Word to the Wise
Thursday, July 18, 2019 - 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, " am who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you." [Exodus]
The moment when God gives Go's name to Moses is one of the most important moments in the Bible. Eventually, the name of God would be so sacred that it could be uttered only by the High Priest in the Holy of Holies in the temple once a year! lines
One way to understand the importance of this revelation is to read the Gospel According to John and note Jesus' use of the words, "I AM." When he says, "Before Abraham came to be, I AM!" the audience picks up stones to throw because they thought Jesus was being blasphemous! Other lines include, "I am the bread of life." "I am the way, the truth and the life." "I am the resurrection and the life!"
Once the Christian world absorbed Greek ways of thinking, there would be much reflection on what "I AM" would mean in understanding the nature of God. Great mystics would speak to this moment in Exodus as inspiration for their contemplation. God sent Moses to deliver the children of Israel, and God would send his own Son, Jesus, who could truly say, "I AM!" AMEN
[Reminder to the Beloved Congregation. I am on vacatiol n on the coast of Oregon for nine days. This reflection will seem to be late to those east of here until I return to Texas July 25.]