Saturday, April 01, 2006
From AscensionNYC
Saturday in the Fourth Week of Lent
Psalm 33
Exodus 2:23 - 3:15
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Mark 9:14-29
In the candlelit church, every seat was filled for the Easter Vigil. After a dramatic reading of the Passover story, the congregation stood to sing Hymn 648, which is the spiritual Go Down, Moses. It's a hymn that people seem to know either well or not at all, but it's easy to pick up, especially the response at the end of each line, "let my people go." By the last stanza, that church was rocking, at least to the extent that any Episcopal parish is capable of such a thing. A hymn after a lesson is not supposed to be the highlight of the Great Vigil, but for me that year, I think that it was.
The liberation from Egypt resonates at so many levels, but we're not there yet. We are still near the beginning of the hymn: "The Lord told Moses what to do...tell old Pharaoh to let my people go." When I am having trouble discerning God's voice and how to get from where I am to where I should be (and it happens often), I think that it would be great if God's call in our lives were as clear as the call from the burning bush. God not only told Moses what to do and how to do it, but just in case there was any doubt, he made very clear that, yes, this really was God speaking. God was even visible: Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
While I have never had a burning bush experience, there have been many times when God's presence has been palpable, manifested in many ways. I usually realize it after the fact; like Jacob, I have said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. My prayer is that the Spirit will give me an open mind and an open heart to discern God's call.
Exodus 2:23 - 3:15
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Mark 9:14-29
In the candlelit church, every seat was filled for the Easter Vigil. After a dramatic reading of the Passover story, the congregation stood to sing Hymn 648, which is the spiritual Go Down, Moses. It's a hymn that people seem to know either well or not at all, but it's easy to pick up, especially the response at the end of each line, "let my people go." By the last stanza, that church was rocking, at least to the extent that any Episcopal parish is capable of such a thing. A hymn after a lesson is not supposed to be the highlight of the Great Vigil, but for me that year, I think that it was.
The liberation from Egypt resonates at so many levels, but we're not there yet. We are still near the beginning of the hymn: "The Lord told Moses what to do...tell old Pharaoh to let my people go." When I am having trouble discerning God's voice and how to get from where I am to where I should be (and it happens often), I think that it would be great if God's call in our lives were as clear as the call from the burning bush. God not only told Moses what to do and how to do it, but just in case there was any doubt, he made very clear that, yes, this really was God speaking. God was even visible: Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
While I have never had a burning bush experience, there have been many times when God's presence has been palpable, manifested in many ways. I usually realize it after the fact; like Jacob, I have said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it. My prayer is that the Spirit will give me an open mind and an open heart to discern God's call.
Walter Killmer
