"Calling People" Exodus 3:11-15; John 11: 17-27

I had a chance to do some really neat things while on Clergy Renewal:  hike in Ghost Ranch, NM; go up on the tram to walk in the snow near Salt Lake City; hike up to Multnomah Falls in Oregon; watch the fireworks on the 4th at the foot of the Washington Monument; take the tram up the mountain in El Paso to see how closely the borders or New Mexico, Juarez, Mexico and El Paso are; and watch the salmon swim upstream in Seattle, WA (to name just a few things).  But without a doubt, the best thing I did was spend time with people -- some family; some friends I see fairly often; some friends I haven't seen in two decades; all people with whom I had a shared history.  At the end of the Clergy Renewal, the people were what gave that time its shape and meaning.

That should not have surprised me given that the story in Exodus when God confronts Moses is one of my favorite stories.  Generally, I focus on God's answer to Moses' question, "What do I tell people your name is?" because God's answer, "I am who I am" (or "I will be who I will be") is such a great answer.  But, consider what God goes on to say -- "Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations."  Not "God the great," or "God the Almighty," or "God the creator," or "God and fill-in-the-blank with a superlative."  No, God defines God's self the the people with whom he has been in relationship.  Apparently, God's chooses us and values us at the core of who God is.

Sunday we gather around the Lord's Table. When we do so, we proclaim that we do so with all those who have come before, those who come after us, and those who are with in that moment.  Sounds like something God might do!

Peace,

Richard