Burning Bush Callings
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Debbie: Well, good morning everyone. Tying up our series that we call Hills and Valleys. And what we've acknowledged is that's kind of our lives, isn't it? A lot of mountain tops, a lot of deep valleys, there's some in between too. But that is the life we walk.
And throughout this series we've heard, we've been in Genesis, now we're in Exodus, and you know, we've heard all sorts of, from Justin kicking it off with Jacob and wrestling, and then we heard about Joseph and the unfairness of him being thrown into the pit by his brothers. And then we heard about Joseph and forgiving his brothers and what that looked like as well. And then last week we heard about the birth of Moses and God's faithfulness from Justin.
And throughout the series what we have asked is for different people in the community to come up and share their story of God's faithfulness when they've been in the hills and valleys of life. And that is, I don't know about you all, but that has been one of the most powerful pieces of the sermon series for me that we've been in.
But today we continue on in the story of Moses and we're going to be talking about Moses and the burning bush. And really a story of calling and response. And I was thinking a lot about calling and what that means. Those moments in our life, and we've all had them, right? When something bigger than us, when there's this conviction placed on our soul, on our heart, like that we need to pause, we need to pay attention, that we need to respond to something.
And these things I want, this is really important in this you guys. Sometimes they are the smallest of things. Sometimes it's in the middle of ordinary days. Sometimes it's little burning bush moments all along the way. And sometimes it's a big aha, that calling that's placed on our heart, the divine invitation. And I was thinking myself about all the stories, and I know a lot of your stories.
And I was thinking about the small things. I had a friend a few weeks ago who was telling me about being at a gathering. And as she was walking out quickly, walking quickly out the door, she had to go pick her daughter up. She was walking by an old friend she hadn't seen in years. And she walked by and kind of did a hey. And as she's getting to the door, she said something in her said turn back, turn back. And she turned back and ran back and she threw her arms around her and gave her a hug and said, “Hey, it's so good to see you. And I'm sorry I don't have more time to talk, but I've got to get out and pick up my daughter.” Well, later that night she got a text from that friend saying, “Thank you so much for stopping and hugging me. I've been in a really hard season of life and it had been a long time since anyone had even touched me.” Those are those small burning bush moments.
And then I was thinking of those that hit you and you don't even realize what they're going to be about. I was thinking back when George Floyd happened and in that weekend and Minneapolis was burning and there was so much need out in the community. There was desperate need for things like formula and diapers and wipes, all those kinds of things.
And in the middle of this all, all Matt Mulberg, who he and I were co-leading at the time, we were physically moving The Table from our original home at Knox Presbyterian Church to down the road on Lyndale to Bethlehem Lutheran. It was Matt and I and Christian, a handful of other people physically doing the move and we're hearing about this need and we look at each other and go, maybe we just do a quick social media post saying, hey, we're going to put a pallet out. If anyone wants to donate, we'll get it to where it needs to go.
I ran home because I lived close by, said, Matt, I'll come back and check on the pallet. Came back and we're talking a parking lot full with no exaggeration. We had to rent a huge moving van that we filled twice with all of those things. That idea that the Spirit had moved and God had done more than we could ever have imagined. But it was hearing the call and responding.
The other thing I want to say about call before we get into the story of Moses is I think it's something we cannot ignore and there's something deep in our soul that lets us know that. And when The Table, you know, 10 years ago we were having this conversation about The Table leaving Christ Presbyterian Church and moving out on their own into the city. We were trying to follow the Spirit's leading in that. And in the midst of all that, and it was hard, but we knew that's where God was taking us. We were keeping our eyes on God, focused on that.
But in that moment of moving, Steve and I were living out in Wayzata at the time. We had built a home, our dream home that we loved. We lived across the street from his brother and sister. We loved the area. But in the middle of that, a large church in Wayzata had reached out to me, a friend knew a friend, and said I was a pastoral care pastor. That was always sort of my sweet spot.
And they reached out and said, can you meet with the senior pastor who wants to talk to you about heading up the pastoral care department? We had an hour meeting schedule we met before, connected. It was amazing. I loved what they were about, who they were. It's my sweet spot. I love it. I'm comfortable in pastoral care. And when he said, I really want you to consider this job.
And then when he called me when I was on vacation two weeks later and said, would you reconsider? I never wavered. That would have been so easy. My life would have been so easy doing that. I could have stayed there. I'd be at a church that had lots of resources. I could have just done my thing. But that is not where God was calling me. And said God was calling me into this space that I was very uncertain of. My dream was not to lead a church. But somewhere in there, God was doing his own thing. And what I can tell you is that 100% I never considered it because I knew that was not where God was calling me. So those calls, they cannot be ignored. And that's an amazing thing.
