This week we’re reading the story of the call of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:1-21 in which the young boy Samuel at first confuses the call of God with the voice of his mentor, Eli the priest. We discuss the process through which faith becomes our own as we, like Samuel, learn to distinguish the voice of God from the voice of our predecessors in the faith. But such differentiation can at times lead to conflict, as it does for Samuel when he realizes that God is preparing to punish Eli for his failure to correct and discipline his own sons, who have been harming the community of faith. And while we admire Samuel’s comfortability sleeping in the presence of the ark of the covenant, we wonder whether it may be possible to feel too comfortable in God’s presence, forgetting the gravity of the calling to which we have been called. Sometimes it may not be enough simply to be present. It is only when we say “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” that everything begins to change.

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This week we are reading the story of the manna in Exod 16:1-18. “Manna from heaven” is synonymous now with some kind of unexpected way that our needs are miraculously met. We all want manna from heaven. But in the story, this miracle looks so strange that the people see it on the ground and – what's that? This story made us wonder – what's the difference between moving away from something and moving toward something else? Could it be that a first step in drawing near to God is turning toward the wilderness, where there is no predictable path, and nothing will be quite like you were used to? And when exactly will God start providing program overviews with timestamps and blurbs?

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This week we’re reading the story of Moses’ encounter with God on Sinai as told in Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15; and 4:10-17. We notice that in this text, God responds to the cry of the Israelites by first saying, “I’ve come down to rescue the people from Egypt” but then saying, “So you get going. I’m sending you to Pharaoh.” The way God works in the world, it seems, is through people like Moses, who pay attention to the things that are on fire in the world and don’t ignore them or run away from them. But even Moses, one of the heroes of Scripture, is at first afraid to do what God asks of him, begging God to send someone else. Yet it turns out that this God of ours is an equipping God, who gives Moses what is needed for the task ahead of him, a staff, a partner, and even the divine name. “I am who I am,” says God. “I will be who I will be.” So who is God calling us toward today, we wonder, and how is God equipping us f the task ahead?