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Throughout the past couple of months the lectionary has presented readings that provide the foundations of the biblical narrative. Last week we heard the beginning of the Book of Exodus. “There arose in Egypt a Pharaoh that did not know Joseph.”

This was a reference not to personal knowledge of Joseph, but to an appreciation for the legacy of Joseph. There arose in Egypt a Pharaoh who did not care to appreciate how God works within the human experience. This resulted both in the enslavement of the Hebrew people and an attempt at genocide.

One unnamed Hebrew mother “feared God.” That is, she did know Joseph. She remembered his legacy. She was attentive to the covenant God had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She appreciated how God works in the human experience. This understanding empowered her to save the life of her son, who would grow up in the security of Pharaoh’s house. He would be called Moses.

In today’s reading we pick up the story of Exodus. Moses has grown to adulthood. He has murdered a man in Egypt. He has fled into the wilderness where he was welcomed (as an Egyptian) into the family of a leading shepherd in the region. He married the man’s daughter and is not working to support the extended family.

“Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.”

This marks a turning point in the life of Moses. Before he encountered the burning bush he was content providing for his family and living a relatively carefree life in the wilderness, far from the stress of Pharaoh’s house. After the burning bush encounter, he was a man partnered with the God. The course of his life would result in the transformation of the whole world.

God continues to work in “Burning Bush Moments.” People of faith sometime tells stories of a moment in their lives when God got their attention in a significant way and called them into partnership with the divine purpose.

Gideon did not see a burning bush. He was threshing wheat in a wine press, hiding from marauders lest they steal his wheat. The Lord called Gideon to defend his people against the Midianites.

The boy Samuel did not see a burning bush. He was a boy asleep in a shrine at Shilo, supporting the work of an old, blind priest. Samuel was asleep when he heard the Lord call his name in the darkness of the shrine, lit only by the dimmest of lamps.

David was a shepherd boy, minding the flock of his father Jesse while his older brothers were in the village meeting with a prophet. A messenger came running over the hill to fetch him. The prophet wanted to meet David. When David came into the village, he met the prophet, and much to his surprise he was anointed with oil. He was told that the Lord had selected him to become the king of Israel.

The stories of “Burning Bush Moments” continue throughout the scripture. Isaiah was in the Temple when he had a vision of the Lord, “high and lifted up.” Jeremiah was looking at an almond tree. Saul fell off a horse and was blinded by a bright light.

Some partner with God as a result of “Burning Bush Moments.” Others partner with God in response to a more subtle call. Have you experienced a Burning Bush Moment in your life?