Exodus 3:1-15

The burning bush begins a new chapter in the history of Judaism. We have authors far removed from the authors of Genesis. Yet, we still have the tradition of “Here I am”, the tradition of hospitality that you respond to any call by being available. We also see that another tradition, remembering certain ancestors, referencing their stories to and associating yourself with those heroes. In that tradition, Moses expresses humility. He can't accomplish this goal on his own, but with “God”, a metaphor for community and the values of his culture, he can. The language here is that of the hero. The goal is in the future, but it is already being spoken of as if it is accomplished. Doubt will only slow you down. Stand firmly with the past behind you, looking forward with confidence.

The words “I AM WHO I AM” are discussed extensively if you are interested. The Hebrew does not translate easily. It's a move toward monotheism, but as we'll see, polytheism sticks around for a few centuries.

Jeremiah 15:15-21

Jeremiah makes a cameo appearance this year with this odd bit of questioning God. There is a bit of a parallel to the Moses story, but the value of this passage is not entirely clear. It may be hard to see out of context, but this is an acceptable form of worship; to lament and cry out “why”. When you see evil, it should make you ask that question. It's not all about being thankful all the time, sometimes it's about petitioning and complaining. To help his case, he reminds God of all the things he has done. “Eating” God's words means he lived them, he walked the walk.

God does not respond with pleasantry either. Shaking your fist at the stars usually doesn't result in the stars coming down and lighting your way. It's you that needs to “utter what is precious”, it's you who needs to stick to what you believe is right, not go off and join the ones who are beating you down. God never said it would be easy. No one ever said life is fair. Well, okay, you could find some verses where God did say that. Even here, there are promises of things working out in the end. Promises that we, with hindsight, know are not fulfilled. The Bible is big on promises, but they also come with a dose of human responsibility. A statement of how it is in our hands.

Romans 12:9-21

With little skipping of verses, we continue to move through the book of Romans. The build up on the foundation of Paul's Biblical studies is reaching a crescendo with these proclamations on love. The word “hate” comes in early, but it is hate of evil, and later he says, “do not repay anyone evil for evil” and “live peaceably with all”. This list is more clear and consistent than most of the Sermon on the Mount.

Then we have, “it is written”. This appears to be some classic vengeful God stuff from Deuteronomy 32:35. Paul would have believed that Deuteronomy was part of the Torah, part of the law that came straight from God via Moses and not something written by Priests after the 1st Temple period, which of course is exactly what it is. He would have felt compelled to incorporate the vengeful OT God into anything he said. And those hearing him would have noticed if he didn't.

The “No” at the beginning of the final verse is a bit confusing. The word from the Latin Vulgate might be better translated to “but”, or as my NIV Bible says, “on the contrary”. This seems to be the spirit of using the line from Proverbs, since it contradicts vengeance. And I hope no one takes “burning coals on their heads” literally. An act of mercy in a time of war can turn the tides of hate and future violence. When the enemy sees you are not the demon that their leaders told them you are, they will bring that home and share it. At least we hope so. The “burning” then is a changing of the mind.

Matthew 16:21-28

In the book of Mark, we get no hint of Jesus having this plan, or knowing he would be raised. In Matthew, we're not even in Jerusalem yet and we already hear about it. Peter, one of his best apostles, tries to thwart the plan, like apostles often do. I sometimes wonder why the apostles have such a great reputation, they are constantly playing the part of gate keepers and maintainers of the old ways. They always want the easy way out, or to maintain the status quo.

Jesus has to explain to them how to be leaders. This is one of the roles of the characters, show bad leadership so Jesus can correct them. This passage gets twisted into a directive to deny yourself, and actually those words are in there, so it's not surprising. A discussion on just what it means to sacrifice is a little beyond my scope here, maybe I'll do that somewhere separately, or you might be able to find it yourself, or make it a discussion topic and see what those around you think.

In as few words as possible; except in extreme cases, sacrificing yourself completely is not what we really need from you. We need you to live to fight another day. You need you to do the work of matching your talents to the needs of your community, of listening to the world and what it is calling you to do. That is then your purpose, your “cross to bear”, and it is up to you to decide how to prioritize your life so you can remain healthy and happy enough to bear that cross, to fulfill that purpose. What this passages offers is, that work is its own reward, and it is the reward of your life. It may not have much return on investment in the short run, but it is the bargain of a lifetime.