I think that we've all had those moments. And that the meaning of our life is found in responding and answering that call. That question, what is expected of me? What's demanded of me? And the moment that mysterious call and our response to it happens, I think it allows us to live into our purpose.
So there's a book, I know Maggie loves it too, called The Amen Effect. Rabbi Sharon Brous wrote it. She's got a chapter called Come Alive. And here is what she says when she talks about every human being having moments that they experience this mysterious waiting for them. Here's what Rabbi Brous says:
“Each of us were asked to imagine was brought into this world with some higher purpose. What does this moment demand of me? How am I uniquely able, whether by circumstance or through the cultivation of gifts and abilities, to meet this moment? Our life's work is to hone the spiritual and moral clarity we need to live into our purpose. A purpose unique to each of us and to the time that we live in.”
I love that. And I think it fits beautifully with our Moses text today. Now I just want a little reminder that Moses calls himself an alien living in a foreign land. He's really never had much of a home raised by a Hebrew, his Hebrew mother, adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, given an Egyptian name. And although he tries to intervene to help his kinsfolk, the Hebrews, he ends up murdering an Egyptian and he has to flee for his life. He's kind of made a mess of things. And in the fleeing he ends up at a well in Midian and he's called an Egyptian. He's actually a Hebrew by some women at that well. So we have this son from adopted royalty to shepherding his father-in-law's flock. It's a little less prestigious job than what he had when he was living at the palace, but it's in that place that God meets him. We're in Exodus chapter 3:1-15. It'll be up on the screen:
"Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led his flock beyond the wilderness and came to Mount Oraib, the mountain of God. And there the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush. He looked and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, I must turn aside and look at this great sight, see why the bush is not burned up. And when the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called 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 your 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. And Moses hid his face. He was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, I've observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt. I've heard their cry on account of their task masters. And indeed, I know their sufferings and I've come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.
To the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, the cry of the Israelites has now come to me. I've also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. Now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, who am I? Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? And he said, I will be with you. And this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on the mountain.
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 asked me, well, what's his name? What shall I call them? And God said to Moses, I am who I am. He said further, thus you shall say to the Israelites, I am has sent you, has sent me to you.
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, the God of Jacob has sent me to you. And this is my name forever. And this is my title for all generations.
There's a lot packed into that text. The flashy part is certainly the burning bush, right? But the burning bush is not the heart or the point of the text. What the burning bush is doing is calling Moses' and our attention to the revelation of the God of Israel. And that is the center of this narrative. The center is God. And, you know, prior to this time, no one knew the name of God. This was big. And in ancient times, names meant something. Names held power. And to know the name of God meant that you were moving into a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.
And the substance of God's revelation is this. Contrary to what the Israelites were feeling in that moment, in that existence of oppression and terror, a moment in time where they were wondering, "Where is God?" Contrary to that, the substance of the revelation is that, you know what? God hears your cry. God cares about your comfort. God is concerned about your suffering. That's what the text is about. But in the middle of all that, what I love the most about this text is that I think it's relevant to us today. Because this text is a message about call and response.
Something being called in the name of God. And I think that that call and response is the story of our own lives. It's something being asked of every single one of us in every moment of every day, and it's asked in the name of God. It's asked for the flourishing of God's people. And those burning bushes, they're in our lives. They're throughout our lives. I think those things are the circumstances that interrupt our lives. They interrupt the plans that we have. They make us stop. They cause us to pause, to pay attention when we'd normally be rushing through our busy day. But that's what those burning bushes are. And in the midst of that, they urge us to respond. And it does. It happens in the midst of everyday life.
And that's what happened to Moses, as he was keeping his flock. He was doing what he did every day. What he'd done the week before, the month before that. Because burning bushes show up in our flocks of our daily life, in our partnerships, in our marriages, in the work that we do in this church, in the errands that we run in our household texts, in our parenting. The burning bushes show up over and over again. I think they're everywhere.
In her poem, "Aurora Leigh," Elizabeth Barrett Browning says this, "Earth's crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God." And regardless of how it comes, that burning bush changes everything. It changes our plans. It changes the road that we thought we were on. And like Moses, I don't think we always see it coming. Moses didn't seek God out. He was just pasturing his flock. He never thought it was possible for a bush to burn without being burned up. He never expected or planned to lead the Israelites out of slavery, out of Egypt.
