Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him 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.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”(Exodus 3:1-10).

During Lent, we are called to put away those things that distract us from God and to come to the presence of our Lord. In our Psalm for this Sunday we pray, “Oh God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you” (Psalm 63:1). We are called to return to the living presence of God in our Lord, Jesus Christ. God reaches out to us and asks us to live a good life by following the example of Jesus. We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give Living water to the thirsty. The burning bush glows bright when we repent of those things in our lives that keep us from the purpose and will of God, when we turn aside. Jesus said, I AM the bread of life; I AM the good shepherd; I AM the light of the world; I AM the living water; I AM the way, the truth and the life; I AM the resurrection and the life. Paul says in Roman 6, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”

“You were taught to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians. 4:22-24). You are called to kneel and bow at church because you believe in the Living presence of God. We proclaim the Gospel that you might hear the voice of God in the burning bush. “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful” (Col. 3:12-15).

Last Sunday, I mentioned that we need to form close relationships in our community. We need to team up with good folks that want to help those in need in our community. The Thrift Shop is a good example of this. Please visit our Thrift Shop on Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday from 12-3. If you can, bring some cloths or jewelry that you are not using to St. John’s. Invite your friends and neighbors to donate, visit, or join us in our ministry.

In Christ’s love,

Fr. Duncan

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