In the name of the God who is and ever shall be. Amen.
What is your go-to passage of Scripture? Whatever that passage is, it’s a good indicator of your foundational theology. Really like David and Goliath? You likely value justice and believe in a God who is on the side of the underdog. If it’s Peter walking on water, you probably see Jesus as enabling you to overcome fears and do more than you thought possible. If it’s the Baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch, your foundation is that there are no boundaries when it comes to the love of God.
Earlier this month, I was at a preaching conference and one of the presenters brought this up. She said whatever your go-to passage of Scripture is—that tells you what you most deeply believe about God and the world. Then she asked us to turn to the person sitting next to us and share for a few minutes about what that passage is. I won’t ask you all to do that this morning—but do give it some thought. Maybe at coffee hour or over dinner you can share with someone what that passage is for you. (For those of you watching online, I’d love to know what that passage is for you—leave a comment where you’re watching or send me an email.)
When we were given this assignment, I immediately knew what my passage is. It’s what we heard read this morning from Exodus—the burning bush. It’s an image I always carry with me and find to be so very rich. And while I could easily preach about why I’m so drawn to this passage, my focus this morning is going to be on what this passage has to say to us as the people and parish of Grace & Saint Stephen’s.
It’s nearly been a year since I began my tenure here, and I’m really excited about what is ahead. Sure, I was excited about arriving and the first year, but it’s been a lot of foundation–building. That’s important work, but most of us are more excited about what gets built on the foundation.
I like fast cars and there was a church member in Salisbury who also likes fast cars and had more disposable income than I did—and he would often let me drive whatever new toys he had: Aston Martins, BMWs, Porches, McLarens. And while it is fun to turn onto the interstate on-ramp and hit the gas and hear those 500 horses roar into action, the real thrill comes once you’re up to speed. And that’s where we are as a parish—getting up to speed.
I can’t tell you how great our staff is right now. They are such dedicated and skilled people who are, likewise, excited about what is coming. And one of the things that I wondered about in leaving St. Luke’s to come to Grace & Saint Stephen’s was what sort of congregation I’d find. Sure, the profile was great, the Search Committee was full of wonderful people, when we came out for a final interview with the Vestry, they were lovely. But what about everyone else? Well, you all are pretty awesome and I remain thrilled and grateful that God has called us together.
For all we might say about this passage, it is the call story of Moses. Prior to this, he was a Hebrew child who through the cunning of his mother, midwives, and sister, survived an ethnic genocide, was raised in the house of Pharoah, and then spent his adult life on the run as a fugitive after committing murder. So whatever mistakes you’ve made, know it doesn’t disqualify you from being called by God. Moses became a shepherd, working for his father-in-law and was living an ordinary life. One day, there he was, minding his own business when his life changed forever. And not just his life, but arguably the fate and direction of the entire world.
God comes to Moses in the bush and calls him into a new future that he could not have previously imagined. A few years ago, that was our story. Your Rector was now–Bishop Jeremiah and I was loving life in North Carolina. But then God did what God so often does—called us towards something new, to journey somewhere together. And our first year together has mostly been preparing for that journey: getting to know one another, building trust, establishing new patterns and priorities, and preparing foundations. And the symbolic representation of these preparations being made is the launch of our new logo and website today.
To be very clear about this—we made these changes not because we want a break with the past or are trying to signal that we’re trying to leave behind anything or anyone. Rather, it’s that God is calling us to grow in ways that require a renewed sense of identity and direction. As much as I was a year ago, if not more, I’m honored and excited to have been called to grow with you in God’s call to us.
As I mentioned in a sermon earlier this summer, the guiding principles for us are drawn directly from the story of our patron, Saint Stephen. These are Beauty, Wisdom, and Witness. These priorities and commitments are represented in our new logo and are the organizing structure of the new website; and all three, Beauty, Wisdom, and Witness, are integral aspects of the story of the burning bush.
First, there is Beauty. While some might say, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” that’s not quite true—at least not when we’re speaking about God. Beauty is not about glamour, style, or value. Beauty is being in harmony with God. Mercy is beautiful. Forgiveness is beautiful. Sacrifice is beautiful. Worship is beautiful. Our world needs more of that sort of beauty, which is why news stories about those sorts of things catch our attention. It’s why movies that put those themes at the center make us cry. True beauty, Godly beauty, is something that we cannot resist being attracted to.
This is what Moses encountered, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight.” That word “turn aside” means that Moses had to change direction. He was going one way with his flock, but Beauty called him to change course. He was called to appreciate the Beauty, to attend to it.
