God speaks and calls: sermon prep for August 21 (by Ray Webster)

First reading: Exodus 3:1-15

God speaks to Moses from the Burning Bush

After killing an Egyptian who was mistreating a Hebrew slave, Moses fled into the wilderness. He became a shepherd with the tribe of Jethro, and married Jethro’s daughter.

Today we have the great story of God calling Moses from the bush that “was blazing, yet it was not consumed.”

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." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
So the direct link is established between the God who revealed God’s self to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the God who was now revealing himself to Moses.
God was taking the initiative to act, to free the people from slavery in Egypt and bring them into the Promised Land.
God told that when the people were free, Moses was to bring them back to this mountain.

I believe God speaks to us today

I believe God does speak to us. We may well not hear the audible voice of God! We most probably will not.
One of the ways I believe God speaks to us, is by means of the stories and words of Scripture. God the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, will give light and understanding to speak to us by means of images and words of the Bible.
God also may speak to us by means of the worship of the church – by means of music and art and architecture.
God also may speak to us in the situations of daily life, which touch our conscience and call us to do something – or to refrain from doing something.
The Quaker tradition reminds us that God speaks in the silence. The Holy Spirit may use times of silence to speak in the silence within us.

What is God’s Name?

Then we come to this great and mysterious passage about the Name of God.
But Moses said to God, "If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?" God said to Moses, "I AM Who I AM." He said further, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"
You can see the echo of these words, when Jesus in John’s Gospel refers to himself seven times in the great “I am” statements – perhaps the most famous and well loved, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
And then God speaks to Moses in verse 15:
God also said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations."

Saying the LORD instead of God’s Name

It is a tradition in English Christian translations of the Bible -- following Jewish practice – to write the word LORD where in the original Hebrew there appeared the Name of God. The original is four consonants – no one is quite sure how to pronounce them. Among other things, it has been the custom in Judaism for centuries not to speak them!
In the French Jerusalem Bible, the great modern French translation of the Bible, the word is given Yahweh. I confess that much as I love that version, which I think on the whole is a very great work of art, I have a deep uneasiness about breaking the ancient tradition of not trying to speak that name.
For one thing, I grew up in a heavily Jewish community. Classmates would not only not try to say that ancient name, they would write the English word God as G-d!
For another quite different reason, as a Christian I speak the Names of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Jesus and Trinity. Breaking the ancient silence to speak the Names open up to us -- revealed -- in Jesus Christ.

God has sent Moses on a great mission

The hidden God of Israel has revealed God’s very self, to send Moses on a great mission – to stand before Pharaoh and speak God’s word of freedom.

Gospel: Matthew 16:21-28

The turning point in the story

We come today in our summer-long reading through of Matthew’s Gospel to a great dramatic turning point in the story. Jesus tells his disciples that he intends to go down to Jerusalem, where he will almost certainly be arrested and killed. Not only does he intend to go – he must go.

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

Must

.. must …I do not believe that it was in any way God’s will that God’s innocent Child Jesus suffer. I believe what was (and is) the will of the Father was that Jesus face what was coming in self-giving love, and not run away.
I believe that is what you and I who follow Jesus also must do.
In the tension of moment, Simon Peter took (Jesus) aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!”
Well, that was the tension speaking. I do not believe Jesus thought Peter was Satan. But Peter was tempting him to run away.

Jesus calls his disciples – including you and me

Then Jesus called his disciples and calls you and me, his disciples today, to follow him on his way of self-giving love.
Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

(Raymond Webster)
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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.