Be Like Moses

Text:  But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Scripture Reading:  Exodus 3:1-12

Reflection:

The story of Moses and the burning bush is an epic story related to the liberation of the Hebrew people out from their enslavement in Egypt.

The main characters of the story are, of course, God, the mysterious and great “I AM,” and Moses, who, as an infant (you may recall) was found by Pharaoh’s daughter as he was floating down the Nile River in a papyrus basket, and adopted into Pharaoh’s royal family where he was made an Egyptian prince.  Much later, however, as a young man, Moses, one day, went out to his people and observed their forced labor.  Moses saw an Egyptian overseer beating a Hebrew, wherein Moses kills him.  Moses then flees Egypt and settles in Midian, where Moses shepherds sheep and marries his boss’s daughter.

So here is Moses, the former adopted son of royalty, now shepherding flocks for his father-in-law, Jethro (which was a less than princely kind of job!), when one random day, Moses, who just happened to be out tending his sheep in the dessert wilderness, comes to Mount Horeb (the mountain of God…also known as Sinai). There, at Mount Horeb, an angel of the Lord appears to Moses in a flame of fire and out of a bush.  Amazingly, though, the bush is not consumed by the fire!  

Then God calls to Moses out of the bush, telling Moses God is going to send him back into Egypt to demand the release of the Israelites from slavery!  Well, when Moses hears this, he begins to protest to God, wherein God simply promises Moses he will abide with Moses and be with Moses every step of the way.

In summary then, God saw the misery of the Israelite people…and God heard their cries of their pain and suffering. So God moves into action, doing so by calling the quite ordinary Moses to be the extraordinary vessel of God’s liberation, healing, and transformation in Egypt.

The story of Moses and the burning bush reminds us that God calls all people, yes even people like you and me, to service and mission and love within the realm of God.  WE are God’s hands. WE are God’s heart. WE are God’s eyes. WE are God’s ears….Today!   WE are the ones who are invited to uphold God’s values…Today!…..And WE are asked to care for the world’s diverse peoples and needs…Today!

So, then, the question for each of us TODAY is: Where or how is God calling YOU to be a Moses?  

How is God calling you to listen, believe, and do?

Prayer:

Loving God, as you were with Moses, calling him and inspiring him and helping him, be also with us.  Today may we return love and grace to our families, neighbors, communities, nation, and world, that is currently so uncertain and unsettled today.  Amen. 

Focus for the Day:

Today I will be like Moses in both faith and action.  

Author:

Bob Livingston