Send someone else!
Text: Exodus 3:1-15; 4:1-17
“You’ve chosen the wrong messenger! Send someone else…”
Wow… what a letdown! After all this, all Moses can says is,
“Please Lord, send somebody else!”
We find ourselves at the end of one of the most profound stories from Hebrew Scripture. It is the tale of a wandering shepherd who comes face to face with the living God, and then sets out on a mission to free the Slaves of Egypt. It is a powerful story –so powerful that it has been brought to the big screen on three different occasions… one of which we saw a clip of this morning. It is so powerful, in fact, that we use one of its images to give a brand logo for our denomination. The burning bush, along with the Latin phrase Nec Tamen Consumebateur, can be found at the front of most sanctuaries in the Presbyterian Church in Canada… on fire and yet not consumed. It is the primary image on this pulpit and on our largest stained-glass window… and has been the main design element for both our website and the stylized name of the congregation you see up on the screen. This story from Exodus is laced with so much meaning that countless sermons can be written about it. Today, I am only preaching one of them… I promise!
As powerful as this story is, we often forget the bits and pieces that bring it down to earth. As much as Moses is written as a hero, he is also a human being like you or me. Every time that we place Moses, or any other character from the Bible on a pedestal, we do them and ourselves a disservice. Making them out to be somehow more than human puts a comfortable barrier between us and God, and it denies the possibility that God could call any one of us… This is a lesson that Moses learned…
The story begins with Moses wandering out in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. He was living a comfortable life, tending to the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law. This was a safe life, a happy life, far from the troubles that he once struggled with in Egypt. Growing up in the royal court of Pharaoh, Moses was a Hebrew who lived free while the rest of his people were enslaved. The problem seemed so large, so insurmountable… there wasn’t anything he could do. In frustration and want to do something, he killed an Egyptian while defending a Hebrew slave. Fearing that he had made things worse, Moses fled into the wilderness of Midian where he found shelter with a group of Nomads. Here, he finds a home, he marries Jethro’s daughter Zipporah and they have a son. This was his life now… and Egypt? Far behind him.
One would think the story would have ended there… for Moses, it’s a happily-ever-after kind of moment… but God was up to something. After all, the Israelites were still enslaved in Egypt, and for the one person who saw that the problem was too big, God had something new in store.
The stage was set. The clip we played earlier, was from the 1998 film the Prince of Egypt, captures the wonder and power of this moment very well. It’s a different way of presenting the reading this morning, but given how rare film clips portraying Biblical stories are effectively brought to the screen, it is a rare treat.
When we encounter Moses this morning, he is herding sheep in the wilderness. It is a day like any other, but today’s path unconsciously takes him near the foot of one very special mountain: Horeb; known also as Sinai –The Mountain of God. Moses sees something in the distance, something odd… A bush entirely engulfed in flame, and yet not a leaf, not a berry has been even singed.
Intrigued Moses decides to take a second look:
The flames quietly dance around the leaves. Since nothing is actually burning, no gasses are escaping. The familiar crackle and roar that one would expect from a fire isn’t there. The bush silently bends and shifts as the glowing fire gently caresses its leaves. The light of the fire shimmers on the hillside, playing tricks with the shadows.
Moses hears his own name. Someone is calling to him. The voice gently washes over him like a wave. It is neither booming nor faint, neither a shout nor a whisper. The voice resonates deep within his soul. Without knowing what he is getting into, Moses steps forward.
“Here I am!” He says.
The voice echoes again, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for you are standing on holy ground!”
“Who are you?” Moses asks… or wonders…
“I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”
The sandals come off. In the next moments, Moses turns into a quivering heap trying to handle being in the presence of God. All the while God is explaining of how he has heard the cries of the Israelites, of their oppression at the hands of Pharaoh. God has heard them, and now it is time for action. Moses will be the one to go to Egypt, to stand up to Pharaoh, and demand the release of the captives. This is this huge lead up! These are grandiose plans. And how does Moses reply?
“You’ve chosen the wrong messenger…” In the Biblical account, Moses says, “Please, Lord, send someone else!”
Wow! What a letdown! After all this, all Moses can say is,
“Please, send someone else!”
It seems that God’s first obstacle is Moses himself.
For every call that God makes to Moses, Moses tries to wriggle his way out of it. Moses asks “Why me? Why do I have to go back to a place I left long ago? Why do I have to stand up in front of Pharaoh? I’m only one man! What I can I do?”
God replies, “I will be with you.”
The conversation continues. God tells Moses the plan. Moses keeps trying to back out of it. God gives him some pretty substantial party tricks to make the message more convincing. Yet after all is said and done, Moses continues his litany of excuses:
“They won’t believe me!”
“I don’t speak well!”
“I’m not up for this!”
“Please, send someone else!”
Hardly inspirational isn’t it? Here we have one of the greatest names of the faith, someone who comes face to face with God. God calls Moses to a special task to free the people of Israel, and hands God a laundry list of reasons he can’t go, and why someone else is better suited for the job.
Moses doesn’t want to go back to Egypt. He sees himself as an outcast. He doesn’t belong anymore, and yet he is the very person that God wants to go and free the slaves.
