Curiosity - A Sermon for Sunday September 28, 2025

I am grateful to the youth of our church

for sharing in vulnerability

prayerful concern for the church,

and also words of Hope.

God knows us, deeply,

and God’s desire is to move us

from despair to joy.

We continue to hear God’s Story

through the Narrative Lectionary,

we leave Genesis and move into Exodus,

hearing God’s story with Moses.

God is relational,

the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

and they are promised blessing,

land and descendants.

God speaks - and it happens,

God brings order and beauty out of chaos,

God always keeps God’s promises.

After Jacob and Esau reconciled,

the family grows.

We wont focus on Joseph and his brothers,

but this story is important for understanding the Exodus.

Joseph - one of Jacob’s sons, was a shepherd,

sold into slavery by his brothers.

Joseph was taken into Egypt

and he grew in favour and power in Egypt.

He was instrumental in the nation surviving famine.

Like Jacob and Esau reconciling,

Joseph reconciled with his brothers,

and brought the whole family to Egypt.

The Egyptians welcomed the people Israel.

But a lot can change in 400 years.

Invite reader forward.

A new pharaoh came into power,

one who did not know Joseph,

and viewed the growing number of Israelites

as a problem.

The firstborn sons of Israel were killed.

They were made slaves;

forced labour;

awful conditions,

Bricks without straw,

a bitter and horrible life.

God hears their cries, and God knows their pain.

Let us turn to God’s Word,

to hear what God is saying to us, today.

Narrative lectionary Reading: Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15; 4:10-17

A reading from Exodus.

Chapter 2

  23 After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery and cried out. Their cry for help rose up to God from their slavery. 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them.

Chapter 3

  1 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 Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 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. 3 Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
  7 Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
  13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “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.

Chapter 4

  10 But Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.” 13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, “What of your brother Aaron, the Levite? I know that he can speak well; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you what you shall do. 16 He indeed shall speak for you to the people; he shall serve as a mouth for you, and you shall serve as God for him. 17 Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”

Word of God, word of life.

Thanks be to God.

Sermon

I AM WHO I AM.

The God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob

has a name.

It is a confusing name,

I AM, YHWH in Hebrew.

I AM has sent me to you,

God says to Moses.

There is power in the name of God.

Holding someone’s name gives you power over them.

For example,

if someone calls out “Aaron”

When I hear it,

my head is going to turn.

Similarly,

When God’s name is spoken,

God hears it,

and God turns to us.

We can call on the name of the LORD

in times of praise and joy,

in sorrow and in need,

because there is power in the name of God,

but we can not control God.

Rather, there is a mutuality,

a calling,

and a curiosity

when it comes to our relationship with God.

Moses was doing his every-day thing,

watching the flock.

This story happens after Moses fled Egypt.

Moses had committed murder

against an oppressive Egyptian

who was beating a Hebrew

and word was spreading.

Pharaoh wanted him dead,

perhaps because Moses is a person of justice,

or perhaps because Moses is a Hebrew

taking revenge on an Egyptian.

The Egyptians hated the Hebrews.

Even under their oppressive slavery,

the Hebrews were growing in numbers,

and the Pharaoh, like any

insecure,

tyrannical,

power hungry,

wisdom-lacking,

racist commander,

needed to find a solution

to the problem of the hated outsiders.

Does this sound familiar?

the same story seems to be happening

in various places of the world today.

At the risk of pointing out the obvious,

the Israelites are different than the Egyptians,

and the Egyptians weren’t happy that they were

being outnumbered by these Israelites

who are different than them,

even if they are treated as a lesser people.

Again - this ought to sound familiar

to certain nations in our present day.

Moses, as an infant,

survived the slaughter of innocent babies,

the so-called solution

to the so-called problem of the hated outsiders.

But the bitter and horrible life

that the hated Israelites were living

continued under the Pharoah’s leadership.

God knows Israel,

God hears them,

God understands them.

In your own weariness and pain,

trust and believe - God knows.

God knows.

Little did Moses know

that he would one day be called

to return to this oppressive situation

that he had fled.

Moses would soon be called outside of his

new and comfortable way of life.

I believe God had been preparing Moses all along,

and things really changed for Moses

when curiosity got the better of him.