But I think what's important is the burning bush moments are decisive moments. It's always right before us. And I think the risk we take is when we pass it or we avoid it. What if Moses wasn't the first one to see the burning bush? You know, they say that rabbis of old said that there were others that passed that burning bush, but it was only Moses that turned aside. So maybe the burning bush isn't the miracle at all. Maybe the miracle is that Moses turned aside, that he paused, that he looked, and it brought him to a decisive moment in his life. You know what that was? It was a moment when God could do something about the suffering of his people.
And so for us, the question isn't whether there's a burning bush in our life, but it's whether we will turn aside. Pay attention. And if we turn aside, the second part to that is will we respond? Are we willing to respond? God says to Moses, "I've observed the misery of my people. I've heard their cry. I know their suffering, and I've come down to deliver them from the Egyptian." God is coming to rescue God's people, and at that moment, I imagine Moses was like, "This is amazing. I am hopeful. I am filled with joy. God is going to do this. He's going to deliver the Israelites.”
But wait for it, because that's not all God had to say. Because then he says this, "So come. I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt." I think it's easy to imagine Moses saying, "Wait, what? Wait a second. Like, I thought you were going to be doing that work. I don't know. Leave me out of it."
And then we know what he says, what he asks. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?" And that's the big question, isn't it? Who am I? Obviously the ask was a little overwhelming to Moses, because then he questions his own status as the chosen leader. But this is what I love, is that God doesn't reassure Moses. He doesn't tell him, "It's your natural skill. It's your charisma. That's why I've chosen you to lead." No. What he does is he reassures Moses that he's faithful. Moses' faults won't matter.
But here's the promise. I will be with you. I will be with you. And it's that assurance that's enough. God sends a sign solidifying Moses' calling, and the confidence is not in his own human abilities but in the God who sends him. Just like the success of our missions don't depend on our own ability of power or power, but the constant presence of God in our life. God's going to deliver his people, and he's going to do it by sending Moses. And it's Moses who's the one who gives existence to God's call for deliverance. It's Moses who's going to make real and enact God's desire for his people.
So what if that same thing is true of our lives? Because here's what I'd say. Who we are, who we're becoming, is at the very heart of this decisive moment. So the question is, what's interrupting, disrupting, erupting in your life today? What is asking you for a response? What's being called? What's being put on your heart, and how are you going to respond? Because if we can make it to that part where we actually pause and we turn aside, then the response is what's important.
And there's so many things that get in the way of that response, right? Ooh, I don't know if I have what it takes. I don't know if it's the right response. I want to get it right. Is there one right answer? Probably not. There certainly wasn't for Moses, because if you follow his story, there was a few mistakes made. But that doesn't matter.
How did Moses know that he'd get it right? He didn't. He doesn't. But there will be a sign, and the sign God says will come after the people have been delivered, not before. And it's as if God's saying, once you look back, you'll see. You'll understand. And I think that's pretty accurate, an accurate description of our own lives, right? Because we move forward in life, often uncertain, not knowing what's next, but we only begin to understand when we actually look back, and we can see what God was doing all along.
There's no guarantees, friends, as we step into the call, as we respond. But what we can do is we can respond with holding hope. We can respond with loving, with faith in our way forward. Imagine if that's the way we approach those burning bushes of our lives. And what if we saw every common bush afire with God?
I think you could look around and share stories right here, and you'd see how that works. Lori, I was thinking so much of you and how when Lynn got sick with ALS, and you were just grieving the loss of your own spouse, and in that moment, I felt a nudge to ask you, would you ever meet with Giovannellis, walk alongside them? And in the midst of your own grief, there's a call placed on your heart, and you stepped in and walked alongside the Giovannellis. That's the kind of call I'm talking about.
I was thinking about Becca Good and her talents and skills, and how when all the stuff was happening with ICE, and we decided to support our Park Place partners, she stepped up, God had laid something on her heart, and she, along with the Holtes, organized and put a system in place so that we could show up for our neighbors. Over and over again, I've watched people answer a call. And frankly, it's not always easy. I think there's often sacrifice in it. But you've all done it. And I think that's what gives our life meaning. I think that's what God's intent for us is, to step into those things.
