Settling In

Yes, those are my shoes, and no, those flowers aren't really on fire.

This time of year in the Methodist Church is a time of transitions.  There are lots of us that are moving from one place to another.  That's hard for many folks to understand.  That includes folks inside the church, as well as those outside the church.  But, there is a sort of familiarity to the process that helps us make these transitions.


Because we do this at the same time of year, every year, we know how this goes, and we are better prepared for the changes to take place.  We know what it means to say goodbye to a pastor and their family, and welcome someone new.  As pastors, we know what it means to close the door behind us at one church, and then step into a new Sanctuary.  It's not easy, but we do it.

The question that many people have is, "how do you do it?"  We do it, because we remember an important part of the story.

Moses found himself in the middle of a transition.  More correctly, he'd been in a transition ever since he left Egypt.  Now, he found himself finding out what this was going to mean.  He was tending the sheep of his Father-in-Law Jethro when he looked over and saw a bush that was on fire...but it wasn't burning up.  Moses did what we all do in those kinds of situations.  He gawked; he went over to see what was going on.  When he got there, he heard a voice:

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

--Exodus 3:4-5 

 So he took off his shoes, and then he listened...he listened to what God was telling him he was going to do.  What I love about this story is what comes next.  The big flashy miracles are great, but it's this moment that is coming up that I think is so very important.

Moses is uncertain.  He doesn't know what to do.  This should be a familiar feeling for all of us.  We've all faced moments of uncertainty.  Times, when like Moses, we didn't know where we were supposed to go, or if we were supposed to go in a certain direction.  Even, in those times when we know where we're going, we still can be uncertain about the outcome.  The truth is, that this is all normal.  It's part of what makes us who we are, and it's what prepares us to really listen.

Moses may not have been able to really listen before this moment.  But in this moment, when faced with the voice of God, and a burning bush that isn't burning up, he is listening.  In that listening and important conversation happens.  A question is asked, and an answer is given.

Moses is asking the question, God is answering

Moses wants to know why he is the one to do this.  If we were answering for God, we'd do it one way.  We might list off the attributes that we think make Moses the right choice.  We might read the pertinent parts of his resume, to remind him of why he can do the job.  We can do a whole lot of things, but none of it would be right.  God responds differently.

God doesn't give Moses any of that.  Instead, he tells Moses that he'll be there with him, as he goes to do this job.  Moses was uncertain, in that moment what he needed wasn't reasons why he could do the job, but what he needed was to know that God was going to be there with him.

For us, this is what we need most often. We need to know that we aren't going to be relying on our own strength to win the day, but that God goes with us.  This same message that God gave to Moses, is one that we see repeated all through scripture, and is given to us, even to the present day.

We are starting on a new journey together.  We could remind each other of why we think the other is the right person/church for the job.  But what we need most is to know that God goes with us.  With him, we can face this journey, take a step forward, and see the amazing places that God has in store for us.  Let us go and journey with each other, and may we all go with God. Amen!