Word to the Wise
Thursday, July 15, 2021 - 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." [Exodus]
JULY 15 ST. BONAVENTURE, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Great theologians and mystics have written long works about the encounter between Moses and God in the burning bush. [cf. Meister Eckhart, OP]. In the culture of Moses' and Jesus' time, the name of a person was equivalent to the person. The name, "Yahweh," is a result of biblical scholars trying to recover a name whose pronunciation was lost because it was held so sacred that only the high priest could utter it once a year in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Holy of Holies. For the great mystics, it is the encounter with God "face to face," as it were, that matters. For Moses, it was a matter of credentials! Before he could go to Pharaoh on behalf of the children of Israel, he had to be sure he had their acceptance of his mission!
The Gospel According to John reveals to us the power of God's name because Jesus' claim, "Amen! Amen! I say to you, besfore Abraham came to be, I AM!" [John 8:58] This is tonly he most direct of many instances of Jesus' use of "I AM" in revealing himself in this gospel. It is no wonder that the audience picked up stones to throw at him. They thought he was committing blasphemy. The second commandment states, "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain!"
All in all, the story of Moses' encounter with God at the burning bush is one of "encounter and empowerment." This is at the root of our own faith when we take it intentionally and seek to share it. Can we identify such an encounter in our own lives? How did it empower us? AMEN