RSS FeedNow Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up." When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
"Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
The LORD said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So 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, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "
God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "
Exodus 3:1-15, I Corinthians 10:1-13, Luke 13:1-9 - Proper of the Third Sunday in Lent (year C)
The Bible (New International Version)
The discovery of how to control fire was, for sure, a great advancement for humankind. Until then, fire would appear spontaneously, through hyper-heating of some bushes or as the result of lightening hitting a forest. I imagine the ancient peoples would get desperate with the mortal flames which would soon become widespread and would destroy plantations, woods and towns - killing and vanquishing everything that was in its way.
Sadly, it is noticeable that human beings still cannot dominate fire at all. Large fires, such as the one that burned in Rio das Pedras (here in Rio de Janeiro) and affected our brothers and sisters of Saint Peter's Mission, still can destroy lives and bring sadness and despair wherever they incendiate.
Given the danger fire presents and its devastating character, it is obvious that a bush that burns without being consumed would attract Moses' attention. How can that happen? I imagine he even thought: "if I manage to take control of this fire that does not incendiate the bush, we will have an eternal fire for our own purposes".
And then, Moses went closer to take a look at that phenomenon. I am not sure that I would have the courage to get so close to that fire; but, he did not have much to lose. He had always been an "outsider": an adopted child, accused of murder, a fugitive in a strange land... Moses belonged to the group of people we would not want to have among us. So, it was not a problem for him to take one more risk.
But when he approaches the bush, the Angel of the Lord reveals himself to him, telling him that that place is holy. Holy comes from the Hebrew word kedad (or kadosh), which means "separated". That place was reserved by God for a very important revelation. God calls Moses and urges him to rescue His people, who suffer in Egypt. Moses, the "outlaw" receives this special task of taking God's people from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan.
Under Moses' command, the people cross the sea and the desert. God offers them His rescue and all are "baptized" into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. God still provides them with food and a spiritual beverage to sustain them through this journey... And Christ was the source of all of that, according to St. Paul in today's Epistle reading.
However, the people of God refused to take the shortest path: they became overtaken by addictions, adultery and laziness, thus, tempting the Lord. They forget about God's gift to them; and, they died in scary amounts - victims of their own mistakes and imprudencies.
This is the kernel of Our Lord Jesus Christ's message in today's Gospel reading. Christ is confronted by a group of people who comment on the tragic death of certain Galileans who suffered under Pilate's hands. The Jews, like many people nowadays, believed according to their superstitions, that every time a calamity happened, it was "God's curse". Jesus opened their eyes and showed them that, like all of us, they were sinners and, if we do not repent from our sins, we will die (just like them).
I sincerely believe that this is the most striking reality, which ties me to Jesus Christ's Gospel: I am a sinner. Yes! I am a sinner... And neither these fancy vestments nor my erudition or elevated status makes me better or worse than you. Indeed, nothing does. We are all fallible sinners, and without God's love, we would all be eternally condemned to death.
Death does not necessarily symbolize the end of a human life. Death means all sorts of sufferings through which we are (and will be) submitted. Our body, one day, will die - and this is something every human being knows. Much worse, however, is when we let the possibility of living the fulfillment of the promises that God in Christ has to us die.
Do not be mistaken! God does not turn back on His promises. They will eventually be fulfilled, as we have recited in today's appointed psalm (Benedic anima mea - Psalm 103). Israel sinned, but they ended up arriving at the promised land... Of course, much later than desired, and after nights and nights in the desert, walking in circles and being fustigated by heat and intemperism.
We are also God's people. We declare Christ as our redeemer every Sunday when we recite the creed. We have been baptized and sealed with the mark of Christ, like the Jews who were baptized into Moses in the Red Sea. We taste the spiritual food of the body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ - the new manna and the new drink that empower us spiritually. We are the people of the New Covenant; and, God's promise of a new Canaan - the promised land that we will reach at the end of our lives - is there, and will not be denied to us.
However, it is utterly sad when we let the countless possibilities we have of enjoying the rescue that God provides in our lives die. We are Christ's - that is true - but many times we do not allow Christ to take control of our lives. And then, we perish... We perish in sin, and we end up suffering from the disgusting consequences of not following God's will.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, in the IVth century, also wrote on the burning bush. According to him, God's mystery which brings enlightenment through the fiery bush is similar to God's self-revelation in a cloud to Moses. He does not allow Moses to know him, or to see him. When he asks His name, Moses only hears "I AM WHO I AM". Curiously, even the tetragrammatron used to represent God in Hebrew - YHWH - cannot be pronounced correctly nowadays. Its original pronunciation is lost... However, in the heart of this mystery of letting God in Christ act in our lives we finally get to know Him and to see Him - with spiritual eyes though.Gregory also emphasizes a parallel between the fiery bush and the Blessed Virgin Mary being enlightened by the Holy Spirit and giving birth to Jesus. A simple and fragile bush... A simple and fragile woman... Both filled by the divine light that empowers, blesses and sanctifies.
Jesus Christ is the light of this world. He is light from light, as is stated in the Nicene Creed... And like the Virgin Mary, who, in her simplicity let Christ shine in her womb, we too can live the Christ in our lives, and shine... We will be like the bush: mortal and ordinary - but the flame of Christ will glaze in our lives. The fire of the Spirit will surround us and we will reflect the Christ who lives in us, even if we were "outsiders" in our past, like Moses was. We already know that God will always show us a way out of temptation. We also know our Lord is patient, and like the vineyard owner, he can wait one more year to see if the fig tree will bear fruit. He also waits on us to bear our fruits - the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
We are on the third Sunday in Lent. For three weeks, we have been reflecting on our sins and on what we can do to be better human beings, so we will celebrate Our Lord Jesus Christ's Resurrection with pure hearts, seeking for the dignity of serving Him. We know His promises and we know His love, already. What we are called to do now is to repent from our transgressions and, like the famous song says, let Christ‘s light and the fire of the Spirit shine in our lives.
Let it shine!
Sermon preached at Christ the King, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 03/11/2007.
Further Reading:
Psalm 103
