On behalf of the 63d RD,
Title: "Shoes"
Exodus 3:1-5
Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, “I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up.” When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from year feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (HCSB)
Removing of one’s shoes has meaning in biblical times. My father is Canadian by birth and citizenship. I was born in Canada, but my mother was a US citizen so I have lived between two countries all of my life. In Canada it would be rude to not remove your shoes when entering a home, unless they allow you to keep them on. I keep this tradition in my own home and remove my shoes at the entrance. In biblical times one would remove their shoes or sandals and have their feet cleaned when entering a home. In the story of Ruth and Boaz, the passing of a shoe refers to passing of a responsibility or the selling of property. Soldiers, travelers, and persons of rank wore shoes. Putting on shoes was a sign of preparation for a journey, and one pair of shoes would last one journey.
Moses started out as a slave child and was adopted by royalty. His first pair of shoes would have been of high rank. When he fled Egypt he would have worn out that expensive pair of shoes and replaced them with shepherd sandals. When he left the burning bush he wore out those shepherd sandals in the journey back to Egypt and replaced them with a pair of sandals that God preserved from the liberation of Egypt to the time in the desert when God took care of them. Each time he changed his shoes he changed his path in life. When God asks him to remove his shoes I wonder why. His feet would not have been any cleaner than his shoes would have been when he stepped onto that holy ground. Was God really asking him to pass the responsibility of what he had been carrying from childhood, to liberate the Jews, to God? Did God take that responsibility that Moses tried to carry in Egypt and failed the first time causing him to flee to Midian?
I have changed Shoes in my lifetime. I am about to exchange my Army boots for a different pair of shoes that will carry me into a different path than what I am on now. Sometimes we don’t always understand why life takes us where it does and know what it prepares us to do, but the type of shoe you choose to wear, and the ones you remove in order to wear another is a choice we all make. I pray that the shoes you are wearing are the shoes that God has requested that you remove or put on.
My prayer for you today: God, the One and Only that calls our hearts to serve. Be the destiny of our paths. Help us to choose the right pair of shoes that are right for the journeys ahead of us. Guide and direct our lives, and when it time to remove our shoes and hear your voice, help us to turn aside and listen. Amen.
CH (MAJ) Dawn Siebold
Here is the direct email and phone number for anyone requesting support
From the 63d RD Chaplain office,
usarmy.usarc.63-rsc.list.chaplain-all-users@mail.mil
650-526-9668