Exodus 3:1-12; Matthew 28:18-20
From the first, it seemed like an impossible task. A fugitive from justice who had become a shepherd and son-in-law of a Midianite priest was called by God to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt. Moses was out tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro one day, just minding his own business, when he came to Horeb, which happened to be the mountain of God. And while he was there, an angel appeared to Moses in flames of fire from a bush that was on fire but did not burn up. Moses was intrigued by this strange sight, so he walked closer to the bush to try and figure out what exactly was going on. And that was when he heard the voice of God.
God called out to Moses from within that burning bush, just repeating his name, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses did the only thing he could, which was to answer, “Here I am.” Then God told Moses he had to stop where he was, because he was standing on holy ground; he had to remove his sandals to stand there. Then God made it clear who he was; after all, this was in an ancient culture where there were many gods, and God wanted Moses to know that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the one true God. Moses heard that, and hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. I think I might be afraid, too!
Then God moved on to the reason for this conversation. God had a job for Moses. God had become aware of the suffering of his people at the hands of the Egyptians. His people had been slaves for many years, but their situation had become worse and worse, and so God was going to rescue them from the Egyptians and give them the land that currently belonged to the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. To accomplish that, God was going to send Moses to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.
Now, Moses must have had a lot of thoughts going through his head by that point. First of all, Pharaoh would not be eager to see his work force walk out of Egypt; who would construct his pyramids and other buildings if the slaves were gone? And then there was the matter of what would happen when the Israelites got to the Promised Land. It wasn’t likely that the current inhabitants would just hand over their land to these freed slaves just because God said they could have it. There was bound to be fighting involved. It was just overwhelming.
So Moses answered God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God answered, “I will be with you.” God’s presence would be enough to supply what Moses needed to do the job. Whatever was required to free the Hebrew slaves and take them to their new home, God would take care of it. Moses just had to say “yes” to his role as deliverer and leader, and trust God to be with him all the way.
Of course, we know that Moses had other excuses for not taking on this mission, but God finally persuaded him to go. And God surely was with him all the way to the border of the land of Canaan, where Moses’s journey came to an end and Joshua took over leading the people. God was with Moses when he confronted Pharaoh to demand that he release the Israelites and when Moses warned him of the coming plagues. God was with Moses during the Passover. God was with Moses when the people were trapped beside the Red Sea when Pharaoh’s army pursued them, and God was there to part the waters so that they could cross on dry land. God was with Moses when the people complained about the lack of food and water. And God was with Moses when he brought the Ten Commandments down from the mountain to find the people worshiping a golden calf. God was with Moses when he had to act as judge when there were disputes among the people. And God was with Moses when he gave him all the laws that would regulate the life of the people. God kept his promise to be with Moses.
Skip ahead a few thousand years. Jesus is standing with his disciples on a mountain in Galilee, where he had sent word for them to meet him following his resurrection. There the disciples worshiped him, though it says that some doubted. And then Jesus gave them what we have come to call the Great Commission. Another seemingly impossible task. They were to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing those who converted in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that Jesus had commanded them. And Jesus promised to be with them to the end of the age.
We know that, after Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came on the disciples, that they did scatter to places all around the world, as far away as India and Spain, and as near as Palestine. Some were persecuted for being followers of Christ. Some founded churches and stayed to lead them. Others were traveling preachers. Some were put to death, like James and Peter. Others were tortured. But all would say that Jesus was with them to the end of their lives.
In fact, when Jesus came to this earth, he came as Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” We know that God is with us in a great variety of ways. There have been Christians over the centuries who have seen visions of Christ; others have reported hearing his voice. Others have sensed Christ through feelings of peace or joy that are beyond anything they could express through words. Still others have experienced God’s presence through music, words of Scripture, or an encounter with a friend or even a stranger. Jesus said that we would have the Holy Spirit with us, and many Christians feel God’s presence through that Spirit.
I have had church members talk to me a lot over the years about their experiences of knowing that God was with them, in both good times and very hard times. People have felt God’s presence when they proposed marriage or when they accepted a marriage proposal. They have experienced the closeness of God during the birth of a child. Some have said they knew that God was with them during a difficult job interview or a challenging day at work. Many have said they felt God’s presence when they were facing serious illnesses like cancer, going through treatments or surgeries. And others have said that they knew God walked with them through the death of a loved one.
I would have to say that one of the most transformative times of my life was the five years of my mother’s illness before her death from cancer at age 60. She knew that God was with her through this battle, and she openly talked about that with her family and her church family. She would say that she knew she could never get through the surgeries and treatments without God’s help. She read the Bible and prayed often, and read other religious books, including the entire set of William Barclay’s commentaries on the Bible. In fact, at her funeral her pastor called her a self-taught Biblical scholar. My mom knew Jesus was her friend, someone who was right beside her in the chemo lab and the hospital room. For her, faith was simple. She used to say that she wished she understood all the things that I did from going to seminary, all the theology and complicated matters. And I would say that I wished my faith was as simple as hers.
I knew that God was with me during those years, too, even when I wasn’t sure I felt his presence. I was hanging on by a thread some days, trying to do my job and also be supportive to my mom and my dad. I made it my mission to be whatever my mom needed me to be, to talk or not talk about what was going on. I had seen in my work too many cancer patients with no one to talk to about their fears or their realities because their families would not face up to the facts of their situation. I was not going to let my mom go through this alone. So when we knew that the outcome was not going to be a cure, I let her know that whatever she wanted to talk about, I would listen. And we had some of the most wonderful conversations. And God was right there in the middle of them.
God is with us all the time. God is with us when we celebrate the good things in life – graduations, weddings, new babies, new jobs, new homes, reconciliations, mission projects, church growth, reunions, homecomings, special worship services, and all the rest. But maybe God is with us even closer when we are going through the worst life has to offer – broken relationships, serious illnesses, terminal prognoses, children in trouble, addiction, violence, church decline, family feuds, unemployment, financial stress, legal trouble. To know that we are not alone in the worst of times can make all the difference; we know that we are loved and cared for, even if there is no person who is demonstrating that, because we have a God who calls us his child.
God promises, “I am with you.” There are no limits, no conditions, no qualifications. Just, “I am with you.” So journey with confidence in your travel companion. God will never let you go it alone.
