This week, the world lost someone who somehow seemed to belong to all of us. Dolly Parton died Tuesday at the age of 80, and the outpouring of love has reminded us just how exceptional she was. She was a country music legend, songwriter, actor, businesswoman, philanthropist, and one of those rare public figures whose warmth seemed capable of crossing generations, geography, politics, and just about every other dividing line we’ve created.
Now, of course, Dolly understood work. For more than 40 years, “9 to 5” has been an anthem for people who get up, go to work, do their jobs, and sometimes wonder whether the people at the top notice what life is like for everyone else. It celebrated the dignity of work while also naming the frustration of being overworked, underappreciated, and caught in a system where someone else seems to hold all the power.
This makes Dolly an unexpected teacher this Sunday as we continue our six-week worship series, History Class. We turn to Exodus 3:1-15, picking up Israel’s story from last week. Here, God’s people have been working considerably longer than 9 to 5, and under conditions that make a frustrating boss seem pretty manageable. They are enslaved, exploited, humiliated, and exhausted. Because of this, God tells Moses, “I’ve clearly seen my people oppressed in Egypt. I’ve heard their cry of injustice… I know about their pain.” Then comes the surprise. God says that God has come down to rescue them, and almost immediately tells Moses, “So get going. I’m sending you…”
Moses discovers at the burning bush that holy ground isn’t a place where he gets to escape the problems of the world. Holy ground becomes the place where God sends him back into the world to participate in changing it. Moses notices the fire, turns aside, listens, and discovers that the God who sees suffering is calling him to see it, also.
Interestingly, Dolly gave us another song that fits this story. In 2023, she released “World on Fire,” a song with a little less rhinestone sweetness and a little more prophetic edge. She looked at a divided and hurting world, asked what we were doing to one another, and still expressed hope that things could change.
Exodus begins from a similar place. The world may be on fire. People may be hurting, exhausted, overlooked, and treated as disposable. But God sees, God hears, and God knows. We will see that sometimes, God gets our attention through the fire (burning bushes) so that we will finally notice what God has already noticed.
Moses could have kept walking. Instead, he turned toward the burning bush and discovered God calling his name. Join us for worship and together, we’ll be reminded that this is a part of our calling, too. When the world is on fire, God doesn’t invite us to just stand around admiring the burning bush. God calls us to turn toward, pay attention, and then go where people need us.
This Sunday, we’ll step onto holy ground and ask where God might be sending us next.
Somehow, I think Dolly would appreciate that.
With love,
Pastor Corey
