David Bahn – Reflections

I had a glitch with this post so I’m reposting it. Nothing new here, just a repost of today’s blog.

 

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Acts 7:1, 30-43

And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” ² And Stephen said:

“Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. ³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. ³³ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. ³⁴ I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

³⁵ “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. ³⁶ This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. ³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ ³⁸ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. ³⁹ Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, ⁴⁰ saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ ⁴¹ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. ⁴² But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
⁴³ You took up the tent of Moloch
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

I love caller ID. When I get a phone call from “Unknown,” I gladly let it go to voicemail. If they need to talk with me, they can leave a message. Most often times they don’t. There are, however, some times I’ll answer because I’m expecting a call from someone and that someone might be Richard Richardson or whatever name shows up on the caller ID. It’s just helpful to know who’s calling. 

Not too long ago I was having a conversation with a member of a congregation I was serving at the time. There came a theological issue to which I truly needed to speak. The gentleman was claiming that an idea or practice he believed in was the only way properly to be true to our identity. Theologically he was mistaken. I confronted him, “You don’t really believe that.” 

“Yes I do,” he replied.

“You don’t mean that. That’s just not true to our theology,” In insisted. 

I later learned that his son was a pastor and he was espousing the ideas his son was claiming to be true. Or at least that was this man’s understanding of it. It’s helpful to realize that even though I’m talking (in person or on the phone) with someone I think I know, I may not really know who that person really is. 

And who someone really is matters. 

Moses needed to know who was talking with him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the burning bush. It was vital because he was to have a major assignment: leading God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. God made it clear. The Lord said, “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.” Gulp. And Moses [understandably] trembled and did not dare to look. 

Humans may have good ideas. I may need to speak with someone. I may need even to contradict what they are saying. But if it’s God, I’d better be doing more listening than speaking. And as I listen, I must listen with fear and trembling, faith and love, humility and trust. For God may have an assignment for me. In fact he does. His assignment for all of us is to love him first and most, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. As his children, we are also sent – not to Egypt, but wherever we go – with the message of his grace and truth in Jesus. Let’s listen well, fear, love, and trust him, and obey when he calls. 

PS: I’m writing this at Camp Lone Star just outside of LaGrange, Texas. Twenty-two years ago I was here for this same conference when I saw the jets fly into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. It’s a solemn memory that is vivid yet today. Lord have mercy and heal our world from this evil.