Take off your shoes

Photo by Nuno Ibra

When do you take off your shoes? I don't mean when convention or convenience requires. And I don't necessarily mean literally. I mean - what makes you stop and wonder? Have you ever felt you are standing on 'holy ground'? Been in a place or moment that seems set apart from the humdrum everyday? A special place, a special time, that gave you a glimpse of something wonderful? So you just had to stop and respond in some way, even if it was just breathing out 'wow'?


It can happen unexpectedly, as I mentioned here. You don't need to be particularly spiritual, or a religious believer, to know something of that sort of experience of transendance. I think most people have it at some time, but not everyone will interpret it as a sense of the presence of God. What is remarkable about such experiences is that they often happen unbidden, in the middle of everyday life and work. Well, that's how it is for me. It was for Moses. Moses was looking after his father-in-law's sheep when an unusual sight made him turn aside - a blazing bush that wasn't burnt up. It was when he turned aside to take a better look that God called him by name, but also told Moses to keep his distance:

"Come no closer!Remove the sandals from your feet,for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."       (Exodus 3: 5)

In her book 'Giving it Up' by Maggi Dawn she writes (p. 77) about this:

"...The true God, the God who calls us by name and then tells us not to come near, is a God who startles us out of our comfort zone, exceeds our greatest hopes, asks more than we believe we are capable of and gives us more than we think we deserve..."

This post is the 27th in a series of daily Lenten reflections based on a Bible reading from the Common Worship Lectionary of the Church of England. This one is based on Exodus 2:23 - 3:20.