Encounter with the God of Abraham

 

Then Moses said to God, ‘I am to go, then, to the sons of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you.” But if they ask me what his name is, what am I to tell them?’ And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am.’

Exodus 3:14 - 15

In the epic that is the book of Exodus, the mountain-top encounter between Moses and the God of his ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is one of the pivotal moments of the Hebrew scriptures.

In this pericope, a typical biblical calling narrative, Moses, while looking down on his father-in-law’s flock, sees a burning bush that is not being consumed by the flames. As he approaches he hears a voice emanating from the blazing bush. It is the voice of God. Gods (with a lower case g) were many in the ancient near east, but the Hebrew people had maintained their fidelity to the God of their forebears long into their exile in Egypt. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had heard their plea, and he had chosen Moses to set them free. Moses was acutely aware of his limitations, he had a stutter, he was unsure how he was to convince the Hebrews to follow him. Moses wanted to be able to tell the Hebrew who exactly had sent him, and it is to this question that voice from the unconsumed bush revealed his name: I AM WHO I AM – represented as the tetragrammaton, YHWH, which we say as Yahweh.

This is the beginning of a story that is critical to Israel’s identity – the slavery, the liberation from bondage, the establishment of the covenant and the gift of the Law, memorialized in the Passover and linked intimately to Last Supper and the Paschal mystery which is the cornerstone of our Christian faith.

There is a voice in a burning bush calling each of us. It will happen just as it did for Moses, while we are about our work and everyday life. It will be a person, a situation, an intuition, a need, and if we listen as Moses listened, if we hear as Moses heard then we will discern the right response. You may not liberate a nation, but you may help set someone free from loneliness and bereavement, you may not perform miracles of nature, but you may provide comfort and compassion, you might not seek manna from heaven, but you may give generously to charity and those in need.

And yes, we may have difficulties of our own, people might not believe our motivation. The proof is to be armed with faith, to know that the God of our ancestors walks with us, that we will be provided with the courage to respond. And again, this Lenten season invites us to the burning bush, inviting us to make a leap of faith

You know my name

Choosing names for children is rife with difficulties. Today we are less likely to burden our children with the names of grandparents, uncles and aunts. There are mercifully few Arthurs, Archibalds, Basils, Beryls, Normas, Cynthias, Dorises in schools today, though they too were popular in their day. There are even websites today for those who want to make up names – there is an apparent ‘science’ to it.
My own children were blessed with Lebanese, Polish and Maori names after endless debate and reflection. They’re still unusual, and in my sons’ cases, somewhat rare.
The Hebrews chose proper names that were descriptive or prophetic, they often carried a sense of the spiritual, capturing something of their dependence on God (e.g. Joshua/Jesus means the Lord is our salvation).
In days gone by, we only knew adults – other than relatives – by their surnames. Everyone was a Mr or Mrs. Only relatives or intimate friends called adults by their first names; so it was always a privilege to be invited to call an adult acquaintance or senior staff member by their first name. Addressing others required deference and respect.
When Moses encounters the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15), he hears a voice calling out to him. The voice announces that it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God then calls and sends Moses to free his people from the hands of Egyptians. When Moses asks by whom he should say he was sent, he is told, “I am who am” – Yahweh – has sent you.
Thus the God who had been revealed himself to Abraham a half millennium earlier, now discloses his own name, and such is the respect for this name, it is still considered holy and unutterable by the Jews and for most Christians to this very day. Where Yahweh is found in the scriptures it is usually replaced by THE LORD (in capital letters).
And this is the intimacy to which you and I are also invited: for while his name may be unutterable, we know it; and this God continues to speak to us through the burning bushes of our everyday life. You and I too are called and sent by this same God to rescue the poor and suffering.
The names we give our children must last a lifetime and be remembered by the generations yet to be born. Choose carefully! This Lent remain vigilant to the voice of God: he will call you by name.