For the beauty of the earth,

For the glory of the skies,

For the Love which from our birth,

Over and around us lies.

Christ our Lord to you we raise,

This our hymn of grateful praise.  (Folliet Sandford Pierpont, 1864)

 

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. 3Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” 4When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  (Exodus 3: 1-5) 

 

You know how in the last couple of years people have been talking about “triggers” and putting “trigger warnings” at the beginning of certain social media posts to ensure that the readers know they are writing about difficult and potentially traumatizing content. 

 

I’m all for this.  I’m all for this for several reasons.  I’m all for this because I have a visceral reaction to any writing that includes descriptors of children being abused or animal cruelty.  I’m all for this because I have had my own traumatizing events that can sometimes be ‘triggered’ by descriptors of other traumatizing events.  In fact, all of us do.  The one thing we can say about humanity is that trauma is a universal experience.  And I have people I love who have been so harmed by trauma that they find living very difficult at times, and I really don’t want them to have the news they read or social media posts take them down into this place of horror again. 

 

So – I’m all for trigger warnings.  I don’t think that somehow we’ve become ‘soft’ as a society because we want to protect people from harm.  I think, if anything, a trigger warning just serves to call attention to the universality of trauma.  And that can only be a good thing.  Because then those who are so harmed by trauma can get some support and care. 

 

Recently, an acquaintance of mine posted on her social media post a new thing that she called a ‘glimmer’.  A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger.  A glimmer is the time when you catch a moment of joy, or glory or even comfort that offsets the world of trauma and triggers.  Because I’m in the church business, I call these ‘glimmer’ moments, moments of grace or even maybe moments of God.  This social media post encouraged us to stop and notice the ‘glimmers’ that we have in the day.  Things like eating the perfectly ripe melon that you got at a farmstand yesterday.  Or maybe seeing a really interesting cloud formation as you drive in to work.  Or even yet, having coffee with a friend that includes sharing some things about yourself that are important to you.

 

Glimmers of Grace.  Glimpses of God.

 

This week, the Old Testament story is the familiar story of Moses and the burning bush.  As I was reading commentaries on the story to prep for my sermon, I read something that I thought was really interesting.  You see, in the Rabbinic tradition, this bush apparently had always been burning, and had always been a place where you could encounter God.  The difference for Moses was that he was the first one to notice. 

 

The first one to notice that the bush was burning without being consumed.  The first to be curious enough to go over and check it out.  The first to hear God’s voice coming from the bush, and telling Moses that he would be the one to lead the Israelites out of captivity.

 

Not necessarily because Moses was the “best one for the job”.  No, in fact, Moses at this point was a shepherd and was working for his father-in-law, Jethro.  Moses heard God’s voice because Moses just happened to notice the flames and was curious about how that all worked. 

 

So today, my dear Bethel friends, lets take some time to stop and notice the glimmers of grace that are all around us today.  Those moments that take us away from the everyday trauma of life, and give us a lift into God’s world.  Because, not only do I think that these ‘glimmers’ are an antidote to the triggers of life, but I also think that we can hear God’s voice in these moments.  God’s voice in the Beauty and the Love that surrounds us. 

 

Glimmers of Grace, Glimpses of God. 

Christ our Lord to thee we raise, this our hymn of joyful praise. 

 

Blessings today my friends, and catch the glimmer that you are Loved.

~Rev. Lynne