There the angel of the Lord appeared to (Moses) in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.” Exodus 3:2-3

I wonder how long it took before Moses noticed. Busy with tending sheep, watching for wild animals and making sure none of the sheep strayed, Moses was on the job. The search for good pasture for the family’s flock, had led him to Mount Horeb.

How long did that bush burn before Moses took note of it? That strange bush which burned, yet didn’t burn. Where flames rose, kept burning as if it were located over a natural gas vent, without ever destroying the bush. I wonder if there other places and times an odd bush burned. One that Moses didn’t take note of.

I suspect each of us misses God moments, where God has put something or someone in our path, to grab our attention. We brush the person, the moment, the event aside. We, with our busy schedules and preoccupied minds, don’t take time to pause, to reflect, to recognize a divine presence.

Eventually Moses becomes puzzled by this strange sight. He decided to investigate, and find out why the bush didn’t burn. Which is when God startles him, by calling out, “Moses, Moses,” and then the words, “Don’t come any closer! Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” Exodus 3:4-5

It is for Moses a transcendent and transformative moment. He encounters the Holy One . . . One who is  beyond his prayers, beyond his imaginings, beyond his knowledge. He is touched by the reality of  a living God, who calls to him, redirecting both his future and his purpose.

The proper response to Holy Ground is humility and awe. It is where God pauses and waits for us, to turn around, and pay attention to what God is doing in and around our world, inviting us into a new relationship of trust and participation in the work of God’s Kingdom. God moments are spaces for us to listen, to learn, to be touched by the Holy. A space to open our hearts and minds to God’s wisdom and will.

May each of us be aware when God calls to us, in our ordinary days. May we be alert to God’s presence. May we recognize when we too,  are standing on Holy Ground.