Ah, the beauty of going barefoot. Standing on holy ground feeling the grass between your toes, what joy. Or imagine being at the beach. Where the cool sand shifts under your weight as it squish between your barefoot toes while the gentle waves lap on your feet. Each step leaves footprints in the sand, marking the place where you have been and pointing the direction to where you were going. Standing barefoot often brings a sense of freedom.
I experimented when I first started to preach. I put my robe on and at the appropriate time, stepped up to the pulpit and delivered the message. As I stood in the pulpit, I slipped off my shoes. There was a wave of holiness that engulfed me standing in the pulpit. There was a sense of groundedness standing barefoot in the pulpit. It felt as if I were standing on holy solid ground of preachers that have gone before me and that I was literally standing on God’s Word. There was a vulnerability standing barefoot before God and allowing God’s Word to rise within me and be proclaimed. The depth of tradition grounded my being. I became aware that God’s very presence was with me as I stood in the holy space of the pulpit and proclaimed the good news of God.
The Scripture
The scripture from Exodus when God called out to Moses from the burning bush intrigues me. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+2%3A23-3%3A7&version=NRSV Can any location be “holy ground?” What was so special about that piece of land on which the burning bush stood? Did Divine energy from the roots of the bush warm the ground on which Moses stood? Was there something significant in the act of removing shoes when intentionally coming before God?
Taking off our shoes is a sign of respect. It is an outward act expressing the interior attitudes of reverence and humility. This like baptism is an outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace and power of God. When we take off our shoes in the presence of God we expresses our deep love for and desire to worship God with the fullness of our lives. This act of submission to God shows we acknowledge that we are not self-made persons. We are reliant upon the grace and mercy of God.
Moses
Removal of Moses’ shoes was an act of obedience. God told him to remove his sandals and Moses obeyed. Moses did not engage God in conversation as to why he should remove his shoes. He did not suggest to God a better way. Listening for and hearing the Word of God invites us to obedience. The question becomes if we are willing and able to heed what is being asked and surrender our control to engage God not just with our words, but with our actions. Moses had to participate in this act of taking off his shoes. It was Moses’ hands which untied the laces of the sandals. It is Moses’ energy that enabled him to bend over and reach his feet. To become obedient to God invites us to be co-creators with God in the unfolding drama of God’s salvation history. Like Moses, we become willing servants as we act upon God’s Word and live God’s instructions. Together, as Divine Leader and faithful follower, we are invited into the dance of obedience when God speaks.
Today’s Prayer Practice
Today you are invited to use your imagination while praying with Scripture. Read Exodus 2:23 – 3:7 and consider the text with your imagination. You may want to ponder:
- What would it be like to be Moses? What did it feel like, how was he thinking, what sounds, and smells did he notice?
- How would Moses think about this experience after the fact? Do you think he may have ever seconded guess if the experience was true or if he imagined the entire thing?
- Put yourself in the place of Moses and imagine what it would be like to have God speak directly to you, cause a bush beside you to burst into flame and invite you to take your shoes off?
- How do you imagine that Moses experienced obedience, humility, and reverence of God as he stood on that holy ground?
- Next consider the bush. A shrub created and deeply planted with roots grounded into the earth. What would it be like for that bush to experience the flaming passion and presence of God? Would there be residual effects from this Divine encounter for the bush? If so, what do you imagine they might be?
Lent
As you enter this Lenten season, how are your preparing to stand on Holy Ground? To close your time of contemplative prayer watch Standing on Holy Ground at www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaZFo3H-LRs .
Dear God, I am humbled this day. I long to stand on your holy ground, and yet I am hesitant to take my shoes off sometimes for fear of being burned. Gift me with ears to hear you and heart to love you as I enter this Lenten discovery with you. May I become aware of even the slightest nudging of your Spirit within my prayer and life. Open the way, lead me to where you would have me go for these next six-week so that I may truly love you and live as you love. Amen.