One philosopher has said that “Attention changes the world. How you attend to it changes what it is you find there.” Beloved, I know what’s in the news and what many of us are dealing with; I know that a lot of it is ugly. And it’s not that we’re supposed to ignore these things, but we don’t have to give them all our attention; we are not called to be on the lookout for ugliness, but Beauty.
In our own tradition, the Oxford Movement, as it came to be called, was a group of church members in the early 1800s in England insisting on the importance of Beauty. They ministered to and with people living in slums, working dangerous and dirty factory jobs. And they insisted on Beauty, not for the sake of being lavish, but for the sake of helping people, as we heard St. Paul write in Romans, to “hold fast to what is good.”
One of our hopes and intentions is that by having Beauty as one of our priorities, that each member of this Church will be involved in one beautiful ministry at our church. That might be serving on Altar Guild, singing in the choir, tending the gardens, being an usher, or helping to care for our buildings & grounds. A part of God’s call to us is to turn towards greater harmony with God, which we call Beauty.
Then there is Wisdom—coming to see, trust, and follow God’s ways, even if we don’t understand them. As God speaks through the prophet Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Those higher ways are the ways of Wisdom.
This is what Moses observes about the bush—it was blazing yet it was not consumed. And notice this is why Moses turns aside. What caught his attention was not that a bush was burning. I don’t think I fully understood this until we moved to Colorado. On the East Coast, if you see a vegetation fire, you pay attention because they aren’t very common. But in a more desert-like climate, wildfire smoke is hardly news, certainly not a reason to leave your flock to explore. But a burning bush that is not consumed—now that’s something different.
Just because we think that something is not possible does not mean that is the case. As an angel says to St. Mary, “Nothing shall be impossible for God!” The great Wisdom of the burning bush is that two things can be possible at the same time: the bush is ablaze and it is not consumed. So many of our problems can be traced to our inability to hold two things in tension, to our inability to say “and” instead of “but.” And this is the Wisdom that our society is desperate for.
Things can be difficult & we can be a people of hope. We can make a mistake & we can be forgiven. We can disagree & we can remain in relationship. This Godly Wisdom is the holy alternative that the Church must teach, follow, and model.
What makes this “and” possible is the Cross of Jesus. Good Friday happened & Easter Sunday follows. It’s what Jesus tells Peter in the reading from Matthew, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” It’s subtle and I hope you notice that the “and” in our new logo is a Cross—which is the source of all true Wisdom.
Like Beauty, it is our goal that everyone will be involved in a ministry that deepens us in Wisdom. That could be joining Education for Ministry classes, being a part of one of our book groups, regularly attending Sunday School, Youth Group, or Formation Hour. Because Wisdom is counter-cultural, like Beauty, cultivating Wisdom takes attention and intention.
Lastly, there is Witness. A witness has two characteristics, and if you’ve spent any time in an airport or train station, you’ve heard it—see something, say something. A witness has seen something of note; if not, they’re not a witness. But a witness that keeps quiet isn’t a really a witness, they’re just an observer. So a witness must also share what they’ve seen.
What God says to Moses out of the bush is exactly this—that God is a witness. “I have observed the misery of my people… I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them.” There’s so much good, and beautiful, stuff in there. God sees our needs, has compassion, and responds. And notice the direction is that of Grace. God comes down to us, just as the dove in our logo is descending.
When Moses asks, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?,” God never answers. Instead, God says, “I will be with you.” That’s really all that matters and it is what Moses witnesses to the rest of the way. The plagues, the Exodus, the journey towards the Promised Land—all of these are a witness to the presence of the Living God who is, was, and ever shall be. Our call is to Witness: to give our attention to the Living God among us and to share with those around us the Beauty and Wisdom that comes from those holy encounters.
Again, the intention is, like the upward–oriented ministries related to Beauty and the inward growth in Wisdom, that everyone of us will be connected with an outward–facing ministry of Witness. It could be getting involved ministries related to Outreach, Special Needs, Welcoming, or Hospitality—we all have different callings and gifts, and there are many ways to Witness to the Grace we have seen and received in Jesus Christ.
Indeed, God is always with us as individuals and as a congregation. Much of the past few years has been about preparing the foundation and we’re now getting up to speed. The time is ripe for God’s call to us and for us. There is Godly Beauty to behold and shape our imaginations. There is holy Wisdom that is blessedly different than the chaos of the world around us. And there is a world, and parts of ourselves, that is desperate for the Witness of the Good News of Jesus Christ. God’s promise to Moses is the same promise made to us, and it is the foundation of all Beauty, Wisdom, and Witness—I will be with you. Amen.
