{"id":21252,"date":"2023-09-22T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-22nd-september-2023"},"modified":"2023-09-22T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T05:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-22nd-september-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-22nd-september-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 22nd September 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exodus 3: 1-6<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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. There the angel of the <\/span>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. Then Moses said, \u2018I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.\u2019  When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, \u2018Moses, Moses!\u2019 And he said, \u2018Here I am.\u2019  Then he said, \u2018Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.\u2019  He said further, \u2018I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.\u2019 And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>
photo credit: \u2018Jakes\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDr Simon, do you want to go high tide?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m just going to stick with low tide,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, when you are in the villages, you will be high tide all the time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah\u2026 perhaps I\u2019d better go high tide then.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHigh tide! High tide!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It was dark, the insects were noisy, and I was sitting, barefoot, on the floor drinking Cava with a group of students \u2013 after an hour of being crossed, my legs were sore. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I first read about Cava, the drink that Pacific islanders share in social gatherings and ceremonies, I was a little apprehensive. I don\u2019t drink alcohol, I don\u2019t even have that much caffeine, drinking psychoactive substances is just not really a big part of my life. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Fiji there are different rules about who drinks what. Methodists won\u2019t drink alcohol (mainly) but will drink Cava; Presbyterians seem quite relaxed about what they drink; Pentecostals and Seventh Day Adventists don\u2019t touch alcohol or Cava. Rules \u2013 we\u2019ve all got them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou will sleep well tonight,\u201d the students laughed as I downed my first \u2018high tide\u2019 (full bowl) of Cava. Some people use the drink as herbal medicine, to relax the muscles and lower anxiety. Others don\u2019t think they\u2019ve had enough unless they\u2019ve been sick in a bush. Eventually I thanked my friends before insisting \u201cno tide, no tide,\u201d and sloping off.<\/span><\/p>\n

It struck me, as I watched the ceremony with which it was distributed, that had Jesus been born in Fiji then our communion ceremonies might have included Cava, rather than wine.  The ordinary is extraordinary when we recognise God\u2019s presence. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEarth’s crammed with heaven,<\/span>
And every common bush afire with God,<\/span>
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;<\/span>
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.\u201d<\/span>
(Aurora Leigh: Elizabeth Barrett Browning)<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

That we might perceive the whole world as holy;<\/span>
that we might see the extraordinary in the ordinary;<\/span>
that we might recognise heaven on earth;<\/span>
that we might go barefoot on that sacred soil;<\/span>
and feel the spirit\u2019s flame flicker beneath our shoeless feet. <\/span><\/p>\n

Let us drink fully of that proffered cup this day, and every day. Amen. <\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exodus 3: 1-6 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. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was … <\/p>\n

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