1 St. James United Church Exodus 3: 1-12

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1 1 Prayer: Loving God, each of us comes hoping to hear a Word from you; a word of encouragement to strengthen us for the day, a word of blessing to remind us we are yours, a word of challenge to move us forward in our life as disciples, a word of grace to help us know that we are not alone. At the intersection of our need and your persistent searching for us may we meet you and our living be holy ground. Amen Sermon: Every morning he goes down to the beach in search of buried treasure. Cool wet sand between toes, fresh salt air awakening lungs, mind, and soul, stirring gratitude for the gift; life. Metal detector in hand he moves, each step an opening into possibility of treasures not yet discovered. With each pass and gentle waving of the wand, silent magnetic waves reach deep into the sand. Amid the tiny grains of sand that lay like shining diamonds on the ground, too numerous to count, lay tiny bits of metal, fragments of story, memory, history, life. Watching, waiting, hoping for the beep that signals treasure found he searches day in, day out. Some days there is nothing but the simple quiet joy of the journey, the searching itself reward. Some days he comes home bag full of precious blessings; - a coin (perhaps this was all the owner had, and given in exchange for a gift, was used to make another smile), - a ring (bent with age who wore it? Perhaps given as a token of love expressing feelings words could not say), - a child s hairclip (perhaps fashioned by an artist as he remembered with love the child that was his own). Each tiny object found buried in the sand, a treasure, a story, a connecting to lives past lived, loves shared, sufferings endured, hope

2 2 persisting, goodness triumphing, and a continuing in the journey of which we are only a tiny part. There is so much more beyond ourselves, he thinks, and oh for the wonder of such glimpses that treasure-finding moments afford, - glimpses of beauty, blessing, holiness, yet to be discovered beneath our feet, - in-breaking moments of the divine just waiting for us to find them beneath the surface of our living, waiting for us to lift them up, to see, and in the seeing behold the glint of God upon our lives. Searching for treasure, looking, and in the looking to find a precious touch of God upon our lives; there is nothing like it. (pause ) Those unexpected moments of wonder and reverence when God feels so incredibly close, when suddenly we are aware that a power, a strength, a goodness beyond ourselves is present, or when suddenly our hearts are filled with a love so big we don t them large enough to hold it, or when waves of gratitude suddenly wash over us as we float. Those in-breaking moments of holiness when the veil between existence and God is pierced and we know, not by way of reason or explanation, but by grace that God is real. Those inexplicable wonder-filled moments of encounter; we search for them, we pray for them, we yearn for them, the desire to know and feel God. And so we search. Likely that is why many of us are here. And like sand upon the shore, the ground of our living is fertile soil for treasured God-glimpses, for within it, beneath it, within us, lie yet waiting to be unearthed and lifted into the light, bits of brokenness, fragments of love, sparkling moments of joy. We scan our days, God-seeking radar in hand, searching, hoping to find him, waiting to hear a beep, that possibility of transcendence, or at least

3 3 just a quiet whisper of the Spirit, to help us know that God is near. And so we search. (Psalm 42:1) As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. Christian mystics of centuries past have given voice to the delight that is experiencing the presence of God: (St. Ignatius of Loyola 16 th c) Oh, my God, I want to love you, not that I might gain eternal heaven, nor escape eternal hell, but, Lord, to love you just because you are my God!. (Thomas a Kempis 14 th c) Ah, Lord God, thou holy love of my soul, when thou comest into my heart, all that is within me shall rejoice. Thou art my glory and the exultation of my heart: thou are my hope and my refuge (Hildegard of Bingen 11 th c) "The fire has its flame and praises God. The wind blows the flame and praises God. In the voice we hear the word which praises God. And the word, when heard, praises God. So all of creation is a song of praise to God." Those in-breaking divine moments that take our breath away. For me there was standing on the shore of the eastern tip of PEI; nothing but sky and sea stretching out like eternity. How small I am and how great God is. Or there was the birth of our grandson; only God can make something that perfect and fill our hearts with love in an instant.

4 4 Or there was my experience with the Mabelle community in Etibicoke as one phone call, an invitation to be part of something new, lead to a renewed sense of community in our church s neighbourhood as our hearts opened to discover Christ in strangers we were blessed to meet. Or every time I receive Communion; in bread and wine and prayer and community, God is there. These are holy ground moments for me, when, no words being adequate, all I can do is take off my shoes and rest in the presence of God. When have you had a holy ground moment; felt the presence of God break into your heart, your life so as to leave you breathless with wonder? (note on feet) Scripture holds many stories of such holy ground moments: Jacob, enroute to Haran, takes a stone for a pillow, sleeps, and dreams of ladder between earth and heaven with angels going up and down and he hears the voice of God. He marks the place with a stone and names it Bethel, House of God. (Genesis 28) Joshua leads the Hebrew people into the Promised Land. Gather 12 stones, he tells the men, one from each tribe, to mark the place where the where the Lord separated the waters of the Jordan allowing the ark of the covenant to pass. (Joshua 4) The setting of the stone, the building of the Temple, the Holy of Holies the place where God is. Holy ground moments and bits of earth and stone with which to mark the place, the presence and the power of God. That is what churches are; ornate windows, walls, liturgies, prayers, songs, all things to give shape to, mark, and hold within holy ground.

