Word to the Wise
Thursday, July 18, 2013 - Thursday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 3:13-20 and Matt 11:28-30]Moses, hearing the voice of the Lord from the burning bush, said to him, "When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" God replied, "I am who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you."
Moses is caught in the middle! He has to convince the Israelites that he is the one God has called to lead them. Then he has to go and convince Pharaoh of the same thing and more - to let them go free! We'll leave Pharaoh out for the moment because in today's passage, the revelation of God's name is dramatic enough for centuries of commentary! The Gospel of John is Exhibit A!
"I AM the bread of life." "I AM the good shepherd." "I AM the vine and you are the branches." "Before Abraham came to be, I AM." Those statements are a good sample from the Gospel of John. The temptation is to focus on the image, but the more important words are "I AM." That is how God reveals God's self in the desert! The Gospel of John, dramatic as always, takes those words and uses them to drive home the message of Jesus' identity. Jesus' adversaries gradually do get the message and decide he is blaspheming or is very dangerous and must be eliminated!
This still leaves Moses and all of us standing in front of the burning bush! After God's revelation, do we just stammer, "Uh, how do you do?" Wait till you hear what God has in mind for all of us! AMEN