Send someone else! There are others who are better than I am. I can’t make a difference!
But God begs to differ.
We are really a lot more like Moses than we’d care to admit. Moses is a lot like you and me; he’s a regular human being who is comfortable where he is. He doesn’t like change. He doesn’t want change. He wants things to be easy and okay.
But God begs to differ. Moses will lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses will find the courage to stand up, to look the oppressor in the eye and say, “Let my people go!”
As much as God calls Moses, Moses truly does have a choice. He can and does say “not me” several times. God is persistent, and for every excuse that Moses puts forward, God counters it. At last, all the excuses, all of those reasons to say “no” turn to dust. Moses realizes his calling, he picks up his staff, and begins his journey to Egypt.
So what about us?
Moses had the benefit of coming face to face with God, and he still said “send someone else!” It would stand to reason that our own experiences of faith are not nearly that earth shattering, so it seems easier for us to say “send someone else.” When God calls us to make a difference in our own communities, we say “send someone else.” Hey! I’m even ready to pay someone else to go do this stuff for me! We live in a time where it is common practice for to pay someone else to do ministry for us. Yet God calls each of us, with our own unique gifts and skills to make a difference where we are. Like Moses, God calls each of us to make a difference where we are.
Like Moses we are very tempted to say “please send someone else.”
But maybe also we’ve also placed too much expectation that our encounters and experiences of God need to look like what Moses experienced. Maybe it makes it easier for us to say to God “please send someone else” when we’ve not had something that looks like a film production happen to us. But get this… even with a Burning Bush and powerful voice, Moses still said “send someone else.” The fact is, at some point or another, we have all had a profound experiences the Holy… whether we know it or not. We just haven’t been very good at recognizing it, and even if we do, we’re afraid to share it with one another.
Maybe we’re afraid that people won’t listen… that they won’t understand… that we might be ridiculed for sharing these profound life-changing moments… they might think that we’re crazy.
Fortunately, God keeps working away at us… but also offers words of comfort and promise. “I will be with you!” God says… and that isn’t just to Moses, but to each and every one of us.
We may not be called to lead people to the Promised Land, but each of us has something unique to offer to the world. At our best, we listen to what God has to say, and get a chance to see ourselves for the potential that God sees in us. In spite of all our misgivings, God can and does work miracles through each of us. At least, let’s give God the benefit of the doubt and not be so quick to say “Send someone else!” After all, if you and I are at lot more like Moses than we realize, then it is worth wondering what God truly has in store for us and seeing where it may lead!
Amen.
“You’ve chosen the wrong messenger! Send someone else…”
Wow… what a letdown! After all this, all Moses can says is,
“Please Lord, send somebody else!”
We find ourselves at the end of one of the most profound stories from Hebrew Scripture. It is the tale of a wandering shepherd who comes face to face with the living God, and then sets out on a mission to free the Slaves of Egypt. It is a powerful story –so powerful that it has been brought to the big screen on three different occasions… one of which we saw a clip of this morning. It is so powerful, in fact, that we use one of its images to give a brand logo for our denomination. The burning bush, along with the Latin phrase Nec Tamen Consumebateur, can be found at the front of most sanctuaries in the Presbyterian Church in Canada… on fire and yet not consumed. It is the primary image on this pulpit and on our largest stained-glass window… and has been the main design element for both our website and the stylized name of the congregation you see up on the screen. This story from Exodus is laced with so much meaning that countless sermons can be written about it. Today, I am only preaching one of them… I promise!
As powerful as this story is, we often forget the bits and pieces that bring it down to earth. As much as Moses is written as a hero, he is also a human being like you or me. Every time that we place Moses, or any other character from the Bible on a pedestal, we do them and ourselves a disservice. Making them out to be somehow more than human puts a comfortable barrier between us and God, and it denies the possibility that God could call any one of us… This is a lesson that Moses learned…
The story begins with Moses wandering out in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. He was living a comfortable life, tending to the sheep of Jethro, his father-in-law. This was a safe life, a happy life, far from the troubles that he once struggled with in Egypt. Growing up in the royal court of Pharaoh, Moses was a Hebrew who lived free while the rest of his people were enslaved. The problem seemed so large, so insurmountable… there wasn’t anything he could do. In frustration and want to do something, he killed an Egyptian while defending a Hebrew slave. Fearing that he had made things worse, Moses fled into the wilderness of Midian where he found shelter with a group of Nomads. Here, he finds a home, he marries Jethro’s daughter Zipporah and they have a son. This was his life now… and Egypt? Far behind him.
One would think the story would have ended there… for Moses, it’s a happily-ever-after kind of moment… but God was up to something. After all, the Israelites were still enslaved in Egypt, and for the one person who saw that the problem was too big, God had something new in store.
The stage was set. The clip we played earlier, was from the 1998 film the Prince of Egypt, captures the wonder and power of this moment very well. It’s a different way of presenting the reading this morning, but given how rare film clips portraying Biblical stories are effectively brought to the screen, it is a rare treat.
