There is a sign in the prayer room at Momentum asking people to take off their shoes or wellies as they come in. Given the heavy rains and muddy ground, and the fact that people are sitting on the floor in here, it is understandable.
But it got me thinking about Moses' encounter with God. And about Moses' shoes. Moses sees the burning bush and is stopped in his tracks. Then God speaks to him:
"God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'
He said, 'Yes? I'm right here!' God said, 'Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground.'
[Exodus 3:4-5 MSG]
Remove your sandals from your feet.
You're standing on holy ground.
I've never really stopped to wonder why God told Moses to take off his shoes. And what that had to do with holiness.
According to Matthew Henry's commentary, it was a sign of respect. In the same way that we might "doff our hats".
But no one really wears hats anymore - let alone doffing them - do they?
In a society which doesn't know how to respect its elders, or itself, or its own bodies, how do we understand what it means to show respect for God? And why does it matter?
Taking off our shoes is vulnerable: not many of us like our feet. Depending on the ground, it can be painful. If our feet are not that fresh, it can be humiliating. Sometimes our shoes denote our profession, and so removing them is a reminder that we come before God as people, not professionals.
Removing our shoes as we come to pray reminds us that God is God and we are human: we are vulnerable and broken people meeting with a holy God.
We don't have to physically remove our shoes every time we pray (and it wouldn't always be practical), but it is a good reminder for us as to the attitude of our hearts. When we pray, we make ourselves vulnerable and strip away our earthly labels. We realise we have nothing to bring and we encounter the Holy God. And, by His grace, we are not consumed.
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