“The Lord remembers his covenant forever.” So declares our psalmist today. We hear this statement of God remembering his covenant with his people, yet we know of the complexity of the relationship that God had with Israel, how that relationship could be so rocky at times, how the people of Israel would often openly rebel or turn their backs on the Lord. Yet, we hear Moses receive the call from God in our reading from Exodus, as God calls Moses to lead his people. God speaks to Moses through the flames of the burning bush. For us, flames are symbolic not only of God’s divine presence, but also of the power of the Holy Spirit who is with us in the world today to lead us and guide us.
Moses may have been a very unlikely leader for the people of Israel. A saint we celebrate this week is St Macrina, who lived in Cappadocia and Pontus in the 4th century in present-day Turkey. Three of Macrina’s brothers are also saints: St Gregory of Nyssa, St Basil, and St Peter of Sebaste. Her father arranged for her to marry but her fiance died before the wedding. After having been betrothed to her fiance, Macrina did not believe it was appropriate to marry another man, for she saw Christ as her eternal bridegroom. Instead, she devoted herself to her religion, becoming a nun. Gregory believed that Macine was the greatest example of purity and holiness he and his brothers could have had while growing up. We need strong leaders like Moses to be examples of faith for us, but also need quiet, holy examples of faith like Macrina as well.
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