Psalm 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9
Moses is a shepherd—a common biblical metaphor for leadership. It is also an image of love and care for the needy. In our journey to God, love and care for others is a prerequisite.
The encounter occurs "behind the mountain" in the “wilderness.” The Hebrew word for desert—midbar—has the same root as the Hebrew dabar—which means speak and word. We must strip away the daily distractions and find a quiet place to hear God. We must journey through emptiness beyond the mundane to find Him.
God appears as a fire in a thistle bush. The story of Adam’s sin is quietly at play—remember the earth was cursed and would produce bramble. It is as if God were redeeming the earth through this holy fire. The same fire is in Genesis when God made covenant with Abraham. The same fire appears at Pentecost. The same fire can engulf us if we trust.
God told Moses to take off his sandals. We must approach God with reverence and a heart of worship. The secular age has diminished God for centuries. We are victims of its poisonous treason. A regular practice of humbling ourselves before God is the antidote.
The voice from the fire declares “I am the God of your fathers. I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” It is family and covenant—love and intimacy—which are at the center of His communication. It displays His compassionate concern, which is clearly expressed in what follows: "I have seen their oppression, I have heard their cries. I know their pain. I have come to save." The Hebrew ‘know’ conveys intimacy. God participates with us in our pain, most completely in the cross of Jesus. The movement of salvation is theosis, God comes down to bring the people up.
The gift of Salvation is participatory. Paul warns us God’s grace met with resistance and the Israelites perished in the desert. Likewise, Jesus tells His own listeners that unless they repentant they too will perish. Repent (metanoia) means to take on a new mind and return to God. Salvation is a process of cooperation. Furthermore, the Lord uses humans to save. God told Moses, "I send you." An apostle is one who is sent—each of us has a mission. The more we cooperate with God, the more we are healed in body, soul, spirit! The more we mediate salvation to others, the more it grows in us!
Ideally, Lent is a journey through our own desert; an encounter with God in a quiet, holy place. There we meet the God whose Name is "I am who I am." Salvation unites us with God. We, too, must become who we are. Too often, our name is "I am who you want me to be" as we comply with the world. Too often our name is "I am what my wounds, fears, doubts and desires deceive me to be" Original Sin means that we were all born into a world where God is distant--but He still sees, He hears, He knows and He continues to comes down to save us from slavery. The world is still run by the Pharaohs who forbids us to worship God. Too often we embrace this slavery—so Jesus warns us, “Repent,” “Turn back!” “Get your mind right!” And remember, we are also sent. Sent to carry the Jesus within us—to heal, to teach, to deliver--to save the world.
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