Exodus 3:1-15; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28
Ordinary 13A; Proper 17
Moses talks to God via a burning bush. Peter confronts the Messiah face to face. Two heavenly and human encounters via very different modes.
In between Exodus and Matthew are some detailed instructions on how to live a Christian life. A thread woven throughout these texts is the reality that hearing the Word of the Lord requires a response that entails our entire ways of living and being. I noticed while reading the Exodus story this year that Moses did not get God’s visitation until after trudging with the flock through the wilderness and up the mountain. Somehow the idea of shepherding a flock through such an arduous journey resonates right now. There would have been many days of silent shrubs before the enflamed-but-not-consumed bush got Moses’ attention. Nonetheless, he led the flock. Regardless, he cared for the sheep entrusted to him. Faithful leadership requires steadfastness in the midst of uncertainty, rough terrain and unexpected threats. In the middle of that daily dutifulness, sometimes the angel of the Lord appears in odd forms — and if we are astute enough to stop and notice, God speaks.
God’s message to Moses included a number of important elements. There is a call and response. God calls Moses by name. Moses responds with an affirmation that he is paying attention. God informs Moses, in case is he was unsure, that he is in fact on holy ground. God defines the place. Then God tells Moses who it is who is speaking to him. “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Now Moses knows with whom he is speaking and rightfully hides his face. God then details the circumstances that brought about this encounter. God has observed the suffering of the Israelites and will not leave them to their fate. Then comes the commissioning, the appointing, the unreal solution to this dangerous, big problem: I am going to send you, Moses, to set my people free.
Pause a moment and consider this exchange.
What if God spoke to you and said: “I’ve seen the fate of my children on the Southern U.S. border, the unaccompanied children being held by private contractors in hotel rooms, denied their legal due process and deported back to places that threaten their lives. I am going to send you to set them free and bring them to safety.”
Perhaps God might enlist you to set the prisoners free or bring good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted or be a peacemaker in places torn apart by violence. What if God called your name and you said, “Here I am” — and then it got real. Then God said: “Now that I have your attention… let me give you a run down on a few places where evil is rampant and the vulnerable are exploited and people – my people – are suffering. I am going to send you to set this right, to set them free, to set a new trajectory of life for those I love. Go, stand up to Pharaoh, the most powerful person on earth, the one with the will and ability to not just kill you but wipe out an entire people.” Now we get a sense of Peter’s response to Jesus’ declaration about death and suffering. Now we begin to have a window into what it might look like to lose our lives, to take up our cross and follow, to suffer, really, with those who suffer, to love ardently in the way of our Lord.
“Who me, Lord?” Who am I to go to Pharaoh? Who am I to speak truth to power? Who am I to go head-to-head with the principalities of this world? How often do we assume we do not have the ability to bring relief to suffering? How often do we tell God we are not the ones to do justice? How often do we trudge through the wilderness with the flock, take them up that holy mountain and walk right past the burning bush when we get there? Nothing to see here but the view! Pay no attention to the God behind the flame! Hasn’t it been a good hike? Time to head home and talk about the spiritual high of thin places with no intention at all of denying ourselves and following Jesus to the really hard places.
An encounter with God demands a response and requires our entire lives. How else can we bless those who persecute us or weep with those who weep? How else can we go to Pharaoh and demand release of God’s people?
There is another important element of the exchange between God and human beings. When Moses rightly balks at the task set before him, God makes Moses a promise: “I will be with you.” God’s call is accompanied by God’s self. Jesus reminds his followers, “Lo, I am with you always.” We are never abandoned or orphaned by the One who names and sends us. God tells Moses: “I AM.” Present. Present tense. Perpetual. Is that enough for us? Is God’s promised presence enough for us to live boldly in faith? Is Emmanuel, God with us, enough for us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow?
This year feels like a wilderness time. Some days the mountain of God remains invisible — too far off or too obscured for us to locate. Following Jesus remains an elusive hope when we feel utterly paralyzed by all that swirls around and within us. Weeping comes readily; rejoicing reluctantly appears from time to time. Worry pervades the landscape all around. In the midst of it all, Jesus reminds his disciples that he will indeed suffer and be killed, but on the third day – that third day – he will live again. Can we cling to that third day truth as we attempt to lead the flock safely through the wilderness? Can we remember that God is with us no matter what and that where we are may well be holy ground in the making? Can we imagine that God is calling us (yes us) to relieve the suffering of God’s people in such a time as this? Could the Holy Spirit set us aflame with the love of God so that others would notice, come close and hear the life-saving Word embodied in us?
This week:
- When have you had an encounter with God? What happened? How did you discern that God was speaking to you?
- Do you blame Peter for not wanting Jesus to suffer? Was Jesus’ response to Peter harsh? Fair?
- Where might God be sending you, or us, to stand up to Pharaoh? Are you, are we, willing to go?
- When you read the Romans text for this week, where do you struggle? Is it hard for you to be hopeful? Patient? Prayerful? Loving? How might you enlist support in those areas and attributes that you wish to strengthen?
- Have there been times when you have felt God was silent? How did you make it through those seasons?
- How attuned are you to noticing metaphorical burning bushes? Do you anticipate that God still speaks and speaks to you?
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