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(Ex.3:1-8a,13-15;\xa0\xa0 Ps.103:1-4,6-8,11;\xa0\xa0 1Cor.10:1-6,10-12;\xa0\xa0 Lk.13:1-9)\xa0 \u201cThe Lord secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed.\u201d Thus does the Lord God appear to Moses and call him to rescue the Israelites from the Egyptians.\xa0 He has \u201cwitnessed the affliction of His people\u201d; He has \u201cheard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers\u201d and \u201cknow[s] well what they are suffering.\u201d \xa0And so, by the hand of Moses, He will lead them to \u201ca good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.\u201d Yes, brothers and sisters, the Lord \u201chas made known His ways to Moses\u201d; His \u201ckindness and compassion\u201d He has revealed to His people.\xa0 The great I AM (YHWH), He who is and who will always be, has come and shown Himself to His servant on the \u201choly ground\u201d of Mount Horeb.\xa0 In a \u201cbush [that] is not burned\u201d though flaming with fire, He opens Moses' eyes to His presence.\xa0 And He tells him His glorious NAME, by which He is \u201cto be remembered through all generations\u201d \u2013 that it is He who is Life.\xa0 And, of course, the life He brings is one of mercy and healing. Yet, though the Lord is certainly \u201cmerciful and gracious,\u201d He is also just; thus does Paul remind us that though all the Israelites \u201cwere baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea\u201d in their exodus from slavery, though all ate and drank from \u201cthe rock [that] was Christ\u2026 God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.\u201d\xa0 So the blessings they had gained by the mercy of our God, they soon lost by their own disobedience.\xa0 And so could we all lose the grace of Christ at work in our lives if we \u201cdesire evil things, as they did.\u201d\xa0 For God is merciful, but God is just, and will not have His kindness presumed upon. Thus does Jesus Himself also warn us, even as He warns the people who question Him this day that they are no better than those \u201cwhose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices,\u201d that we are not without guilt ourselves.\xa0 Thus does He proclaim, \u201cIf you do not repent, you will all perish as they did,\u201d as all sinners do.\xa0 And thus does He warn us by parable that if we do not bear fruit in His name, we shall be cut down and thrown in the fire \u2013 for there is no wasted ground in the kingdom of God. If you cry out to Him, He will hear you, for it is He who \u201credeems your life from destruction\u201d and your salvation is His desire.\xa0 But justice insists that if you turn back to your sin, you choose to remove yourself from His loving arms. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Going Home" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, give us repentant hearts that we might not be removed from your sight but burn with your Spirit always. YHWH, let us not presume upon your mercy, for you have saved us but we remain in danger of falling again if we do not remember your NAME, if we do not keep in mind that you have made us and that you have saved us, you who are Life itself.\xa0 If we forget your benefits, our iniquities shall return, and then how shall we stand in your presence? You alone are holy, LORD; you alone are beyond our tongues to describe.\xa0 Let us be silent before you and remember the blessings you pour upon our souls.\xa0 For though you are far beyond our ability to comprehend, though your ways far surpass our own, yet you look with compassion on our affliction and seek to rescue us from all ill. But we must remain humble at all times, lest our branches become barren.\xa0 Ever we must bear fruit in your Name or we will be separated from your grace, from the surpassing light of your face.\xa0 O LORD, lead us through this desert to your Promised Land.