Village Shepherd

According to personality indicators such as Myers-Briggs, there are a number of different personality types amongst human beings. One major difference in character traits between different human beings is that some people notice things but others don't.

Some people can drive once to a new destination and thereafter always find their way. Others can drive to the same destination ten times before they're sure of the way, because they're incapable of really noticing the landmarks.

Some people are forever curious about apparent anomalies of nature, like why the water always swirls in the same direction when it goes down a plughole, or why coffee stirred in a cup always swirls the same way. Others never notice either of those things, so don't have the least curiosity about them.

When the police question witnesses about a crime, some people have no recollection whatsoever of relevant details and can't remember whether the suspect was short or tall, dark or fair, fat or thin. Others can remember every tiny detail and thus make much better witnesses.

More worryingly, some of those who are unfortunate enough to see a crime being committed avert their eyes and pretend not to notice. Perhaps because they are afraid of being dragged in and thus becoming responsible, or perhaps they're afraid of being hurt in some way themselves.

Fear is a powerful human motivator and can cause us to react in ways of which we're ashamed after the event, when the terror has subsided.

Throughout the pages of the Bible, human beings have displayed fear when in the presence of God or in the presence of God's angels, and this sometimes causes them to act in ways of which they may later be ashamed. When elderly Sarah heard angels telling her husband Abraham that she would bear a child, she laughed. But when the angels challenged her, asking whether she doubted God, she was so afraid that she denied her laughter.

In the New Testament, when the shepherds in the fields just outside Bethlehem experienced a heavenly choir of angels, they were so terrified that they threw themselves to the ground and hid their faces, rather than gaze upon this celestial sight.

In today's Old Testament story, Moses comes upon the strange sight of a bush which appears to be alight but which fails to burn up. It may indeed have been exactly that, but today at St Catherine's Monastery on Sinai there is a bush which is said to be the descendant of Moses' burning bush and which is covered in flame-like flowers during the flowering season. Moreover, it is said to be the only place in the world where such a bush exists.

If the bush was a flowering bush from that part of the world which looked from a distance as though it was on fire, many people would have passed by without a further glance. They would have failed to notice the bush. If it was a bush which was on fire but not burning up, many people would have been so terrified by the sight that they turned away, not wanting to get involved and thus forced to take responsibility. And also motivated by their fear to get as far away as possible.

But Moses wasn't in either of these categories. He saw what looked like a burning bush and he was intrigued, so he took the time to turn aside for a closer look. The bush was God's signal to him, God's way of calling Moses and when Moses stopped by the bush, God spoke to him.

We're told that when the Lord saw that Moses had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then God said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." God added, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And it wasn't until this point that Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

God needed someone who was able to notice what was going on in the Hebrew world and someone who had sufficient courage to stand up against evil. Moses fulfilled both those criteria and became one of the greatest leaders the Jewish race has ever known. Had Moses turned away from the bush or failed to notice it, we might not be here in church today!

God didn't force his attentions on Moses. God put a sign in place, which Moses may or may not have noticed and may or may not have acknowledged even if he noticed it. It was only after Moses turned aside to see what was happening that God spoke to him and made his requests known.

Sometimes we may be tempted to think that in our modern world God never speaks to us, never asks anything specific of us. But perhaps we fail to see the signs. Perhaps our eyes are not sufficiently open to notice God's signs. Perhaps we fail to see burning bushes or simply ignore them if we do see them. Perhaps we are so convinced that God will never speak to us that we've stopped looking out for his signs. Perhaps if we see his signs we fail to interpret them as signals from God. Perhaps we don't stand still long enough for God to call us. Or perhaps we're afraid that God might ask us to do something which we don't want to do or which is too hard for us.

But anyone who genuinely wants to hear God whatever God's message might be, should make the time and space to listen for God and should begin to train themselves to notice everything around them. Those who notice their surroundings are much more likely to spot God's signals.

So perhaps, like Moses, we Christians should develop the characteristics of curiosity and courage, so that we too are ready to hear God when he calls us.