Erl Purnell Sermon

cLent 3 ~ March 11, 2007 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

Exodus 3.1-15; Psalm 103.1-11; 1^st Corinthians 10.1-13; Luke 13.1-9

“When the Lord saw that Moses had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’”

To use religious vernacular, what’s just happened is a Call. God calls Moses out of a burning bush and commissions him to do God’s bidding with the people of Israel. It’s a big job, a huge job, and Moses isn’t at all excited about taking on the task. But, God insists, “I will be with you.” Moses is not comforted. He protests. I don’t even know your name, a reasonable question. God says to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”

You know, if there’s one thing I hate, it’s when God tells me exactly what I don’t want to hear. Like when Moses wants to know the name of God and God replies, “I AM WHO I AM.” The angels have names: Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, and Michael. Why can’t God have a regular name, like Charles or Edward or Susan. “I AM WHO I AM.” Doesn’t sound like a name at all.

There’s Moses, along with the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, minding his own business. He’s already gone to an extreme because the Scripture says “he led his flock beyond the wilderness.” Beyond the wilderness? Bad idea. Sounds like the place where “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!” are. Little does Moses know he’s trespassed in God’s neighborhood, where the great Mt. Horeb rises to the heavens.

Quickly we learn, poor old Moses learns, that there’s a price to pay for his wandering beyond the wilderness. In the land of talking fire-bushes, everything’s a bit unusual. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you’re standing is holy ground,” says the voice. “Oops. Sorry,” and off come the sandals. How could Moses have known?

Moses is seeing things he’s never seen before. I’m pretty sure he’s wondering who’s talking—at least that’s what I’d be wondering. Then, the owner of the voice gives Moses an earful of pedigree: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Of course Moses knows those great names. His people—the Israelites—are direct descendents of Jacob from ancient days when Jacob’s son Joseph actually welcomed the tribe to Egypt. Times changed, however, and the once proud Jewish people are now held captive by Pharaoh.

At this moment, I can’t help but wonder what would God have done if Moses hadn’t shown up? Or, was it fate? Moses was going to encounter God somewhere no matter what. Perhaps a better way to put it, God was going to encounter Moses no matter what.

So, “I AM WHO I AM” says, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses answers, “Here I am.” It’s the beginning of a long and difficult relationship. For, you see, God is calling Moses, calling Moses to look at things with fresh eyes, from a new perspective. Consider the passage we just heard. In it the Hebrew verb ra}ah [raw-aw´] is used repeatedly. Ra}ah means to see, both literally and figuratively. In the story, both Moses and God are “looking” and “seeing” constantly. What’s so interesting, it seems to me, is that Moses is seeing things (literally) that he’s quite unaccustomed to seeing. Moses is seeing things with God-eyes. Like a blazing bush that’s isn’t consumed by the fire. Moses is called into relationship with God to see as God sees and so to act as God would have him act.

God has observed the misery of the Jewish people in Egypt and seen how the Pharaoh has treated them. He’s not pleased. “So come,” he says to the rather stunned Moses, “I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” It doesn’t sound like a very good deal to Moses … not to mention that he left Egypt because he killed a man … not to mention that he’s lives freely in Midian with his wife, Zipporah, and son, Gershom, far from the reaches of Pharaoh ... and not to mention that, at that moment, Moses doesn’t even know who’s ordering him to do the impossible.

Have you ever been with somebody who just keeps talking … somebody who doesn’t seem aware that conversations are supposed to be two-way … somebody who doesn’t let you get a word in edge-wise? Seems like “I AM WHO I AM” is a lot like that. “I AM WHO I AM” has an agenda and Moses is the right man for the mission impossible. (Sounds like a great movie script, once movies get invented.) But, not to worry. “I AM WHO I AM” insists, “I will be with you.”

Moses is drafted. What he has seen with God-eyes in the land beyond the wilderness, he will now bring to the mission of freeing the people of God from oppression. He’s been called and as far as “I AM WHO I AM” is concerned, it’s a done deal. And, so it is. Moses cannot not heed God’s call. His eyes are opened and he sees what he could not see before.

I’m wondering, what is it we can’t and don’t see but that “I AM WHO I AM” sees? What is it God would have us see that we are now blind to?

When one is called, everything changes. We begin to see with fresh eyes. The old perspective falls away and a new vision appears. On this 3^rd Sunday of Lent 2007, to what are you being called to see anew? How’s your old perspective? Is it falling away? Have you seen any burning bushes where there were none before? Have you considered that the ground you’re standing on is holy? What’s the charge of “I AM WHO I AM” to you? Dare you accept God’s call, the mission “I AM WHO I AM” has for you? Dare you turn it down?

Amen.