October 20, 2024. Sermon Title: Taking a Close Look

First Mennonite Church

October 20, 2024

Taking a Closer Look

Text: Exodus 3:1-12

The story of the burning bush has captivated the imagination of writers, movie makers, artists, and Christians, as a whole. In fact, there is a chapel at the foot of Mount Sinai, in Egypt called “The Chapel of the Burning Bush.” It’s on the grounds of one of the oldest chapels of Saint Katherine.

The story of the burning bush is full of vivid images, symbols, and especially of deep meaning to our faith. Underlying all of these is that this story is pivotal to the whole Bible story—from cover to cover.  If not for God’s self-revelation and Moses’ response, there would not have been an Exodus, a chosen people, and the fulfilled promise to Abraham of God giving his descendants the Promised Land. Without any of those events, neither would God’s plan of salvation for the world through Christ Jesus would have come.

It is of absolute importance for us to take notice here: There are far-reaching effects when God calls and the one being called responds in obedience. Moses’ response to God’s calls played significantly in fulfilling God’s plan of deliverance and the fulfillment of his promise. 

The New Testament reading in Acts seven gave us a brief background to our story. Moses was born at a time when Hebrew baby boys were being killed at the order of the Egyptian Pharaoh. But Moses was saved by his mother by hiding him in the river from where he was found and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter. While being among the Egyptian taskmasters, Moses intervened in a fight and he killed an Egyptian foreman for mistreating a Hebrew man.  And because Moses feared for his life he fled into the desert. There he met Jethro, the Midianite Priest, and married his daughter. For forty years Moses watched his father-in-law’s flock. While Moses performed this mundane task, God appeared to him. But in chapter two, we are told that God had heard the cries of his people, which made him remember the covenant he had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In his faithfulness, God would not break any of the promises he made. So, regardless of Moses’ past, internal conflicts, and controversial character, God chose to reveal himself to Moses in this wonderful way. In God’s sovereign mercy and authority, he chose to call and send Moses to a task greater than life itself; a task with far-reaching effects, which reaches into eternity. The events unleashed on that day were not only the beginning of Israel’s liberation from the Egyptian Pharaoh, but an event that would lead to humanity’s salvation through Jesus Christ. The letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament presents Jesus as superior to Moses.    

So chapter three opens by telling us where Moses was and what he was doing. Moses was just doing what he had done day in and day out for forty years. But on this day, the text is careful enough to tell us that Moses decided to go beyond the wilderness and came to the “mountain of God.”  In the Bible, there are references to this same place but with different names.  This mountain is sometimes called “Horeb,” “Sinai,” “Holy Mountain” or the “Mountain of God.”

Now, Moses’ going beyond his usual turf makes us wonder, did he do it out of necessity to provide for his flock? We do not know. But God manifested himself to Moses on the day he chose to break away from his routine. And there, God commissioned him to the task of liberating God’s people. 

The Holy Writer tells us that the Lord God appeared to Moses when an angel of the Lord came through a flame of fire from a bush. Whether bushfires were common during those days or not, there seems to be something out of the ordinary that caught Moses’ attention. The bush, although in flames, was not consumed by the fire. It just went on and on calling for Moses’ attention. So upon realizing that the bush did not get consumed by the fire, Moses decided to go and check it out.

Let us pause here for a second. We are all common Joes and common Jeans, except for Jean Dueck. And so, we all have common lives and we all have common days. We go through our days doing what we commonly do.  And very seldom we have extraordinary incidents in life. But you know, there can be “burning bushes” burning on and on calling our attention. It could be a thought about someone; about doing something for yourself; about saying or giving or doing something for someone or God. This burning bush is there in your mind and your heart nagging you constantly but you have kept going through the common rituals of your day. But maybe today God is leading you to go beyond your usual turf. Maybe God wants to reveal himself to you and show you that the nagging thought you have had for some time is actually his voice calling you.

You see my dear brothers and sisters, many times we get so used to our routines and even when there are those nagging thoughts we miss the signs of God calling our attention.  This is how the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning puts it:

Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries …[1]

So how can we see the burning bush around us?

The text tells us what Moses did. 3:3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.”  I must turn aside. He had to go off from where he was going. He had to stop doing what he had been doing so routinely. 

I want to tell you, my dear friends, if on Sunday mornings you have routinely come without giving much thought as to what to expect or what will happen during the service, I invite you to break away from that routine. Prepare your heart before you come to the worship service. Ask God to manifest himself to you and to us in a special and personal way. You see, even the worship hour can become routine; it can become a moment when we only go through the motions.  What Moses did can teach us about what we can do to create an opportune encounter with the Lord who wants to reveal himself afresh to us or more importantly, to commission us to become agents of his plan of salvation. 

With all honesty, I do not blame you if sometimes you get distracted by what I say here Sunday after Sunday. It could be that I put you to sleep with what I say.  Yet, I want to tell you that I pray that God would use me to make this time here a special time between God and us. That is why I invite you to step out of what you normally do or expect and take advantage of the opportunity to meet with God. Turn aside and see what God wants to reveal to you.

Although the worship hour is an important venue to encounter God, I want to underline the fact that Moses was simply doing his daily chores. He was tending his sheep when he was encountered by the Lord. And that means that God can reveal himself here as he can do anywhere as long as we are willing to turn aside and look carefully at what is there before our eyes.  God can teach us anywhere if we are willing to learn from him. But there is one principle and that is to be open and willing to see beyond the usual. 

I want to invite you to ponder a little further on that thought that has been coming to you, whether it is about doing something, saying something, or even, possibly giving something. Give it some more thought. Pray about it. It could be a burning bush where God is waiting for you to come closer.  It could be that the Lord wants to tell you something.

Next Sunday, we will continue reflecting on the rest of this passage.

Let us pray  

Pastor A. Romero


[1] Quoted in  “A Calling by the Holy”  by Dr. C. Price, 1999