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Saint Stephen preaching, Spanisch breviary 14th century

Today’s lesson scripture continues Stephen’s speech to the council of elders in Jerusalem, answering the charge of blaspheming Moses.  His answer is to argue that Israel, God’s chosen people, have both rejected God’s prophets (and therefore God) and have tried to limit God (by insisting that the center of worship must be the Temple).  Central to his argument is that their ancestors rejected Moses.

Yesterday, Stephen recounted how Moses was misunderstood when he first attempted to intervene on behalf of “his people”.  As a consequence, Moses fled in exile to Midian.  In today’s lesson scripture, Stephen says that this exile lasted forty years before Moses was called again by God to intervene on behalf of Israel.  Forty years, as we’ve discussed before, is a figure often used to denote a generation – a long time.  Just as Israel was to wander in the wilderness for forty years for turning from God after delivery of the law, Stephen makes the point here that Israel waited forty years after initially rejecting Moses.

Many commentators have posited that Stephen’s speech in Acts is the cornerstone for understanding the whole book - as well as the Gospel of Luke – that Israel has repeatedly failed to understand God’s redeeming power, his intent to honor covenant, his unconditional, steadfast love, and has therefore rejected God’s redeeming agents, culminating in the rejection of Christ.  Yet, despite these rejections, God’s plan of redemption and salvation cannot ultimately be frustrated and Christ is victorious.

Here’s today’s scripture:

30 ”Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
31 When Moses saw it he wondered at the sight; and as he drew near to look, the voice of the Lord came,
32 `I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.
33 And the Lord said to him, `Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
34 I have surely seen the ill-treatment of my people that are in Egypt and heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’  Acts 7:30-34 (RSV)

Stephen emphasizes that God is the same God who made covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and – emphasizing that Moses was standing on holy ground - Stephen again makes the point thaat God cannot be contained by Temple, but is everywhere.  This Sunday, the focus of our lesson will be on Moses and his response to God’s call (and how we can learn how we might respond to God’s calling in our own lives from the story of Moses ).

Today, the emphasis – taken from the same story of Moses and the burning bush – is on how God’s people often misunderstand and thereby reject God’s purpose by substituting our own agenda – based on our world-centered point of view – for God’s purpose.  How can we guard against this  inclination?