Moses saw this bush that was burning,

but not being consumed.

He was curious,

and he came in for a closer look.

When God saw that Moses had turned aside in curiosity

to see the burning bush,

then God called to him out of the bush,

"Moses, Moses!”

You see, God uses curiosity.

Through the curiosity,

God establishes relationship,

and it’s not just a relationship with Moses and with Israel,

but with all creation.

With God appearing in the burning bush,

we are given a glimpse into the reality of God,

God’s work,

God’s will,

and God’s presence.

What if Moses was invited

to see creation for how it really is?

What if all creation is burning

with the presence of God?

What if the flame of God’s Spirit is kindled

in every bush, every shrub, tree, plant?

What if that is reality,

and our eyes are simply kept from seeing it?

I encourage you as you leave today,

take a look at the apple tree

and the shrub outside - with curiosity.

With eyes of faith we can see that

they too are aflame with God’s presence.

God’s Spirit enflames and lights up all creation.

All ground is holy ground.

That’s at the root of the name of God - I AM -

it means to be,

to be present,

to be encountered.

God’s name is connected 

with grace and mercy and all creation,

where God encounters us in great love.

Jacob said “Surely the Lord is in this place and I didn’t know it”

Trust and believe that all creation is burning

with the presence of God’s Spirit,

whether you’ve known it or not.

The burning bush seems extraordinary

but it was a normal bush,

and Moses’ eyes were opened to see the flame.

God is found in the normal.

God shows up in the normal.

God’s presence with God’s people

is not just something that happened in biblical times,

God is with us today in our normal.

I don’t know about you,

I don’t imagine Moses to be normal.

When I imagine Moses,

I see Charlton Heston,

and I hear the deep Hollywood-trained voice;

“Let my people go!”

But Moses was not a Hollywood-trained actor.

Moses says to God

“I have never been eloquent…

I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

At the risk of picking on Moses,

it’s like he hears God’s voice and responds:

Here I am - send any one else.

Maybe, if we’re honest,

that’s our response to God’s call too:

Here I am, Lord - please send someone else.

Perhaps Moses is making excuses,

but more likely Moses had a speech impediment

like a stutter.

Not exactly who one might expect to speak for God,

but God calls unlikely people,

unexpected people,

normal people.

In frustration, God sends Moses’ brother, Aaron,

with him

to speak eloquently.

8 times in the first 7 chapters of Exodus,

Moses objects to God’s calling,

and 8 times God responds.

8 times God promises to be with Moses.

God does not promise Moses wealth nor health.

God does not promise Moses the promised land,

God does not promise comfort nor absolute safety:

But God does promise to never leave,

and God promises to free God’s people.

God is here.

God keeps God’s promises.

God is calling you,

and you can say no,

but expect God to keep calling.

God’s promise is release to the captive,

freedom to the oppressed,

God’s promise is to bring the tyrants of this world

down from their thrones

and lift up the lowly.

God does this in and through people like you and me.

God does this,

not always in the extraordinary,

but sometimes beginning with one person,

one conversation,

one call,

with just a bit of curiosity.

In case you’re curious,

God is calling you.

Like Moses, we too might be saying

“Here I am, Lord, send someone else!”

But God is calling you.

God had been preparing Moses all his life,

and it all changed for Moses with curiosity.

God has been preparing you all your life for your call,

and it might all change

with just a bit of curiosity,

and openness to God’s presence.

You might not change the whole world,

but God might just change one moment,

or one life

in you, or through you.

I believe God’s call is found at that place

where your gifts,

skills, talents,

abilities, interested, passions

intersect with the needs of the world.

God is calling you to that intersection.

I’m curious to know where your intersection is.

Trust that Jesus is awake,

and ready to meet you there.

May you go where God calls you.

Don’t argue.

Just go.

Go with a friend like Aaron if you need to,

but go,

because God is out ahead of you.

May you go with a strong trust in our God

who breaks the captive’s chains,

and who crushes the oppressors rod.

and like Moses seeing God in the burning bush,

May you see God’s flame in all creation,

and be curious, and take a closer look,

because God is there.

Thanks be to God. Amen.