Where Do You See God?
When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ (Exodus 3:4)
We Lutherans are part of what we call a “sacramental” tradition. That means we believe that God can and does participate in the physical stuff of life. We practice this reality every week when we gather, for though we often lose sight of God throughout the week, in the celebration of communion we honor the promise that as we eat from the bread and drink from the cup together, we do so celebrating that Christ is with us in that act. We may miss God’s presence in much of what we do but we gather to be reminded and to engage the God who is present with us – in worship and in life.
The reason we do this is not just to have a special moment with Jesus. Communion is not magic. We do this to re-center our lives and refocus our vision on what matters most. God has promised to love us and be with us “always until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) In baptism we celebrate that we are “united with Christ.” (Romans 6) But in daily life we are pressed by so many things we can lose sight of this.
In the verse above, we see Moses wandering out in the fields where he is working as a shepherd. He’s doing this because he has fled from Egypt where he had killed an Egyptian while defending a Israeli slave who was being mistreated. Suddenly, in the midst of his ordinary and daily life, Moses sees a burning bush and hears God speak to him. On the surface, it is an amazing story. One we may all wish we could experience for ourselves. But underneath, it may just be the stuff of life and something available to us more often than we think. We just need to watch more closely and be more open and receptive to the presence of God in our lives.
This week, take a little time to watch for God around you. On October 10th, Linda and Bill Bailey will help lead a an outing called “Watching for the Holy Through the Lens of a Camera.” It will be a chance to practice watching for God. Whether there or wherever you may find yourself, paying attention to your world may also help you see and hear God as well.
