March 27
Beloved of Good Shepherd Church,
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
“I’m not your guy.” That’s what Moses said to God when he was asked to take on the very big task of rescuing God’s children from slavery. Moses was pretty sure God had not done a background check on him before asking him to assume such an important role. See, Moses had a past and there were parts of it that were not pretty. Moses was also not terribly confident, well spoken, or skilled. He broke down when God pressed him. “Please, Lord, send someone else.” God got a little hot with him, and said, “Moses, you are my guy, and I’m not sending you alone. Your brother Aaron is going with you, and I am going too!” Moses looked up, his face streaked with fearful tears, “Oh, you’re going?” “Yes,” said God. “And Aaron too?” “Yes, Moses, Aaron and I are both going.” “Oh. Well, said Moses, let me go talk to my father-in-law.”
I think Moses’ humility was one of the things that caused God to use him. God knows all about Moses’ past, and he doesn’t appear to be bothered by anything Moses has done or left undone. Moses is the man for the big job because he is the one guy who doesn’t want the big job. He is humble. Humble people know who they are and they know who they’re not. “They take neither fame nor blame very seriously.” They are simply curious about being helpful and treating others well. The humble ones among us are used by God for the purpose of love.
Moses and God ended up doing a lot of work together. They had all manner of challenges and disagreements, and they both nearly killed the people they were trying to help several times. But they stuck together because humble people prefer being in relationship to being right.
The relationships we have at Good Shepherd are built on the love we’ve discovered in Jesus. When we love each other well, then we garden for the emergence of humility because people who are well loved don’t live in fear of who they are and who they’re not. Likewise they don’t take fame or blame too seriously because they feel safe and secure in each other’s love. You do such a marvelous job of loving each other, and I am so grateful. I truly believe that the love that cascades out from our parish makes a powerful difference in our community. Thank you for making a difference by the strength of your love.
Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!
Love is all,
Hendree+