Exodus 3:1-15
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, ‘I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.’ But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ He said, ‘I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.’
But Moses said to God, ‘If I come to the Israelites and say to them, “The God of your ancestors has sent me to you”, and they ask me, “What is his name?” what shall I say to them?’ God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ He said further, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “I am has sent me to you.” ’ God also said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the Israelites, “The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you”:
This is my name for ever,
and this my title for all generations.
Reflection
God turns our heads. We can't help but to stop when we recognize the presence of God. Just as Moses saw the angel of God appearing in the burning bush; Moses couldn't help but to stop and see what this occurrence of a bush burning yet not being consumed by the fire. It reminds me of what King Nebuchadnezzar saw in the furnace when he had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego thrown into the furnace. They weren't consumed by the fire! And look! There appears a fourth person walking in the midst of the fire!
Oh, how God turns our heads. God turns our heads to see his angels in so many places if only we stop to look and see the fourth person. I've seen the eyes of Jesus in prisoners in reform. I've seen the eyes of Jesus in the homeless taking all the steps available to them to gain housing and employment for themselves and their family. I've see the eyes of Jesus in the sick person in the hospital bed living in the hope of a God that will love them now and through death. I've seen the eyes of Jesus in the eyes of spouses mourning the death of their loved and loving husband or wife. I've seen the eyes of Jesus in the eyes of a friend that lost a son to a tragic accident. I've seen the eyes of Jesus in the eyes of a young child finally able to go across the monkey bars alone.
If not the eyes of Jesus then the voice of angels speaking and and caring for me through actions in my life and my own situations of joy and pain. Yes, God turns our heads. And in the turning of our heads, God proclaims a name of I AM. Yes, God is! God is present in all the places of our lives. God is present with us and calls out a name of I AM.
God turns our heads and open our mouths to proclaim the glory of God as our own I AM and the I AM of all the world. God moves our hands and feet to actions of love for our neighbor. Neighbors of all sorts that God gives to us daily. God calls us and gifts us with all that we need to love those God places in our lives no matter who they are, no matter what race or religion or anything else that makes them peculiar from ourselves. All because God loves all of creation and sent Jesus to this earth to defeat the evil powers of sin, death and the devil that attempt to separate us and all people from God.
Yes, God turns our heads! Pay attention. Stop and look and see and then Go in his great and glorious name... I AM.
Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnqb7Vn4AEE
Prayer
Lord, open my eyes that I may see you and go in active love to do your will... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen
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