+ 22nd Sunday after Pentecost – November 9th, 2025 +
Series C: Exodus 3:1-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, 13-17; Luke 20:27-40
Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church
Milton, WA
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the story of the Scriptures, the word holy is like coffee shops in the Pacific Northwest: you’ll find holiness on every corner of every street as you travel the highway of God’s Word. From God’s holy sabbath rest on the seventh day of creation, to the holy of holies in the tabernacle, to the angels crying out holy, holy, holy around the Lamb’s throne in Revelation, there’s God in his holiness.
And, as Moses quickly discovers in the wilderness, God’s holiness is a matter of proximity.
The dust and rocks around the burning bush were holy. Why? Not because Moses worked some magic in the wilderness. Yahweh was there. It was holy ground. The secret fire of God’s holy presence burned within that bush. And yet it was not consumed. Just as all who take refuge in the wood of the cross of Christ are not consumed, yet touched with holy fire from Mt. Calvary.
Later on, when YHWH instructed Moses to build the tabernacle… wood, fabric, furnishings, ark of the covenant, along with the whole tabernacle, were holy. Why? Not because of the handiwork of Israelite craftsmen or the hands of the sons of Aaron and Levi. Yahweh was there. And that meant everything in and around the tabernacle was holy.
God’s holiness is a matter of proximity. Where God is. Where he speaks. Where he places his name. Where he promises to be. Where he resides. That person. Place. Thing. Is holy because he is holy.
Moses learns this first hand…or shall we say, foot. Take your sandals off your feet. For this place where you are standing is holy ground.
Holy presence. Holy fire. Holy words. I AM the God of your father. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Who does Moses see and hear? The Angel of the Lord. The Malak YHWH. Christ before his incarnation. Moses sees a theophany of Christ.
But there’s a problem. Moses is afraid. He hides his face. He bows to the ground. He dare not look. The secret fire of God’s holiness reveals something in Moses. Before God, Moses realizes that he is wholly unholy.
In Moses’ sin and unholiness we see our own. The fire of that burning bush burns too hot to approach on our own. Too scorching with the sacred for sinners to draw near in safety with our own hands and hearts. Like Adam and Eve try and cover our shame and guilt on our own. But the fig leaves can’t hide our unholiness. And like Moses we’re afraid. We hide our face. We bow down. And we expect the flames of holy fire to consume us. And they do. Not in wrath, but in a blaze of mercy and grace.
Think of God’s holiness like Aslan in Narnia. God is holy. He’s not tame. And He’s not safe. But he is good. And all good comes from Him.
Apart from Christ, God’s holiness is not safe. Moses learned that in the wilderness. The burning bush was not consumed. And neither was Moses, though he certainly deserved it.
Instead of swallowing Moses in the inferno, Christ in the burning bush sets the wilderness – and Moses’ ears – ablaze with a word and promise that spreads like wildfire.
I have seen the affliction of my people. I know their sufferings. I have come down to deliver them. For I AM. I AM the God of the living. I AM the God of your fathers.
Good for Moses, but what about us? What about our unholiness? What about our afflictions? Our sufferings? Will God deliver us?
In our fears, shame, guilt, sin, suffering, affliction, and death, what does God do?
Christ hears our afflictions. Christ knows our suffering.
Christ comes down. And he makes those fears, all our suffering, every last sin of thought, word, and deed his own. He lets all our unholiness and flames consume him to save you.
On another tree in the wilderness just outside Jerusalem, Christ appears in the fire once again where he is consumed and crucified for you. Just as he did for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Christ steps into the fiery furnace to deliver you. Christ’s cross is a forge, where he hammers and toils with wood and nail to shield you. Christ’s cross is a holy conflagration where Jesus is swallowed up by all our sin and death and unholiness.
And where Christ is. Where he speaks. Places his name. Promises to be. There’s his holiness. The holiness we lack, Jesus shares freely. He brings you here. To holy ground in his holy church filled with the warmth and fire of holy gifts.
Holy word that sets hearts afire with his steadfast love.
The Holy Spirit to keep us, faintly burning wicks, kindled in the faith through holy gifts.
Holy Baptism: brands his holy name upon you.
Holy Absolution: a holy ablation of all your sins.
Holy Supper: consume what is holy to bring you healing, holiness, and forgiveness.
Holy Words with a holy and certain promise. The great I AM of the burning bush is also the one who says to you, I AM the Resurrection and the Life. And in Jesus you are declared holy and righteous.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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