March 1, 2007
Lent Reading Day 8
Moses and the Burning Bush:
Exodus 3:1-22

Moses has fled his past, fled his future, and chosen a present that enables his to hide from his fears, failures, and family situation in Egypt. Alone in the wilderness, tending the flock of animals he cares for, he stumbles suddenly upon a bush that burns yet is never burnt up. Seeminlgy indestructible, Moses is intrigued and as he approaches comes into a face-to-face encounter with the living God of the past, the present and the future, who was, and is, and is to come. Moses experiences an epiphany, an experience of God revealing himself in the midst of our world. He takes off his sandals as a sign of respect for this holy ground, but it's more than his footwea that changes. Trasnformed by his encounter of the God of his ancestors - who now is clearly the God of Moses too, he cannot simply go back to business as usual. The voice and word of God has gone out, the call has been extended and Moses accepts - even if he still bickers and complains abit in the rest of chapter 2 because he stutters.

How often do we walk past holy ground epiphanies in our own lives? Maybe we don't see burning bushes, or hearing booming voices from on high. But I have to believe that we're not all that different than Moses. Often when God comes calling, inviting us to stand up, lead, and stand for justice - freedom - community solidarity - we too are often afraid. But what was Moses afraid of? Was he afraid of failure? Or was he afraid of himself, afraid to have his stuttering fear transformed into clear leadership, prophetic word? It reminds me of an often quoted poem by Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

What was Moses afraid of? What are we afraid of when we have our own burning bush epiphany encounters and are invited to be vital participants in what God is doing in the world?

Sculpture "The Burning Bush" from the Ratner Museum