The late Jesuit writer Gerald Hughes, from his book, "God, Where Are You," said this, "God is in everything, closer to me than I am myself. God is in every fact, every moment. Everything and everyone is sacred. Every bush is burning. If only we have the eyes to see." I think at the end of the day, every single one of us is a Moses, and our call is to see, to turn aside, to respond. We are followers of Jesus Christ, and the call on our life is to bring the good news, to participate in God's mission for the flourishing of all people. So come, that's what God says, "I will send you." And we might be asking, "Who are we? Who am I to go?" It's the burning bush question that all of us have to ask ourselves.
But within that question, I think there's another question. And maybe it's a little bit of where Moses was coming from, because it had some fear in it. And I think that question is, "What will happen to me? What will happen if I do go?" But I actually think that's the wrong question. I think the question we need to ask is, "What happens if we don't?" What happens if we don't?
I echo Rabbi Brous' words when she says, "Each one of us is a messenger of the Holy One, and whether we realize it or not, we answer that mysterious call, living into our purpose." You know, I think Justin and I try hard from up front. We don't have all the answers. None of us do. But as I was studying this week and prayed about this, it's, boy, close to home. I think the best words of wisdom I can give you all. Trust the journey. Trust in God's faithfulness. I think that's what makes it all matter. Will you pray with me?
Holy and gracious God, you work in ways beyond anything we could hope or imagine. You continue to surprise us. You continue to have us step into things that we would have never dreamed of. But God, every step of the way, you've been faithful. You've been faithful in all of the hills and valleys. You've been faithful to this community. You've been faithful in our lives. And for that, we are grateful. We're grateful that you are a God who loves us and calls us to love one another. And we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Hey, this is the moment that I get to invite the last of our speakers, someone that's very familiar to you all who has her own amazing story. Please welcome Maggie Keller.
Hills & Valleys Story
Maggie Keller: Well, good morning, everybody. When I read the text for this morning, I just became like instantly envious of Moses because I used to pray for that kind of really big burning bush moment, or at least the clarity that comes with that burning bush moment. I have loved Jesus and loved the church for as long as I can remember. But the church that I grew up in, I didn't see women preaching on Sundays, and I didn't see women teaching adult men. But even so, that church also told me that I could be anything that God called me to be.
And somewhere along the way, I caught this idea that God did have big plans for my life, and my job was to listen close enough or discern hard enough to figure out what plan was going to be. But I never got a burning bush, but I can trace the movement of the Spirit through the journey, as Debbie talked about, through those little moments along the way, so I'd like to share a couple of those with you.
I was 12 years old at summer camp, and the camp speaker prophesied over my cabin mate Sami and told her she was going to be a missionary. And I thought, "Oh, I just wish that someone would prophesy over me, because then I would know, then I'll know what God wants me to do with my life."
I was 18, and I was walking down the dorm of my college, and someone popped out and said, "Hi, I'm Steph. I'm a Bible theology major, and I'm going to be a pastor when I grow up." And I thought, "Can women do that?" But the Spirit was already whispering to me through this new friend about possibilities that I had just never even imagined for myself.
I was 23 and on my very first date with Jonathan Keller, and he just casually told me that both of his parents were Lutheran pastors, both his mom and his dad. And then later that same year, he invited me to his church, which at the time was called The Table at Christ Presbyterian, and I heard a woman preach a Sunday morning sermon for the very first time, and it was Debbie Manning. Once again, the Spirit was leading me both into a family and a church community in which women pastors were expected and affirmed.
I was 28 and pregnant with our third child. Jon was teaching like adult Sunday school at that other church, but then his travel schedule for work really picked up, and he got really busy. And so the pastor asked me if I would fill in for Jon as a teacher, and I thought, "I can teach men here?" And the answer, the reply, felt like it came right from the Spirit. "Yes, you can. We believe that you can do this."
I was 29 when I was invited to preach for the first time. I prepped and I researched for weeks, and Jon and our parents sat in the front row, and then later that night when it was just us, Jon took my hand and he said, "I feel like I watched the Spirit do something really important tonight, and I think you need to pay attention to how the spirit is leading." Well, the Spirit kept leading, and I just kept saying yes.
I was 32 when I was offered a spot here on the table team, doing communications, websites, social media. This place had already been my church home for like 10 years. That was my easiest yet. But the Spirit used that yes to put me on a team with people who also love Jesus and love the church and the opportunity to do ministry alongside these really gifted people.
