Sunday, August 17: Fire

The angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.  Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.”  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 3:1-3)

There is something powerful and uncontrollable about fire.  Wildfires are racing across Canada, Europe and the western United States, laying bare whole communities and forests.  It blankets us with smoke.  It seems unstoppable.

But in the third chapter of Exodus, the bush is not consumed.  The wildfire does not spread.  This is not an example of God as a cleansing or unstoppable force.  It is something else. 

The rabbis say that the miracle is not that the bush burned and wasn’t consumed.  The miracle is that Moses “turned aside to look at this great sight.”  Moses noticed.  He noticed not only that the bush was aflame, but also that it was not being consumed. He had to look at it carefully for a time to see that.  It’s only when Moses turned away from what he was doing (tending his father-in-law’s flocks) and gave his full attention to the fire that God spoke to him.

Are we able to turn away for a time and focus on God?  To listen for God’s voice?  To notice the wonders God places in our way?  Can we take a moment to receive what God is trying to give to us, and consider it so attentively, that we can be changed by it.

Try This Sense Activity:

Light a candle (or campfire) and take several moments to sit with the flame in stillness and quiet, giving it your full attention.  Watch the flame’s movement.   Listen for the sound of the Spirit’s voice.  You may just hear it.