“Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight and see why the bush is not burned up.”

— Exodus 3:3

Moses is at work; It’s a normal Tuesday and he’s watching the sheep, just like he did on Monday. Maybe he’s allowed his mind to wander, even as he prevents the sheep from doing so. I’d bet he’s been doing this job so long, he doesn’t even have to think about it anymore. He just walks and moves the staff, keeps one eye on the smallest sheep, the one he calls Nancy for some reason he can no longer remember. The other is on the path before. Step, staff, eye. Step, staff, eye. When he started keeping Jethro’s sheep he was excited. It was new, different from his Egyptian life. He was also overly thankful for the work. He showed up empty handed at Jethro’s tent, and they took him in. Jethro gave him water, food, shelter, and a purpose. A person needs to be needed and now Moses was needed. He had sheep depending on him. He set out, day after day keeping the sheep. The scenery changed but the sheep didn’t. He was well aware of the dangers for sheep in the wilderness of Midian. It wasn’t that the terrain was dangerous. Sheep know how to keep their feet, but everything else requires constant vigilance. What if a wild animal came up? What if he hurt himself while keeping the sheep? No one would notice until he didn’t come home. But time passes. Sheep eat. The ground on which we walk becomes familiar. Even the hunting patterns of predators become routine. How many times had Moses been on that mountain? Surely he’d lost count. Today, something was different. Today, something caught his eye. Today Moses turned aside the to see a shrub engulfed and not consumed. Today, he found God was there. I wonder if God had always been there. I wonder if God had burned that shrub for years, just hoping and waiting for someone to notice. I wonder how many times I’ve walked past God even when God set the divine-self on fire to try to catch my eye. I wonder how often God shows up in the midst of our mundane, everyday, repetitive work. I wonder how many times I have missed God trying to get my attention because I was too preoccupied with my own boredom.