Sunday, September 3, 2023

Theme:

God loves us enough not to leave us in the dark. God speaks to us, speaking to us most vividly and undeniably in Jesus the Christ. We do not have to grope to find God on our own, God comes to us.

Reflections:

Moses is hiding out in Midian, far away from the action in Egypt, far away from his own Hebrew people. Moses is shepherding for his Midianite father-in-law. And though Moses is far away from things, he will soon be surprised to discover that he is not far away from God. Moses leads his flock to “the mountain of God,” known as Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai). Mountains are frequent locations for encounters with God in scripture. On the mountain, Moses encounters the unquenchable burning bush. Fire is a frequent biblical symbol of God’s presence. The bush that is not consumed by the fire is a sign of God’s awesome holiness. Moses is both attracted and fearful of what he sees. Then, the bush speaks! Moses is told to remove his sandals (what one does when one comes into the presence of the divine, a gesture still used in Islam and some other faiths). God comes to Moses and tells him he has heard the cries of the people. And that Moses is to be the one to lead the people out of bondage. Moses makes many attempts to deny God’s call but God does not relent and we know the rest of the story.

Throughout scripture, God does not leave God’s people alone. God comes to us. God often reveals God’s self to us many times in life. Of course, the greatest revelation of God is in the coming of God as the one we call Christ. In fact, the faith we call Christianity is a revealed religion. We are not born knowing God, but we grow to know God as God is revealed to us in life and life experiences. Knowledge of the truth about God comes to you, in the same way as it came to Moses, as a gift of a God who loves to reveal. So, with our faith: hearing of the faith precedes believing and believing leads to performing the faith through our actions.

We can take comfort in knowing God will come to us, and will reveal God’s ways to us. God will come to us and reveal God’s ways in joy and troubled times. God will come to us and reveal God’s ways in many forms. So know and take comfort that God will reveal God’s ways to us but we must be ready to have ears to listen, eyes to see, believe that God speaks, and follow.

Questions:

1.   We are not born knowing God. How is God revealed or made known to us in life as a child and/or as an adult?

2.   If Jesus is the truest revelation of God to us, what does this teach us about God?

3.   How does God reveal (or in more literal terms) speak to us? Have you ever had an encounter where you felt God spoke to you?

4.   How do we grow in our listening for God’s revelation?