Ninth Symbol of the Jesse Tree: Moses’ Tablets and Fire

(Long after Joseph and his brothers move to Egypt, a new Pharaoh enslaves the Israelites. But God appears to Moses in a burning bush and calls him to set the captives free and lead them to worship in the wilderness--to worship with all their lives and follow God's way of life.) 

*Ex 3: 1 – 15*
Deut 5;
 Ex 2 – Ex 4:20
Ex 20: 1 – 17  

“Take off your shoes, for you are on Holy ground.” ~God

Holy Ground. A deep and sacred encounter with the divine Creator. 

For the longest time, I thought holy ground moments were for other people. You know, the biblical people who always seem to be in the right place and do the right things—the ones who deserve to encounter God... But Moses was a runaway murderer in exile. Not exactly the perfect chosen one. (see Exodus 2:11-15)

And Moses’ holy ground moment wasn’t limited to a worship space. He was in the middle of nowhere, in a desert, and God caught him by surprise. 

I do think God calls to us during Sunday morning worship. In fact, I think God is especially present whenever we read Scripture or pray, but I also believe God is with us in moments we don’t expect (isn’t that the meaning of Emmanuel? God with us in deep and surprising ways).  

I recently had my own Holy Ground encounter on the side of a road with a bunch of day laborers in South Florida. I was part of a group designed to call young clergy to appreciate cultural diversity, so we woke up early one morning and met outside the Labor Finders office on the streets of Homestead. A local church had been doing this ministry for a while—not to “evangelize people” as objects, but to meet them as people, to be present, gently sharing God’s love through coffee and donuts. Unlike almost everyone there, I do not speak Spanish so I couldn’t communicate well. I was the one who felt like an outsider in a foreign place, so I stood awkwardly by the coffee table and had very short conversations.  Later in the morning, that rickety table became our altar.

We read Jesus’ parable about the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16), confessed our lack of

caring, our blind misunderstanding, and asked for forgiveness. Then we shared the body and blood of Christ to the rhythm of Latino music blaring from the store next-door and the ordinary sounds of street traffic around us. Nadia Bolt-Weber says that “the life-changing seems always bracketed by the mundane” and, indeed, in the ordinary and the diversity in the midst of a people I often do not notice, I received Christ and grace. I learned compassion and experienced God’s grace in a powerful way.  It was holy ground. 

And Advent is a Holy season, so keep your eyes peeled and your heart open.
You never know where and when God will catch your attention.