Holy Ground
Read Exodus 3:1-12.
Every time I read this story, I can't help but think of a bad joke I heard many years ago...so, of course, I'll share it with you...
It seems that Moses was passing through an airport one day when former President George W. Bush was there, too. Mr. Bush saw Moses and told his security detail that he wanted to meet Moses who was, after all, one of his heroes. So Mr. Bush walked up to Moses and introduced himself. Moses just kept walking. Mr. Bush followed behind for a bit, trying to get the great lawgiver's attention, but Moses just kept on walking until Mr. Bush gave up and went about his business. When the former president was gone, one of Moses' companions asked him, "Why wouldn't you talk to the former president?" Moses looked over his shoulder, then said to his friend, "Because the last time I talked to a bush, I wandered in the desert for forty years!"
Insert groans here.
Seriously - have you ever stood on holy ground? And how did you know it was holy ground? Moses is just going about his business—well, what has become his business. He was a prince of Egypt, and now he's a shepherd (an occupation, by the way, which was usually reserved for children). So he's tending the flock, watching sheep, when he ends up on holy ground.
That's often the way it happens. We're going about our day, living our lives, doing what we always do and suddenly there is an infusion of the holy into our lives. I don't think particular places are holy so much as particular moments become holy and make the space holy. The campground where you met Jesus isn't any different than any other piece of land, but what happened there is what makes the space (for you, anyway) holy. The land Moses stood on wasn't special; it was just another piece of the desert. But it was where he encountered God, and that made the land holy.
A former Bishop of mine, Woodie White, was the leader of my first trip to Israel, the Holy Land, in 1995. On the first day, Bishop White preached to us as we were in boats on the Sea of Galilee and while I don't remember the whole sermon, I do remember one thing he said in particular. Since we don't know specifically where a lot of things happened, we count all the land as holy because Jesus was there. He walked there, he lived there, he ate there, he died and rose there. And since we don't know where exactly he laid his head or ate his meals, we count all the land holy.
The same could be said of the places you go in your life. Because he goes with you, every place you go is holy. Because he touches your life, everything you do is holy. He breaks into the daily and redeems the moments—and makes not just the ground but all of life holy.
Welcome to holy ground!
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| "The Burning Bush" at St. Catherine's Monastery (Mount Sinai), Egypt, 2012 |
Every time I read this story, I can't help but think of a bad joke I heard many years ago...so, of course, I'll share it with you...
It seems that Moses was passing through an airport one day when former President George W. Bush was there, too. Mr. Bush saw Moses and told his security detail that he wanted to meet Moses who was, after all, one of his heroes. So Mr. Bush walked up to Moses and introduced himself. Moses just kept walking. Mr. Bush followed behind for a bit, trying to get the great lawgiver's attention, but Moses just kept on walking until Mr. Bush gave up and went about his business. When the former president was gone, one of Moses' companions asked him, "Why wouldn't you talk to the former president?" Moses looked over his shoulder, then said to his friend, "Because the last time I talked to a bush, I wandered in the desert for forty years!"
Insert groans here.
Seriously - have you ever stood on holy ground? And how did you know it was holy ground? Moses is just going about his business—well, what has become his business. He was a prince of Egypt, and now he's a shepherd (an occupation, by the way, which was usually reserved for children). So he's tending the flock, watching sheep, when he ends up on holy ground.
That's often the way it happens. We're going about our day, living our lives, doing what we always do and suddenly there is an infusion of the holy into our lives. I don't think particular places are holy so much as particular moments become holy and make the space holy. The campground where you met Jesus isn't any different than any other piece of land, but what happened there is what makes the space (for you, anyway) holy. The land Moses stood on wasn't special; it was just another piece of the desert. But it was where he encountered God, and that made the land holy.
A former Bishop of mine, Woodie White, was the leader of my first trip to Israel, the Holy Land, in 1995. On the first day, Bishop White preached to us as we were in boats on the Sea of Galilee and while I don't remember the whole sermon, I do remember one thing he said in particular. Since we don't know specifically where a lot of things happened, we count all the land as holy because Jesus was there. He walked there, he lived there, he ate there, he died and rose there. And since we don't know where exactly he laid his head or ate his meals, we count all the land holy.
The same could be said of the places you go in your life. Because he goes with you, every place you go is holy. Because he touches your life, everything you do is holy. He breaks into the daily and redeems the moments—and makes not just the ground but all of life holy.
Welcome to holy ground!
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