A Burning Desire (1)
Exodus 3:1-6
2 Timothy 1:6-7
During this past summer it seems that most of the western part of this country has been on fire! Literally, on fire, as forest fires have burned out-of-control, consuming more than 6.5 million acres in the West this year. As one who has never lived in the west, it is difficult to conceive that there could be that many acres of forest to burn. Like many of you, I grew up in a land of water, green grass, leafy trees and plenty of moisture. Though we have our warm days here in Indiana, nothing ever gets hot or dry enough to burst into fire!
Since the days of my youth, I have been intrigued by this story of a bush burning out in the desert. I wondered how could a mere bush get so hot and dry that it could burst into flames? I now understand that the Middle East desert sun can become so scorchingly hot it could have ignited even a dry parched bush and set it on fire. A biologist explains that plants are quietly burning all the time, taking in the sun's light and energy and changing it into living green things. Plants and trees are charged with light and radiating most all the time; we hardly notice, but we count on it for our own life and breath. We have grown to expect this transformation of energy to take place; it is one of the basic processes of life on the planet. The burning bush, then, was not so much a phenomenon, as it was another example of the natural wonder of God.
What is remarkable about this particular burning bush is that it is not burning up, but simply on fire and not consumed. This is what Moses noticed - the bush was aflame with the fire of God but it was not consumed. It was so brilliant and beautiful that Moses could not look at it directly. He says, "I will turn aside and see this great sight."
So it is with many of us. The light of God is so powerful, awesome and intimidating, we cannot accept the full radiance and power of the light head on. We can understand and handle partial light- a sunrise, sunset, or a cloudy day - but the full radiance of the light of God? Give me a hat! Or a pair of really good sunglasses! We protect ourselves from seeing the brilliance of the light. Moses was no exception; he turns aside.
So God calls out of the middle of that burning bush, "Moses! Moses!"
Moses responds with a simple, "Here I am." It is the humble response of the seeker after truth, of the one who understands that you cannot hide from God.
What is it in this text, that leads to Moses' Call to Ministry, that speaks to us on this day as we prepare for the ordination of Jack Cary? For today, like Moses, we stand on holy ground. We gather here today because we sense in Jack a burning desire to know and be known by God. Jack, over the past decade that you have been a licensed minister in the Church of the Brethren, there has been a fire within you - a burning desire to serve Christ and the Church - and yet this fire has not consumed you. Rather, it has refined you and led you to this remarkable day in your life. As you stand on the holy ground of this moment - your ordination into Christian ministry - we give thanks to God for igniting the flame within you and for your burning desire to love and serve God through the church.
There are a couple of spiritual gifts which lie at the heart of this story. I wish to offer these to you as gifts or qualities that we might all embrace for a wise and compassionate life and ministry. These are not exclusive qualities - anyone, ordained or not, can embrace these gifts of the Spirit! These are the gifts of humility and wonder.
First, the gift of humility. Moses received a call from God and responded with utter simplicity and humility, "Here I am." He was present to God and ready for whatever God had in store for him. I am amazed at the trust between God and Moses in this passage. When God tells Moses to come closer, he inches forward. When God tells Moses to remove his sandals, he obeys. And when God says, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." ... Moses believes and responds with utter simplicity and humility.
Jack, you have responded with humility and great openness to God's call in your life. When you were called to serve the West Manchester Church, you made that long drive every weekend. And when God led you back here to Osceola, you responded with humility and openness to where and how you could best serve in this congregation alongside Pastor Don and the other members of the congregation. And when the opportunity came for a mission trip to Venezuela, you went.
Like Moses, continue to be open to God's leading and activity in your ministry. It may come dramatically as the blazing light of revelation, or it may come quietly as a question from a new believer. Approach your ministry and the presence of God without a need for the sensational; but always remain open to the unexpected ways that God may come and be humbled by the mysterious depth of meaning that is discovered in what is very familiar. Let your "Here I am" lead you in worship, prayer, service, and living.
