The Third Sunday in Lent - March 23, 2025

Summary

Mother Suzanne explores the Exodus passage of Moses and the burning bush, emphasizing God's promise, "I will be with you," when we face seemingly impossible challenges. Just as God revealed His name as "I AM WHO I AM" to Moses, He remains present with us today—not as a distant judge, but as near to us as our very breath, naming us as His beloved children.

THE GOSPEL                                                                                                                           Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'" 

Artwork: "The Cursing of the Fig Tree", The image is a piece of Orthodox Christian iconography

Transcript

Mother Suzanne:

Do not be afraid or discouraged for I will go ahead of you. I will be with you. I will neither fail you, and I will certainly not abandon you. In the name of the Triune God, father, son, and Holy Spirit, amen. Please be seated. For most of this week, I have wrestled with the gospel passage because it is certainly my custom to preach the gospel each Sunday. But when I began to write this sermon today, my heart was led to the Exodus passage, Moses and the burning Bush, and his incredible encounter with God. What struck me was how God asked Moses to do something seemingly possible, lead an entire nation of people with all the good and the bad that they bring with them out of slavery from the most powerful, the strongest nation at that time, Egypt. This was no small ask in this interchange where Moses questions any doubts, God gently reminds Moses of this, I'm not asking you to do this alone. I will be with you.

So that began a question in my mind. How often in our own lives do we feel backed into a corner facing something hard, maybe even really painful, or maybe just like Moses feeling overwhelmed with something that feels darn right, impossible. But we know we have to face. It is in these moments, especially that I believe these words from God to us, our reminders that he is with us, that the creator of the universe is with us. For some this morning, you may have found your way to grace to hear just that the God of the universe, the creator of all things is with you not far off watching and judging from above, laughing at mistakes that we make or pointing his finger saying, no, no, no, no, that's not how it works.

Instead, what I would say is that we have a God who is as near to us as our very own breath. Breath is spirit. Spirit is God. Every time we breathe in, we breathe in the spirit of God. Every time we breathe out, the spirit of God leaves us. It is a gentle reminder for us, the created ones, that we are not alone and that we are forever loved. So in today's Old Testament reading, we first learn the meaning of God's name. This God who is indescribable, he names him himself. When he encounters Moses in this bush that's on fire but doesn't get consumed, the name Moses literally means drew out. Why? Well, if you remember, the first encounter that we have with Moses is when he was rescued from the water, drawn out from the water, but by above all people, Pharaoh's daughter. So this Hebrew tiny little baby was adopted into the royal family when the Hebrews were slaves to the Egyptians.

So fast forward to today's gospel. We see that God appears to Moses and what does he do? He commissions this Hebrew raised in the house of Pharaoh to be part of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery under the ruthless hand of Pharaoh himself. But Moses, he feels so underqualified and says, I'm not sure if I can do this God, and I can't say, I really blame Moses for having doubts. And when Moses asks, God, who am I that I should go and do what you have asked to do, God doesn't reassure him of his own competence. No, God doesn't do that. Instead, God responds with something even more powerful, the promise that he will be with him and Moses in all of his humanity says, then God, what if people ask the name of the God who has sent me? What do I say?

And God tells him, tell these people I am who I am has sent you. Wow. In other words, God's name means that He is the one who is and the one who will be, and the one who is. Now God's existence doesn't depend on anyone or anything else. This God simply is, and with this name, God assures Moses that he is always near and that he will go with him. There is power in naming and offering one's name to another. This interchange between Moses and God is a deep reflection of this. When God calls Moses' name, not once, but twice, Moses. Moses, what does Moses say? Here I am. This is a phrase that will be used again and again in biblical call stories. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, they're all called in this way, and so is the mother of Jesus himself.

God does this to Mary. She says, here I am when selected to be the bearer of the Christ child, and just as quickly as Moses responds, here I am, God commands him to take his sandals off because where he is standing is holy ground. This is the ground in which God will become visible. God speaks and God will reveal exactly who he is. It is significant that Moses takes his shoes off and his bare feet touch the ground. Remember, way back in Genesis, all things go back to Genesis. Humans were formed and they were shaped from the soil, the ground, and so were the animals and everything else that was created, and after they were fashioned and formed in God's liking, then guess what? The naming begins the naming of the first humans, Adam and Eve, and then all of the beautiful creatures that God then created.

And the thing is, it doesn't stop here or really begin with Moses and the patterning work of scripture, the pure genius, the way the biblical authors chose to compose the story of God. This is true of his ancestors. They too learned God. By what? By following him, answering the call. Here I am Abraham took off to a new land. Jacob flee God in every way possible only to be called back by God to Father an entire nation. And it will be true of Moses' descendants as well. Simply put to know God, you have to go with God. You have journey with him. You have to be the one to say, here I am, and it is. Through going with him, you discover who he is, what his character is, what the nature of God is, and perhaps most importantly, that wherever you go, he goes to.

We've all been given a name, but our identities have been known by God while we were still in our mother's womb. The I Am Who I am, that name which God calls himself, the I will be who I will be will forever know your name. You can't escape it. We all have our own call stories where we meet God. Some of us have stories where we meet God overtly in our own burning bushes, but most of us, and I say this often, most of us have stories where we meet God quietly, like when we fill a pool or we recognize that we need and desire more, or when we find ourselves in a little church in Alvin, Texas called Grace. We're not really sure how we got here, but we're here.

We find ourselves facing our own mortality, and somehow we call out to God, and by golly, there he is. He answers gently giving you peace. Peace that you cannot describe you. Just know is there leading us to a place that brings new life and joy. Joy that you can't describe other than it just is my friends, the way he answers are endless as Moses was promised thousands of years ago. The same promise is true for us today. God is here, God will be with us, and most importantly, I am who I am is faithful to you, to me, to all those who call on His name, the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is among us. You've been named and you are loved by God, whose names are endless and forever this week as Moses did, when you take your shoes off and your feet touch the bare ground, oh, that's just such a wonderful feeling, isn't it? Remember, you are standing on holy ground because God has made you holy. You've been named as a son or a daughter of God. It is a high calling and it is reserved just for you. Amen.