When we encounter Moses this morning, he is herding sheep in the wilderness. It is a day like any other, but today’s path unconsciously takes him near the foot of one very special mountain: Horeb; known also as Sinai –The Mountain of God. Moses sees something in the distance, something odd… A bush entirely engulfed in flame, and yet not a leaf, not a berry has been even singed.
Intrigued Moses decides to take a second look:
The flames quietly dance around the leaves. Since nothing is actually burning, no gasses are escaping. The familiar crackle and roar that one would expect from a fire isn’t there. The bush silently bends and shifts as the glowing fire gently caresses its leaves. The light of the fire shimmers on the hillside, playing tricks with the shadows.
Moses hears his own name. Someone is calling to him. The voice gently washes over him like a wave. It is neither booming nor faint, neither a shout nor a whisper. The voice resonates deep within his soul. Without knowing what he is getting into, Moses steps forward.
“Here I am!” He says.
The voice echoes again, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for you are standing on holy ground!”
“Who are you?” Moses asks… or wonders…
“I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”
The sandals come off. In the next moments, Moses turns into a quivering heap trying to handle being in the presence of God. All the while God is explaining of how he has heard the cries of the Israelites, of their oppression at the hands of Pharaoh. God has heard them, and now it is time for action. Moses will be the one to go to Egypt, to stand up to Pharaoh, and demand the release of the captives. This is this huge lead up! These are grandiose plans. And how does Moses reply?
“You’ve chosen the wrong messenger…” In the Biblical account, Moses says, “Please, Lord, send someone else!”
Wow! What a letdown! After all this, all Moses can say is,
“Please, send someone else!”
It seems that God’s first obstacle is Moses himself.
For every call that God makes to Moses, Moses tries to wriggle his way out of it. Moses asks “Why me? Why do I have to go back to a place I left long ago? Why do I have to stand up in front of Pharaoh? I’m only one man! What I can I do?”
God replies, “I will be with you.”
The conversation continues. God tells Moses the plan. Moses keeps trying to back out of it. God gives him some pretty substantial party tricks to make the message more convincing. Yet after all is said and done, Moses continues his litany of excuses:
“They won’t believe me!”
“I don’t speak well!”
“I’m not up for this!”
“Please, send someone else!”
Hardly inspirational isn’t it? Here we have one of the greatest names of the faith, someone who comes face to face with God. God calls Moses to a special task to free the people of Israel, and hands God a laundry list of reasons he can’t go, and why someone else is better suited for the job.
Moses doesn’t want to go back to Egypt. He sees himself as an outcast. He doesn’t belong anymore, and yet he is the very person that God wants to go and free the slaves.
Send someone else! There are others who are better than I am. I can’t make a difference!
But God begs to differ.
We are really a lot more like Moses than we’d care to admit. Moses is a lot like you and me; he’s a regular human being who is comfortable where he is. He doesn’t like change. He doesn’t want change. He wants things to be easy and okay.
But God begs to differ. Moses will lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses will find the courage to stand up, to look the oppressor in the eye and say, “Let my people go!”
As much as God calls Moses, Moses truly does have a choice. He can and does say “not me” several times. God is persistent, and for every excuse that Moses puts forward, God counters it. At last, all the excuses, all of those reasons to say “no” turn to dust. Moses realizes his calling, he picks up his staff, and begins his journey to Egypt.
So what about us?
Moses had the benefit of coming face to face with God, and he still said “send someone else!” It would stand to reason that our own experiences of faith are not nearly that earth shattering, so it seems easier for us to say “send someone else.” When God calls us to make a difference in our own communities, we say “send someone else.” Hey! I’m even ready to pay someone else to go do this stuff for me! We live in a time where it is common practice for to pay someone else to do ministry for us. Yet God calls each of us, with our own unique gifts and skills to make a difference where we are. Like Moses, God calls each of us to make a difference where we are.
Like Moses we are very tempted to say “please send someone else.”
But maybe also we’ve also placed too much expectation that our encounters and experiences of God need to look like what Moses experienced. Maybe it makes it easier for us to say to God “please send someone else” when we’ve not had something that looks like a film production happen to us. But get this… even with a Burning Bush and powerful voice, Moses still said “send someone else.” The fact is, at some point or another, we have all had a profound experiences the Holy… whether we know it or not. We just haven’t been very good at recognizing it, and even if we do, we’re afraid to share it with one another.
Maybe we’re afraid that people won’t listen… that they won’t understand… that we might be ridiculed for sharing these profound life-changing moments… they might think that we’re crazy.
Fortunately, God keeps working away at us… but also offers words of comfort and promise. “I will be with you!” God says… and that isn’t just to Moses, but to each and every one of us.
We may not be called to lead people to the Promised Land, but each of us has something unique to offer to the world. At our best, we listen to what God has to say, and get a chance to see ourselves for the potential that God sees in us. In spite of all our misgivings, God can and does work miracles through each of us. At least, let’s give God the benefit of the doubt and not be so quick to say “Send someone else!” After all, if you and I are at lot more like Moses than we realize, then it is worth wondering what God truly has in store for us and seeing where it may lead!
Amen.
Comments