“Who is the Primary Actor?”

Burning Bushes by Marc Chagall 

(Exodus 3:7-12)

2.2.25. Hodgdon UMC

Going Before Me

Imagine a teenage girl growing up as a pastor’s kid. She has been raised in the church and has her own faith, but lately, she begins to question. She asks herself, “What if I weren’t a pastor’s kid? Would I still believe in God? God is invisible—does He really exist? Is He even alive?”

Determined to find answers, she spends 5-6 hours praying in the sanctuary. She tells herself that if she discovers God isn’t real, she will stop going to church. She can’t waste her life on something that doesn’t exist. So, she cries out, “Are you real, God? Are you there?” Suddenly, she feels something.

On her closed eyelids, she begins to see a panorama of moments in her life where God was undeniably present. She feels God’s presence filling every part of her body as if her nerves and cells are sparking with the Holy Spirit. She cannot deny that God is in her—He has been in her memory, her body, and her soul all along.

That girl was me. At age 12, even though I had encountered God several times before, I doubted Him. But at that moment, I realized that God had gone before me. Since then, I have never doubted His existence. Before I knew God was with me, He was already in the center of my life, pouring His grace into me. As Methodists, we call this Prevenient Grace—the grace of God that comes to us before we are even aware of it.

 

Who Am I? Who Is God?

In today’s passage, we see Moses’ calling at the burning bush—a bush ablaze, yet not consumed. God calls out, “Moses, Moses!” (Exodus 3:4).

God doesn’t call Moses when he kills an Egyptian in a misguided attempt to save his kinsfolk. Instead, He calls Moses at the age of 80, in the wilderness. God says:

^“Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings,  and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey”(Exodus 3:7-8)

There are five active verbs here: observed, heard, know, come down to deliver, and bring them up. These actions belong solely to God. Even when it feels like God isn’t listening or present, He is at work, with a plan to deliver us from our misery.

When God tells Moses, “I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt” (v.10), Moses responds, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” (v.11). Moses sees himself as a failure, a murderer, and someone who lacks eloquence. But God doesn’t dwell on Moses’ inadequacies. Instead, He reveals Himself:

"I AM WHO I AM" (v.14).

This profound statement, translated from the Hebrew phrase Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, reveals God’s self-existent, eternal, and unchanging nature. God is not limited by human understanding. As Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us, “His ways are higher than our ways.”

Moses’ name means “I drew him out of the water” (Exodus 2:10). Just as God rescued Moses from the Nile, He now calls Moses to rescue His people from slavery. But who is the primary actor here? It’s not Moses—it’s God.

 

Redemption Story

Moses’ redemption story serves as a prelude to Jesus’ redemption story. God observed the misery of His people in this world. He heard our cries, knew our sufferings, and came down to deliver us Himself. He guided us to the Promised Land. All the actions in this story belong to God. He initiated every part of the redemption story.

Oswald Chambers reminds us in his book My Utmost for His Highest:

"Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the Gospel of God. The one thing that is all-important is that the Gospel of God should be realized as abiding Reality. Reality is not human goodness, nor holiness, nor heaven, nor hell, but Redemption."

This redemption story is not about us—it is about God. It is not my story or a self-centered story. It is a God-centered story. Chambers further notes:

"Personal holiness is an effect, not a cause, and if we place our faith in human goodness, in the effect of Redemption, we shall go under when the test comes."

Sometimes we focus too much on the results and outcomes of God’s work in our lives, much like the disciples who rejoiced after casting out demons. Yet Jesus reminded them:
"Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

This week, our small group began studying the book Our Church Speaks. I was particularly moved by its poetic contrast between the lives of celebrities and saints:

• The celebrity demands, “Look at me!”
  The saint whispers, “Look to God.”
• The celebrity says, “Try to be like me, but you’ll never be like me.”
  The saint says, “Why would anyone want to be like me? Who has God made you?”
• The celebrity is ever-ascending, climbing the tower of Babel to the double-platinum throne.
  The saint is ever descending, saying, “Please take my seat—I insist.”
• The celebrity offers you everything you want but can never have.
  The saint is like a freshwater creek beside the highway—nearly unnoticed and drowned out by the roar of traffic.

In the life of a celebrity, the self is at the center. In the life of a saint, God is at the center. God is the Master, the Lord, and the primary actor in the saint’s life. This is God’s redemption story.

 

Prevenient Grace

The first step to personally and officially enter the redemption story is baptism. Baptism is one of the most important sacraments, along with communion. It is the adoption process into God’s family. It signifies that our old self dies, and our new life with Christ begins. Through baptism, we invite God to be at the center of our lives as Lord and Savior. It is a proclamation that God observed our misery in sin, heard our cries, knew our suffering, and came down to save us, leading us to the Promised Land to live with Him forever.

I am praying that we may witness this wonderful mystery often in our church, especially during Easter—the perfect time to be baptized. With just a few months before Easter, may God prepare our hearts and allow us to see new births through baptism.

Our church follows in the footsteps of John Wesley. Wesley believed in prevenient grace, the grace that comes to us even before we know God—like the porch that leads to the house. Just as I realized God’s grace was present in my memories, body, and soul when I first encountered Him, we believe that God goes before us. For this reason, we baptize infants, acknowledging that God initiates the redemption story. God is the primary actor in baptism. While free will plays a role, His work is far greater than ours.

 

Nursing Home Ministry

Nowadays, I often proclaim that God is the primary actor in my life and in our ministry. Revival is not something we earn; it is a gift in our faith journey. Abraham Heschel once said, “Faith is making God’s dream your own.” Our journey of faith begins with God’s dream. What is God’s dream? He wants us to observe the misery of others, hear their cries, know their suffering, and let them know that He has come down to deliver us and lead us to the Promised Land.

While praying to understand His people’s needs, God allowed me to meet a woman in a nursing home. She is 84 years old and has been in and out of the facility for a few years. After our monthly nursing home service, she asked to meet with me privately. She shared her passion and compassion for the other residents. She had started a daily devotional time with some of them at 10:00 a.m. They wanted to learn more about God and His Word, and she asked for help. I felt God’s divine intervention in this moment.

When I shared their needs with my small group, one of the women stepped up, and we visited the nursing home. There were 10 people gathered, including us. One of them said, “I have been a Christian, but I don’t know God well. I want to learn." " I don’t know God well, but I want to be around my friend, Roberta.” I strongly felt that God initiated this ministry and gathered people who shared His dream. Starting next week, we will hold this small group at the nursing home every Friday at 10:00 a.m. in Gardiner.

 

The Primary Actor

“Who is your primary care?” I am sure all of you have a primary care provider. But let me ask you: “Who is your primary care in life?”

We live in an age of anxiety. Sadly, children are exposed to media, video games, and social networks at an early age, which only increases their anxiety. Many adults are overwhelmed by the sad news of the world, especially during this period of political transition in our country. In South Korea, there is even a term, “civil war insomnia,” used to describe how many people cannot sleep due to anxiety caused by political tensions and stress.

Just as the Israelites lived in misery, we, too, are suffering. So, I ask again: “Who is the primary actor in our lives, our church ministry, our town, our country, and the whole world?”

May we write God’s redemption story together with Him as the primary actor!