God's People: Moses & Aaron
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.” 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? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.” But he said, “O my Lord, please send someone else.” 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 fluently; even now he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you his heart will be glad. 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. 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. Take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs.”
The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went; and he met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had charged him. Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs in the sight of the people. The people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had given heed to the Israelites and that he had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. ~ Exodus 4:10-17; 27-31
The next time you say to yourself that vocation is something for ordained or lay church staff and that not anyone sitting in a pew is equipped to lead and service, I'd point you to Moses and his brother, Aaron.
Aaron was Moses' older brother (I've always wondered where he was when Moses was taking his infant ride down the Nile). Aaron was also a Levite - the religious order set apart from the rest of the tribes of the Hebrew people. Basically, the pastor in the family.
So Aaron has a more easily apparent sense of vocation. He understands what it means to be called by God. He doesn't argue when God gives him a job to do.
Yet it isn't Aaron who is called to save the Hebrew people.
It is the stammering, non-clergy, insecure man who has lived outside of the church all these years. He hasn't sat on a council, or served on a committee. He doesn't attend Bible study or show up regularly for worship. He's in an interfaith marriage and has a scandalous past that includes murder and associating with the tormenters of his people. And he can come up easily with all the reasons in the world he shouldn't do what God asks of him - kind of like objections many of us could come up with.
So what does God do? Equips him to lead despite himself.
Makes him leader of a people who he has been a stranger to.
It's easy to think we don't have what it takes to save: that we don't know enough, or have time enough, or speak well enough. It's easy to think God put pastors and deacons and chaplains and elders and vicars and priests and nuns in our churches to be the ones to lead us.
To be the ones to serve FOR us.
But the truth is that God calls each of us into service. And God prepares and equips us in ways that surprise us.
The truth is that God has faith in us even when we don't have it in ourselves.
We probably aren't going to be called to lead a group of people out of slavery.
But we have still been given purpose and a call. And that may be to lead someone out of bondage in one way or another. We all need deliverance from some kind of bondage, and the deliverance comes from One who loves and forgives, and prepares and equips us so that we can be partners in leading this broken world toward freedom that only God can provide.
Prayer: Loving God, you have prepared a place for us at your table. You have prepared a place for us to serve. Be patient with us when we look for ways not to follow your call, and give us the support and strength we need to follow you despite ourselves! Amen.
The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So he went; and he met him at the mountain of God and kissed him. Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him, and all the signs with which he had charged him. Then Moses and Aaron went and assembled all the elders of the Israelites. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses, and performed the signs in the sight of the people. The people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had given heed to the Israelites and that he had seen their misery, they bowed down and worshiped. ~ Exodus 4:10-17; 27-31
The next time you say to yourself that vocation is something for ordained or lay church staff and that not anyone sitting in a pew is equipped to lead and service, I'd point you to Moses and his brother, Aaron.
Aaron was Moses' older brother (I've always wondered where he was when Moses was taking his infant ride down the Nile). Aaron was also a Levite - the religious order set apart from the rest of the tribes of the Hebrew people. Basically, the pastor in the family.
So Aaron has a more easily apparent sense of vocation. He understands what it means to be called by God. He doesn't argue when God gives him a job to do.
Yet it isn't Aaron who is called to save the Hebrew people.
It is the stammering, non-clergy, insecure man who has lived outside of the church all these years. He hasn't sat on a council, or served on a committee. He doesn't attend Bible study or show up regularly for worship. He's in an interfaith marriage and has a scandalous past that includes murder and associating with the tormenters of his people. And he can come up easily with all the reasons in the world he shouldn't do what God asks of him - kind of like objections many of us could come up with.
So what does God do? Equips him to lead despite himself.
Makes him leader of a people who he has been a stranger to.
It's easy to think we don't have what it takes to save: that we don't know enough, or have time enough, or speak well enough. It's easy to think God put pastors and deacons and chaplains and elders and vicars and priests and nuns in our churches to be the ones to lead us.
To be the ones to serve FOR us.
But the truth is that God calls each of us into service. And God prepares and equips us in ways that surprise us.
The truth is that God has faith in us even when we don't have it in ourselves.
We probably aren't going to be called to lead a group of people out of slavery.
But we have still been given purpose and a call. And that may be to lead someone out of bondage in one way or another. We all need deliverance from some kind of bondage, and the deliverance comes from One who loves and forgives, and prepares and equips us so that we can be partners in leading this broken world toward freedom that only God can provide.
Prayer: Loving God, you have prepared a place for us at your table. You have prepared a place for us to serve. Be patient with us when we look for ways not to follow your call, and give us the support and strength we need to follow you despite ourselves! Amen.