Looking into the lectionary
14th Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 17)
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 3:1-15
Semicontinuous Text
August 30, 2026
The bush was burning but not burned up.
That is the hook of this famous story. It is the scientific impossibility that causes Moses to turn aside and look. It is the image that has captured the faithful imagination for centuries.
There are certainly many threads in this passage for a faithful preacher to follow; but at this moment, having just celebrated my 10th year as an ordained pastor, I am as amazed as Moses was at the idea of a bush – or a person – burning but not burnt up. Burning but not, to use the parlance of our day, burnt out.
It’s no secret that the pastoral profession suffers heavily from burnout. Fewer studies focus on congregation members, but I suspect any faithful, committed member of the body of Christ sometimes flirts with exhaustion of the soul. There is so much we are called to do by God, by our families, by our workplaces, and by our churches, that even the most energetic volunteer is in danger of running out of fuel. Burnout – showing up as apathy, rage, cynicism, and withdrawal – haunts our pulpits and our pews.
And yet God appears to Moses as a fire that burns but does not consume.
God’s nature is not to destroy. God does not demand, applaud or admire our slow self-destruction, either. It sounds obvious, but the church has such a long tradition of asking folks to sacrifice themselves to God’s service that I think it needs to be said. God is the fire that burns in us, that animates us, that gives us heat and strength and power. God is not the fire that leaves us dry and brittle and empty inside.
I am not about to propose a cure, antidote or vaccine for burnout. But I do think there are instructive lessons in this ancient call story to help us stay connected to the holiness that does not destroy what it inhabits.
The first lesson: know what your call is. God is beautifully specific about Moses’ call. “I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” True, it is an overwhelming, near-impossible, potentially deadly job, but at least Moses knows what he’ll be doing. He is not called to save everyone who suffers across the world. God sends him to this one people.
Our individual calls may not be as clear-cut or as dramatic as Moses’, but each of us has a specific call. Individually, we are not called to be all things to all people. Operating outside our call, no matter how good our intentions or how strong the need for the work, is one path to burnout. God has a whole body of Christ at work across the world. We only need to hold the piece God hands us.
The second lesson: Know who you are. Almost as soon as Moses receives his marching orders, his first response is to ask “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God’s immediate response does not seem to answer the question. God promises to go with Moses and back him up. But as the story unfolds, God will show Moses that his bicultural childhood, his strong passions, his stubborn perseverance, and especially his willingness to turn aside and pursue holiness, all fit him for this particular call. (God will also, in Exodus 17, remind Moses of his own weaknesses and limits, which are important to know as well.)
We, too, need to know the unique person God has created us to be to know how to pursue the call we have received. It’s easy to fall into roles in the church, at work, and in our families without ever stopping to realize if they fit us or not. Knowing who we are can keep us from taking on a task that chafes at us — or, alternatively, can help us change how we respond to that task so that we come from a position of personal strength.
The third lesson: know who God is. If Exodus 3:1-12 was all the Scripture you knew, you would know that God is the fire that burns but does not consume. You would know that God is a long-term God, committed over generations. You would know that God is one who hears cries of pain and suffering. This would be a good start.
Opening other books of the Bible would teach you more, as would seeking God out in the world and in your own heart. So many of our faithful congregants have a subconscious idea of God as a taskmaster, with an endless list of “thou shalts” and a strict punishment for slacking on the job. But God is the one who frees the suffering Hebrews from the endless, painful work. Our God values rest, dignity and freedom. Burnout is no badge of honor, nor sign of faithfulness. When we know God, we know the world is not on our shoulders. It is in stronger hands that ours.
We all have to do work that drains us from time to time. That is unavoidable. But the day that Moses met God, he learned that the great work of his life – the overarching purpose, the faithful call – would be shaped not by self-negation but by the deepest knowledge of what really matters. If you or your congregants are experiencing burnout, it may be worth going back to the basics. What, really, are you called to do? Who, really, are you made to be? Who, really, is the God that you are serving?
Moses saw a bush burning but not burned up, and it led him to know God. I’ve never seen a bush in that state; but I have seen pastors, teachers, poets, activists, counselors, elders, committed Christians of every kind glowing with the fire of God’s presence even after years after faithful service. They are the burning bushes in my life. They turn my head. They make me stop. They give me hope. And in their wise, generous, unique lives of service, I come to know God more deeply.
Questions for reflection for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
- This is a particularly rich text, touching on the self-revelation of God, call, liberation, justice, fear, holiness and promise. Where is the Spirit leading you in your preaching this week?
- What is your own experience with burnout? How has your faith contributed to your suffering and/or your healing of that experience?
- Burnout can be both individual and communal. How would you answer these questions on behalf of your congregation: “What, really, are you called to do? Who, really, are you made to be? Who, really, is the God that you are serving?” Is there any place where the answers could be brought into greater alignment with your church programming and practices?
View the corresponding Order of Worship for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
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