Week 15 - The Lord calls His people

Theme:

That I may be prepared when God calls on me and that I – in the light of God’s love for me – may sense who I really am, that it is my name which is being called, and that I may become aware of what I am being called to do.

What I may wish to ask:

That God may overcome my hesitation in responding to His call.

Music: In God Alone London Fox Taizé choir

Spotify Link:

https://open.spotify.com/track/4Bnr5CbqQLj4bgdnRTOQdH?si=087f8e6275d2484c

YouTube Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyB_IIrpu4g

In God alone my soul can find rest and peace,

In God my peace and joy.

Only in God my soul can find its rest,

—find its rest – and peace.

Text: Exodus 3, 1-7 Moses at the Burning Bush

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid′ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 

Moses has killed an Egyptian overseer and has consequently fled to Mid’ian, which lies between Egypt and the Sinai desert. He has  married the daughter of a heathen priest and is watching over his father-in-law’s sheep. Moses has drifted a long way from his people and from his apparent purpose in life. And now he herds his flock – on a hunch – deep into the desert. In the Bible the desert stands for a place of loneliness, emptiness and tribulation, but it also stands for a place where God is encountered.

Is such a ‘desert situation’ also apparent and noticeable in my own life?

And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” 

Who or what keeps the flame of fire burning in my life? Who is my angel or who are my angels? It is good to devote attention to these things, just as Moses did, and become aware that these may be where I can find God in my own life.

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

The Lord sees Moses coming closer, so as the Lord saw us coming closer when we made our way to this chapel. And from the burning bush God calls Moses by his name. God knows Moses for the person he really is. And how is that with me? When do I feel that I am seen or have been seen?

Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, 

Only after Moses has personally encountered God in the desert of his life, does it become clear what God is asking him to do. I can use these last minutes of my prayer to listen: do I hear God calling my name?