Third Sunday in Lent, March 7
Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15. Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law…an angel of God appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. Moses said to God…“when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors 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.”
| Moses’ burning
bush was not consumed by the raging fire. Initially this makes no logical sense
to us. Wouldn’t such a flame have consumed the bush in a matter of moments? And yet we
continually encounter irrational realities in our lives ¬– things we accept,
more or less, on faith alone. For me the burning bush stands as a symbol
of faith and trust. When asked for his name, God told Moses, essentially, “I am what I am.” I believe God was saying we must not define, i.e., create parameters for God within our human notions, because to do this would be to put limits upon God. That we cannot do. The unconsumed burning bush reminds me not to anthropomorphize God, not to limit God to the narrow scope of human attributes. To fully conceptualize the entity “God” is beyond our human understanding. This makes sense to me. I often understand other people, but God remains beyond my capacity for rational human understanding. I rather like it that way – an omnipotent, omniscient love beyond definition, and so open-hearted as to be available to anyone who can embrace that which lies beyond the parameters of mortal human understanding. - Karen Rose Gredler, Clinical Coordinator, Graduate Psychology Marriage & Family Therapy Program; Master’s Degree, Edgewood College, 2004 |
