Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.”
When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:1-12)
On a day long past, as Moses tended his flock on a mountainside, the Lord appeared to the solitary shepherd in a burning bush. And God called out to Moses: “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Jesus taught us that all ground is holy: All of life for our Master is a sacrament dedicated fully to God. Each of us is the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are on holy ground in our work as teachers, lawyers, volunteers, doctors, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles; as secretaries and students, business owners and construction workers; as partners and caregivers in the fullest expressions of love, and in every other blessed vocation that God gives us.
Today we affirm before God and one another that work and worship are interwoven: Our work growing out of worship, and our worship growing out of work.
So, teachers, let your classrooms be places where your light and your truth shine in all learning, and where we celebrate and nurture the varied gifts and abilities of each student. Student, let your minds, your talents, and your characters be shaped more and more in the Lord’s image, as you learn to use your gifts in the service of your kingdom.
Workers and day-laborers, in your workplaces, may mutual respect govern your relationships, and integrity govern your contracts and finances, as you produce useful goods and services.
Caregivers, of children and family, the sick and the aged, remember the Lord’s example when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. Treat each person entrusted to your care as one of the ones who bear God’s image.
Scholars, writers, and artists, let the Holy Spirit inspire and govern the work of your minds, and transform the professions in which you work to the glory of God!
Retirees, after many years of work, hopefully enjoying some measure of rest, encourage one another and pray for the Church. Mentor the next generation, and raise up new leaders for a new day.
Children of God and all God’s people: In all your daily labors, even amid routines that dull and demands that frustrate, may you forever hear the call to serve the Lord and tend his flock.
Take a few moments now to pray and meditate on your daily work: Its joys, challenges, worries, and relationships – and how these might be more fully dedicated to God in the weeks and months ahead.
[Keep still in silent prayer and reflection]
“Who am I that my labor should set free the oppressed?” you ask the Lord. “I will be with you,” says the Lord. “And the sign that I have sent you shall be this: In your worshipful praise and your worshipful work.”
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this meditation during worship on Labor Day weekend, Sunday, August 31, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church in Waukon, Iowa, USA.