This Sunday, we have fast-forwarded Moses’ life – last week he was an infant in a reed basket being rescued by the Pharoah’s daughter. This week, he is tending sheep for his father-in-law, minding his own business out near the edge of the desert coming to Mt. Horeb. In between, Moses has grown up as the Pharoah’s grandson who ends up killing another Egyptian when he finds him mistreating one of the Hebrew laborers. Then he runs for his life and ends up in Midian where he marries and now, he tends sheep.
Put yourself in Moses’ sandals – think of a 
beautiful day and you are taking care of this flock. Maybe you are daydreaming. Maybe you are wondering what dinner will be. Maybe you are just enjoying being alone. And then!
You see a burning bush, but the flames aren’t consuming the bush. Your curiosity gets the better of you, and you take tentative steps towards the sight and suddenly you hear your name being called! I’m here you say. Then this voice says I’m God! Like a scene out of “Oh God” or “Bruce Almighty.”
This is Holy Ground – take off your sandals. I’ve seen my people’s suffering and guess what – I’ve selected you to go back to Egypt and confront the Pharoah and demand he let my people go!
What do you say back? What are you thinking? What do you want to say to God? Are you crazy asking me to do this? Moses asks who am I to do this and in the rest of Chapter 3 and 4, he comes up with more questions: The people will want to know so what’s your name? God tells him: I Am who I Am. What?!
Later in Chapter 4 Moses asks what if they don’t believe me. God performs some miracles. Then he says – I don’t speak well – God says I am the one who will give you the words. Moses replies – send someone else! God isn’t happy about that but agrees to let Moses’ brother Aaron accompany him.
Do you notice something – every question Moses asks, God offers reassurance that Godself will be along for the journey – always present, giving Moses everything he needs to do what God is calling him to do. Throughout this journey God has called Moses to – again and again Moses will say yes and surrender to God, meaning he has given up his own personal control, submitting his entire life to God’s will and authority. He accepts God’s call on his life, and God remains faithfully present to not just Moses, but also to the people.
So perhaps surrendering to God leads to accepting God’s call on your life or on this community of faith’s life. Then we find ourselves saying yes to God even with all the questions we might have but hearing repeatedly – I AM who I AM and I AM will be with you.
We will see this in Peter’s journey as well. He just can’t accept that this Messiah – the one that they have been told in Scripture and in voice will be their savior and once again sit on the throne of Israel – is talking about his own death! I think Peter doesn’t hear the part about I will be raised in three days.
Peter simply can’t accept that this is the fate of the one he has just called Messiah! Jesus calls him Satan – which really means adversary. Jesus basically says if you can’t surrender control to God and then accept what God has placed upon my life then you are going against not just me but God! Those who follow me will need to lose their life in order to save it – to take up their own cross. There is a cost to following Jesus and you either accept that cost or not.
Think back on a time when God has called on you – as an individual or as a community of faith – what has been your response? Have you felt that God is on the journey with you? Has there been a cost to accepting God’s call? A cost to reputation, to financial gain, to fear or the feeling of scarcity? What is the cost when you surrender to God? What is the cost of true discipleship?
Think back – how have we been adversaries to the call placed on our lives? Has our faith centered anything or anyone else but Jesus: corrupt power, settling for the easy solution, priding accomplishment over service?
What happens if we think of the call placed on our lives as a way to lead like Moses or even Peter as we will see after Jesus’ death? To take risks, to make hard decisions, to expand our way of thinking about our neighbor, strangers and foreigners? What happens if we remind ourselves that God doesn’t call us and then leave us all alone – God walks with us in this call on our lives – individually and communally. That surrendering our life to God and accepting God’s call can be a positive thing to do.
I firmly believe that hearing and accepting God’s call on the life of this congregation has been demonstrated over and over again in the year of our Lord 2026. We have made hard decisions regarding the land and the building. We undertook a Mission Study that energized and excited us, but I wonder if it has left us feeling like how are we supposed to do all of that? How are we supposed to leave this building and land to go nest with another church? How are we supposed to feel about that? What questions do we keep coming back to and do we trust that God is walking this journey with us? What resistance to this call might we still have that comes out in small and large ways?
Do we trust that our leaders – on Session, on committees, frankly each other – that as we have accepted God’s call, God is helping us fill in the details? Do we trust that? And, if not, why not?
Can we remember that we are indeed a community of faith reminding ourselves that together we are the Body of Christ, called to go where God is calling, and believing for and with one another that the God who calls us will never leave or forsake us.
We are not alone and as leaders we must begin to embrace that belief. We must practice the faith that God has gifted us with trusting that God is our director. There will be days when that doesn’t seem to be true, but that is our fear, our hesitation, our “send someone else!” speaking. Those are the days where we will need to hold up one another being assured of God’s presence.
Remember these people of the Bible were just that – people, just like us. We are Moses, we are Peter and God is I AM who I AM always. Embrace that. Hold on to that. May it be so. Amen.