Fire and Curiosity
This sermon was delivered at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Marietta, on March 20, 2022, for the Third Sunday in Lent. The sermon text is Exodus 3:1-15.
Today, I’d like to talk about our first lesson, the story of Moses and the burning bush. This story has been a favorite of mine since I was a boy – though we were not a Bible-reading family, I had a wonderful illustrated Children’s Bible, and I loved to read this story. The image of God appearing as a fire that burns, but does not consume, is both compelling and memorable.
Moses and Holy Curiosity
Before we dive into the story, it is important to remember Moses’ history. He was born to a Hebrew woman after Pharaoh had condemned all newborn Hebrew children to death. He was floated on the Nile, found by Pharaoh’s daughter, and raised by her. As a grown man, he witnessed an Egyptian abusing an enslaved Hebrew man, and Moses killed the Egyptian. When he became aware that this deed was known, he fled to Midian – where we find him today.
An encounter with the Lord was not what Moses had in mind that day. I wonder if Moses thought, upon seed realizing that he was speaking to the Lord, that he was about to be punished for that killing? Perhaps this is why the Lord appeared in such an unusual form. Sometimes, our human fear and guilt cause us to actively avoid encounters with God. So instead, the Lord appeals to Moses’ Holy Curiosity, appearing in a way that compels Moses to draw near to God. Perhaps this is a reminder for us, in our Lenten journey, to be on the lookout for God, employing our own Holy Curiosity to search for God in this world and in our lives.
A Holy and Transforming Fire
This image of Divine fire – a fire that burns but does not consume – may also be a valuable Lenten image for us. There is a Holy fire in this world that provides power, heat, and energy to the church – we call it the Holy Spirit. And we tend to fear the Holy Spirit for the same reasons we fear fire: it is dangerous and uncontrollable, and does not always bead to our will. Part of our Lenten task is to learn to accept and even seek out this Holy File, because it can transform our lives … Just as the Lord transformed Moses.
The Holy Fire that Moses encounters here – which is the Power of the Lord – really does transform lives. The Power of the Lord would lead the Children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt and bring them to the promised Land. The transforming power of God would serve not only to liberate a people from slavery, but also to forge a new nation and a new relationship between God and humanity. Moses, too, would be transformed. He enters this scene as a killer who has fled his native land and who cowers at the idea and leadership. By the end at his life, he will have been transformed into a leader, a lawgiver, a teacher, and a companion of God.
And yet, in this moment, Moses resists. He hides his face from God. He objects to the calling that God offers him: “Who am I to do these things?” – “Why should anyone believe me?” – “What if they don’t listen to me?” – “I’m not a good public speaker!”
I can, sympathize with Moves here. I used to be very shy, and I was terrified of public speaking. People who know me from childhood are shocked when they learn that I am a preacher. But what I have found, and what Moses found, was that God provides us what we need to live out our callings. Or, as some say: “God does not call the qualified – God qualifies the called.”
As we continue our Lenten journey, we can be like Moses, and voice our worries and concerns to God. But we can also have faith that, like Moses, God will provide us all that we need to live
out our calling in this world.
The Journey Continues
Today’s story is the beginning of a long journey. The Lord is leading his people out of bondage into a land flawing with milk and honey. The journey of God’s people was not easy. They wondered in the wilderness. They sinned and fell short. They turned away from God and praised false idols.
But God was faithful. That Holy Flame always stayed with the Children of Israel on their long journey. And in the end, they made it to the promised land. We too, are on this same journey. We live in a world that is burdened by sin and offering, and we are enslaved to vice and love of material things. But the Holy Fire of God is with us too. As we wander through the Lenten wilderness, let us rely on our faith, the sure and certain hope that God will never abandon us, and will lead us to the Promised Land. May that same Holy fire that transformed Moses and freed the Hebrew people from bondage also transform us, and free us from our bondage to all that separates us from God and from each other.
