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Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.  Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush.  As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.  So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush,  Moses! Moses!”  He answered, “Here I am.”  God said, “Come no nearer!  Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.  I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”  Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.  But the LORD said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering.  Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”  God replied, “I am who am.”  Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.”  God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.  “This is my name forever; thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”

“Take off those muddy shoes before you come in!  Don’t you dare track up this kitchen; I just washed the floor!”  As a kid I thought my mom simply didn’t want more work.  As an adult I realized how much she wanted a nice place for us all to live.  Taking my shoes off outside wasn’t just for my mom’s sake; it was for all our sakes. 

That insight came back to me as I reread the story of the burning bush.  It sounds as though God is displaying a bit of divine egotism.  But God’s admonition to Moses not to approach with dirty feet isn’t about God’s ego; it’s about seeking respect for what God’s doing for humanity and, specifically, for  the Hebrews enslaved in Egypt.  God wants to impress on Moses that he’s being recruited into an act of liberation implications of which are beyond his comprehension.

It’s important to remember that those who composed the Bible’s stories wrote within the customs and characters of their experience.  They could do nothing else.  Since magnificent undertakings were the work of kings and pharaohs, the Bible portrays God as an ancient Mediterranean potentate.  In Jewish history their liberation from Egyptian servitude and their conquests on the eastern end of the Mediterranean formed the core of their identity.  Honor paid to God was honor paid to God’s accomplishments. 

The Gospel of Matthew [7:21] quotes Jesus, “Not everyone saying, ‘Lord, Lord’ is part of the Reign of God; only the one who does my Father’s will.”  Jesus worked to get folks to realize that we don’t praise God for God’s sake.  We praise God for our sake.  Praising God reminds us of what God is doing in our lives and encourages us to involve ourselves with his actions.  If we remember this, our faith will deepen and mature. 

It will be easier to keep our home free of all those muddy footprints too.

Additional reflections can be found by visiting Joe's Blog: Rootings.

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03/05/2010
New post from Joe.

03/02/2010
February Book Study Group Summary posted.

02/27/2010
New post from Joe.

02/26/2010
February newsletter added.