“Now, what have I gotten myself into?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Exodus 3:1-12 (Forward, p. 67) CEV p. 56
Now, I am quite sure that Moses felt this way at times, especially with regards to his dealings with God. To begin with, he had decided to take his father-in-law’s sheep across the desert over to Sinai (Horeb) to graze. Now, whether this was a familiar territory, or something new, we are not told. (We would suspect that he certainly would have known something about it, seeing as he had made a decision to cross a desert to get there). Interestingly, right up front Sinai (Horeb) is identified as the ‘holy mountain’: so is this a later designation, or one already known by Moses? If the latter, then it certainly gives something of a grounding to Moses’ encounter with God there.
It is there that Moses spies a bush that appears to be burning but not burning up, not being consumed and reduced to ashes by the flames. Commentators over the years have tried to ‘explain it away’ by suggesting that this phenomenon occurred simply because of the way the sun was shining on the bush, or because of the colour of its leaves.
But here I would suggest that Moses was no dummy, that he would be well aware of what burning bushes usually looked like and that, upon closer examination—for he did come closer—that he would have had any notion of a quirk of the leaves or the sunshine quickly dispelled.
Indeed, Moses was so struck by this phenomenon, so curious about it, that he did come closer to take a look. That, in a sense, proved to be Moses’ ‘undoing’, the key, you might say, to everything else that happened, for when God saw him do this, God immediately got into action and called out to him.
It is interesting to note what God said to him (a remarkably way of beginning a conversation):
-a warning and an injunction: ‘don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals for the land where you are standing is holy ground’;
-an identification of Himself: “I am the God that was worshipped by your ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”;
-a series of observations depicting just where God stood in terms of all that was happening to the Israelites:
-I have seen
-I have heard
-I feel sorry for them
-I have come down to rescue them
-I will bring them out
-I will give them a land
-a call to action (but here it is not God that is expected to act, but His delegate, which is Moses):
-now go to Pharaoh: I am sending you to lead your people out of his country.
-a promise: I will be with you. And you will know that it was me who sent you when you return here to worship me after leading my people out of Egypt.
Now look what he was in for. And all that it took initially was a wee bit of curiosity, a willingness to stop and take a look. And now he had a job, a massive and rather frightening commission to fulfill. It was a classic case of a ‘yes’ that entailed, that led up to, other ‘yes’s’. But isn’t that the way that it often is. That’s the way that it was with Mary and Joseph, and often with us as well. We say ‘yes’ to Jesus Christ and to His lordship, never dreaming of where it will take us or what He will ask of us.
And, notice one other thing: God promised to be with him, with Moses, but only gives him the reassurance of this after he has done the job, after he returns to Sinai with the Israelites. In other words, Moses has to act in faith, to go out in faith, without having first had God’s full reassurance. He simply has to trust God without the full evidence, which, again, is exactly what it is like for each of us as well. So let us, you and I, go out into this new year, not knowing just where it will take us or what we will encounter, but simply trusting that God is there for us and will reveal Himself to us and reassure us as we go. Amen.
Forward notes: “When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am’” (verse 4).
Commemoration: Elizabeth Ann Seton
There’s a statue of Elizabeth Ann Seton at St. Raymond’s Cemetery in the Bronx. She is in her habit, with a rosary in hand, and below her name are the words: ‘In all events, I rest in God.’ Elizabeth was widowed at the age of 29 and lived through many troubles as a young Roman Catholic widow. Mother Seton later established the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s, a religious community committed to caring for the children of the poor.
“Our readings today remind us that God is with us, whatever our circumstances. Moses had fled Pharaoh and was settling into a new life when he came upon the mountain of God. There, a burning bush was so compelling that Moses could not turn away. Out of this burning bush, God calls to each of us by name. For each of us, our baptismal vows to proclaim by word and example the Good News looks different. Whatever our vocation looks like, resting in God’s presence transforms our lives into something new. We need only to answer, ‘Here I am’”.
Moving Forward: “Write on a Post-It note, ‘Here I am,’ and place it in a prominent spot. Each time you see it, offer the words in prayer”.