The Journey Begins

Sacred Gifts and Holy Gatherings
Holy Days
The Feast of Booths

Exodus 3:1-6  The Message

3 ^1-2 Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.

³ Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”
⁴ God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”
⁵ God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”
⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.

For Reflection 

God was unapproachable.  God was unknowable.  God established God's own persona to which only a few were granted an intimate yet distant encounter.  God was to be feared and respected.  God influenced humankind by leading the obedient to a reward and leaving those who rejected God to suffer from the folly of their own devices.  The journey to Jesus begins as a father would guide, support and discipline his children.  The abstract mystery of humankind's relationship to God was made concrete by actionable law.  Thus the cycle of obedience, reward, delusions of self, disobedience, and repentance begins.  And all the while, God remains steadfast, committed to God's covenant with God's people. God never abandons God's people.  God forgives.  God embraces.

Pray

prayers of thanksgiving and praise for The God of Moses.  Pray prayers of gratitude for those who, in their obedience to God showed unreasonable trust in God who could not be seen, who could not be touched but would always be present in Grace.