’s will here on earth, that we might forgive one another as God forgives us in that constant presence.

It is God’s presence in our lives that allows us to be leaders in the world.

It is God’s presence in our lives that allows us to be leaders in the church.

It is God’s presence in our lives that allows us to simply come to church, and to be comfortable in our own skin at church.

It is God’s presence through one another that allows us to form meaningful and lasting relationships throughout our lives.

It is God’s presence that gives us courage to get through the tough times in life, through loss, through illness, through financial distress and so forth.

It is God’s presence that allows us to experience complete joy in the happy times of life; while we celebrate a new covenant between two individuals committing their lives to one another, while we celebrate a new life, a new child of God.

It is God’s presence in our lives that allows us to do things we never have imagined.

In addition to God’s presence, it is also God’s call which asks us to acknowledge that presence and go beyond our perceived capabilities.

It is God’s call, that asks us to do things we might not have imagined on our own.

Whether God calls us through an email, by phone, through a friend, through a partner, in the face of a child, in a dream, by an angel, or in a burning bush…God calls us

We might make excuses – but God is calling.

We might feel ill-equipped – but God is calling.

We might feel nervous – but God promises to be with us.

We might be unsure – but God promises to lead us.

God calls us, beckons us to listen, and beckons us into covenant, that we might be completely transformed, readied for a new life in this world.

God calls us to be prophetic voices that speak out against systems and programs that discriminate against people becasue of the color of their skin, their sexual orienation, their financial background or any number of reaons.

God call us to lead lives marked by kindness, charity and hospitality.

God calls us, reminding us that the great I AM will always be will us.

Have we been yearning for God’s presence? Have we all been praying for God’s being in our lives? Have we been begging for a sign?

And still – are we like Moses, who after receiving the sign, after seeing God with our own eyes, do we question why me? who am I? What am I capable of?

God’s presence is what makes us capable. God’s presence is what makes us somebody. God’s presence gives us the confidence that we are indeed God’s child, that we are indeed loved by God.

But at the same time, God’s presence reminds us, that we all have our own burning bushes, calling us, and beckoning us to do things we might not be capable of on our own.

And in the end, God reminds us, that when we are faced with challenges of being the liberator for those who are oppressed, of being the prophetic voice which speaks against the status quo; when we are faced with challenges of facing loss, illness, financial distress; when we are faced with challenges of maintaining loving relationships, renewing broken ones, with raising children, with being the people God has asked us to be, God reminds us that “I AM will be with you, always.”

Amen.