The story of Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15),
which is the Hebrew scripture lesson for Lent 3-C for those using the Revised
Common Lectionary, is a fairly well known one and rich
with meaning. Moses, alone with Jethro’s flock at Mt. Horeb, sees a bush that
is blazing yet impervious to the usual effect of fire on plant life. He decides
he must look at it; that is, until he hears the voice of God telling him that
he stands on holy ground and the voice self-identifies as the God of Moses’ own
ancestors, ancestors that until that moment he may not have actually known he
had. At that point, Moses turns away.
But a conversation ensues, and Moses is given a mission.
At that point the reluctant prophet asks two questions of this holy Presence,
questions that echo through the long history of divine/human relationship.
Stated simply, they are: “Who am I?” and “Who are You?”
Granted, Moses’ Who
am I is more of a “Why me?” After all, he had assumed he was part of the
royal house of Egypt, having been raised by Pharaoh’s daughter for almost all
of his life – why would he be expected to deliver those whom his people had
enslaved? But in this exchange God gives Moses back his true identity: he is a
son of the Hebrew patriarchs, a member of the very race his adoptive family has
oppressed, and God has chosen him for the important task of leading his people –
his true people – to freedom. And God will not abandon him, but will be with
him and his people and give them a sign: they will worship God on the very
mountain where this conversation is taking place.
Then comes the second question. If Moses is to have any
credibility with the Hebrew people, he must be able to tell them who, exactly,
is the God who has called him out. It’s one thing to say “the God of your
ancestors”, but what is God’s name? (Remember, the ancient near east was rife with
deities, all of whom had names. It was important to know to and of whom one was
speaking!) God’s answer here is frustratingly non-committal – “I am who I am”
– frustrating, that is, until we recall what Moses would learn (and what Yul
Brynner, in The Ten Commandments,
would ultimately give voice to): God is God. There are, there can be, no
others. “I am has sent you.”*
“Who am I?” “Who is God?” These are burning questions
that the journey of faith seeks to answer. They are neither easily nor readily
resolved, and can only be truly and finally answered through ongoing relationship
with the Creator.
*In Mark’s gospel (6:47-52), when Jesus comes walking
across the water toward his disciples as they struggle in a boat against “an
adverse wind”, he tells them “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Some
scholars have identified the phrase “it is I” in the original Aramaic to be
more properly translated “I am.”
