Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 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.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
I remember a time on my faith journey when I would wonder why it was that I didn't have a "Road to Damascus" moment like Paul, or a "burning bush" moment like Moses. Something so startling and affecting that I couldn't help but pay attention.
Paul certainly paid attention on the road to Damascus, but in honesty, it seems that it took a bit more than a burning bush to bring Moses around. With the fiery plant in front of him, Moses' initial reaction after bringing his fearful face up?
"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?"
God's talking right to him and still Moses questions.
This shouldn't seem too surprising. Jesus' disciples had Jesus right there with them and most of the time didn't seem to even have a clue.
Why should I think that a burning bush or road to Damascus would change anything for me?
Why would I imagine that Jesus walking right up to me would make any difference?
Of course, I will continue to hope it would. But the truth is, whether I had God speaking to me from a burning bush or Jesus physically by my side, my own brokenness would still be present. Fear, doubt and all that exists in the current state of my faith. A life of faith filled with small moments as well as big ones; mundane tasks that can be a chore; people I love and people I argue with; a quiet prayer life; and God's word coming though words on a page or voices of folks just as ordinary as I am.
All of this makes me no more or no less equipped than the disciples or Moses to grab onto the good news that has been given to me.
Yet I've been given something else. The Holy Spirit - while not showing up to me as tongues of fire or in a burning bush or as Jesus' physical presence, nevertheless sustains me and makes this journey possible. Makes my brokenness into something God can use to continue the faith story in my life.
"Who am I?" Moses asked, even when confronted with something so awe-inspiring that it would seem impossible not to take notice.
"Who am I?" I ask every day as I rise. The answer, although not coming to me in the full technicolor of a burning bush is the same for me as it was for Moses, Paul, and the disciples.
Child of God.
God, we can find you in moments that are grand and moments that are small. Remind me always that you are present in each and every moment of my life and that your Holy Spirit sustains me always. Amen
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