Secondly, there is the gift of wonder. D.H. Lawrence once wrote, "The sense of wonder is our sixth sense and it is a natural religious sense." Moses possessed that sixth sense of wonder. It was this sense of wonder that drew him to the Light of God revealed in the burning bush.
Wonder is essential to our Christian faith and our call to ministry. We are stopped in our tracks by the majesty of God's creation and the gift of life itself. We are filled with wonder, and even awe, that God should place a burning bush in our way or come to use as a babe in a manger or go to the cross or come forth from the tomb.
Lily Tomlin, the comedian, recommends in one of her sketches that we practice "Awe-aerobics." Which is to say that we need to remember to exercise our capacity for wonder and awe, for it is here that miracles happen!
A dear sister in a neighboring congregation recently shared some "Musings From the Back Porch" in her church newsletter: ...I'm sitting here on the back patio ... relaxing and resting and enjoying the wonderful cool breezes and watching the sun set in the Northwest.... She goes on to describe small white fleecy clouds turning a beautiful pink color and a fluorescent green hummingbird at the birdfeeder and the evening songs of the birds and the beauty of a neighbor's cornfield. And then she concludes with these words, What a wonderful, wonderful world our God has made for us to enjoy! One can only sit here on the back porch and marvel at His Greatness and feel the awesomeness of His power and grandeur! (2)
Turning now to Paul's 2nd Letter to Timothy, we find Paul's encouragement to rekindle the gift of God that is within you....
If the forest fires burning in the west had stayed out when they were doused with water and put out, the magnitude of the fires would have been seriously reduced much sooner. But the tendency is for remaining sparks to be rekindled and again ignite into flame. For forest-fire-fighters that is not good. For God's people to rekindle the spark remaining from their burning bush experience is very good. Too many well-intentioned Christians have allowed the passion of their burning bush experience to burn out, never to be rekindled again.
Jack, as we lay hands on you this day - ordaining you to ministry - we do not bestow on you any extraordinary gifts and powers. Rather, we symbolize your sincere willingness and burning desire to use your ordinary gifts for the extraordinary work of ministry. In this holy place and high moment, the passion for ministry is high and the fire is brilliant. But I must tell you, not all days are like this one. There will be days, perhaps even a period of many days, when you will not see the burning bush - indeed, you may question whether or not it was merely a figment of your imagination. And in that moment, the gift of God within you will need to be rekindled. Again and again, throughout our lives, the gift of God within us needs to be rekindled.
Today we consecrate the ordinary gifts that God has given you for the extraordinary work of ministry. And with those ordinary gifts, we also recognize a new spirit that God puts within us.
Throughout the scriptures, from the Old Testament prophets to the Gospels, we frequently read that when God calls forth new leadership they are given a new spirit within.
It is that God-given spirit within that Paul refers to when writing to Timothy: ...God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. As we rekindle the gifts within, we allow the spirit to flow out in the ministry we are about. Jack, as you practice a spirit of discipline that includes prayer, study, and service, your life will become full and rich and will reflect the full radiance of God's love.
There was a Call to Prayer Hymn (#657) in the old red Brethren Hymnal that seems an appropriate prayer for this theme and this occasion:
Temper my spirit, O Lord, Keep it long in the fire;
Make it one with the flame, let it share That up-reaching desire.
Grasp it, Thyself, O my God, Swing it straighter and higher!
Temper my spirit, O Lord, Temper my spirit, O Lord.
May God bless your ministry, Jack, as you rekindle the gift of God that is within you; and as you allow God's fire that burns within, to temper your spirit as you seek to serve Christ and the Church.
Ordination Sermon by Herman Kauffman
Jack Cary Ordination
Osceola Church of the Brethren
September 17, 2000
1. The sermon title and several exerpts are from a sermon by Patricia de Jong, 2/14/99
2. Naomi Baldwin, "Musings From the Back Porch," Syracuse newsletter, September 2000