5 5 The church through the centuries has even written creeds and rules for righteous living to further define who stands on holy ground; whose in whose out, whose right or wrong, who is worthy whose not, whose beloved of God and whose not. The history of the church includes a lot of fences. (Pause ) One day out tending the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro, Moses saw an amazing sight; a bush on fire yet not consumed, and out the flames he heard a voice call, Moses, Moses come. The voice was God s. The initiative was God s. The invitation was God s. The invitation into holiness is always God s. Human hands may set the stone, mark the place, decorate the walls and pen the words, but the invitation to holy ground is always God s, and it is for everyone. Such is the radical hospitality of God. When we greet one another with words of joy and acceptance on Sunday mornings (which I love), when we receive the stranger making room for them to bring who they are, when we make room for difference, and sacrifice of self so another may receive, it isn t our welcome that we show (or only ours), it is God s welcome. The invitation into holiness comes from God, and those holy ground moments we find here, they are not our doing they are God s doing. Remember that Easter morning, when the women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus body, what did they find? (stone rolled away, Jesus body gone, He is Risen! ) In rolling away the stone God shattered all monuments of stone that ever sought to mark his place. For in the death and resurrection of Jesus God has moved and taken up residence in the hearts of his people, and in the heart of all creation.

6 6 God is alive and glorified in all things; in every blade for grass, every grain of sand every tear ever shed, every heart broken in grief, every touch of love, every laugh, every prayer, every act of compassion and kindness shown. Indeed the whole creation is holy ground and all things hold within the presence of God. Wouldn t the world be a better place if people could learn to see each other as holy ground? Might wars be fewer if we did so? Might pollution be less, our priorities be different, our energy focus shift if we learned to see environmental concerns as holy ground? Might the way we care for the sick, the elderly, for refugees, the poor be different if we learned to see the lives of all human beings as holy ground? Might we spend our money differently if we learn to see migrant workers, those who work in unsafe foreign sweatshops, and people who work multiple part-time jobs which deny them benefits just to get by, as holy ground? Might our churches be more relevant and engaging, our worship be richer, if we could learn to see the troubles in our communities and the many different ways people s hearts cry out to worship God as holy ground? God called to Moses out of a burning bush, and in taking off his shoes Moses found his calling and his passion for God. Maybe that which we seek today, our passion, is to be found by letting go of our shoes or something else. Come, come, says the Lord. The invitation into holiness is for us; an invitation to walk barefoot with God, to sink our toes in the goodness he gives to us, to walk gently,

7 7 humbly and with reverence upon the earth he has made for us, and to rest in the grace and mercy he offer us. Like every grain of sand upon the shore, beneath each one, a treasure; By grace, every moment, every person, every life holds within it a burning bush, a glint of the Christ-light, the breath of the Holy Spirit, and a glimpse of the face of God, even our own, if we but have eyes and hearts to see it. Amen

8 8 POP: (Remove shoes) O God, you know the struggles of sufferings of your people, hear us as we pray for communities near and far; places where hope seems hard to find, self-worth is easily crushed, and where people live in loneliness and fear. Help us to heal the pain in our communities. Oh God, you have promised your people a good and fruitful land, we pray that our communities may be places where all people can live with dignity; where shelter, food, warmth and friendship be in abundance where all may find acceptance and belonging. God, you care for all your people, we pray for those who build and serve this community through volunteering time and talent, through supporting those in need, caring for those who hurt, and loving those who are alone. Give courage to all who work together for your kingdom of justice, love and peace. God, whose in Christ your Son brings light to even the darkest places, hear us as we pray for dark places in our community where people struggle to feed their families, make ends meet, where families fractured and children cannot find their way.

9 9 Lord Jesus, you wept for the city you loved, ministered and preached in towns, and you walk the streets of our town today. Open our eyes to see you. Give us words to speak of healing, love, acceptance and renewal. Give us hope and tools to build your church as a beacon of hope and blessing in our community. Send us in to the streets in witness and in praise, Intercessions Peter Knight, Nancy Sawyer, Lila Slight, Ruth Harper, Roger Wilson, Vi Histed, Anna Thomson, Miriam Miller, family of Carmen Bisbee Amen

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