I was 35 when our youngest child went off to preschool, and I started asking myself the question, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" And so I met with Nancy Hirschfeld, whose story you heard a couple of weeks ago. Nancy is full of wisdom and lots of years of experience helping people discern their next career moves. And Nancy asked me this really important question. She said, "What are the times in your life when you have felt most alive?" So I thought about that question, but it didn't take long, and it felt like a movie reel started to play through my mind of my most alive moments:
I remember sitting with my old colleague, Melissa. She had been in labor for days, and she was exhausted, and I felt this nudge from the spirit to go to her office and go just check in on her. And so I went in, and we prayed together, and we cried together, and I didn't do anything to fix her situation. I just kind of showed up.
I remember sitting with my friend, Allison, as she told me about her journey with mental health and being betrayed by church people, people she thought were friends. And again, I didn't fix anything. I just sat with her.
I remember holding my grandma's hand as she transitioned out of this life and into the next. Those were holy and precious days, and heaven felt just so near.
It was actually Patti Kratzer who gave me language for this posture. She called it sitting knee to knee with someone. I'm not fixing anything. I'm just showing up and offering a compassionate witness. And the spirit led me to those moments, and I think it just took bravery, I guess, to say, "Yes, I'll do this thing that could be awkward, but I'll just show up anyways."
I still had lots and lots of questions, and to be honest, those questions aren't necessarily answered yet. What is the end goal? Is it chaplaincy in a hospital or a hospice? Is it pastoral ministry? Do I go for ordination? How am I going to get there? And how do I balance whatever this calling is with the work that I do here at the table and with my four kids, raising my kids who are still so young? All through the process, Jon just kept telling me, "You don't have to know it all now. Just take the next right step."
I was 36. I was sitting at Caribou at 46th and Nicollet, and I turned to Debbie, and I said, "I think the next right step is for me to go to seminary." And Debbie, you didn't miss a beat. This is the only time I'm ever going to imitate Debbie Manning. She goes, "Oh, Maggie! I wouldn't even think twice. Go to seminary." 36 was a really big year for me. I went through training to start doing pre-marriage counseling with couples. I also became licensed that year, and I started officiating weddings. Later that year, I applied to Luther Seminary in St. Paul, and I received a full scholarship.
I was 37 when I started taking one class at a time, and a couple of weeks later, I was commissioned by this community. You prayed over me, and you blessed me for this seminary journey for as long as it takes, and it's going to take a really long time. There is no way that I would be working on an MDiv if it weren't for The Table. There's no Maggie in seminary without this community. As individuals and just collectively, you beautiful, faithful people have believed in me and prayed over me and encouraged me. You've given me opportunities to try new things, and you've given me feedback so that I get better. When I was young, I prayed for the certainty of that one big burning bush moment, and I didn't get the certainty, and I didn't get the one big bush. But just look at all the little burning bushes along the way.
When I look back now, I couldn't see it then, but God has called me to lead, and what that's going to look like, and in what capacity, it's all still a little foggy, to be honest. But just as Justin preached last week, God has always been faithful, and it's just up to me to keep taking the next right step. So I feel such gratitude to all of you, and I just want to end with a really big thank you for loving and supporting me. Thanks.
Words of Institution
Justin: Thank you, Maggie, and thank you, Debbie, for such a great sermon today.
When God places a call on our lives, it always comes with a promise, and we saw that in the text today. He said, "I am with you wherever you go." We saw that in Moses' life. We see that in Jesus' life as well, from the wilderness experience he had to the cross. Jesus relied on God, God's presence, God's faithfulness throughout his ministry, and that same promise is for us as well.
And when we come to this communion table, we do so with the reminder that God is with us on the journey. Jesus has entered the human experience, suffered alongside us, healed the sick, gave help to the broken, and showed us who God is and what God is like. And so whatever God would be calling you to this morning, no matter how anxious or excited you are, no matter how simple or insurmountable the journey may seem, know and trust that God is with you on this journey and you don't walk alone.
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread and he broke it. And he said, "This is my body given for you. Take and eat in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup and said, "This is the blood of my new covenant, as often as you drink of it, drink in remembrance of me."
So as we prepare our hearts to come forward for communion, just a few logistical reminders. If you are seated in front of the orange tape line in the aisle, you'll come down to the front station. If you are behind the orange tape line, you'll go to the station in the back. We practice an open table here, which means anyone and everyone can come forward. You'll come and dip your gluten-free bread into juice, consume it, and then return to your seat. And if there's any way that we can pray with you or pray for you, I will be standing in the back corner and I'd be happy to pray with you. So with that, if you'll stand in body or in spirit, and we'll pray together as Jesus taught us to pray, saying, "Our God, our God."