Reading for July 15, Memorial: St Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor

Wednesday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time

From: Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12

God Appears to Moses in the Burning Bush
[1] Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. [2] And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. [3] And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." [4] When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here am I." [5] Then he said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." [6] And he said, "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.

[9] And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. [10] Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."

[11] But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" [12] He said, "But I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain."
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Commentary:
3:1-4:17. This account of the calling of Moses is charged with theological content; it gives the features of two protagonists (Moses and God) and the bases of the liberation of the people by means of wondrous divine intervention.

In the dialogue between God and Moses after the theophany of the burning bush (vv. 1-10), the Lord endows Moses with alt the gifts he needs to carry out his mission: he promises him help and protection (vv. 11-12), he makes his name known to him (vv. 13-22), he gives him the power to work wonders (4:1-9), and he designates his brother Aaron as his aide, who will be his spokesman (4:10-17).

This section shows how God brings about salvation by relying on the docility of a mediator whom he calls and trains for the purpose. But the initiative always stays with God. Thus, God himself designs the smallest details of the most important undertaking the Israelites will embark on--their establishment as a people and their passing from bondage to freedom and the possession of the promised land.

3:1-3. The mountain of God, Horeb, called in other traditions Sinai, probably lies in the south-east part of the Sinai peninsula. Even today shepherds in that region will leave the valleys scorched by the sun in search of better pasture in the mountains. Although we do not yet know exactly where Mount Horeb is, it still had primordial importance in salvation history. On this same mountain the Law will later be promulgated (chap. 19), in the context of another dramatic theophany. Elijah will come back here to meet God (I Kings 19:8-19). It is the mountain of God "par excellence".

The "angel of the Lord" is probably an expression meaning "God". In the most ancient accounts (cf., e.g., Gen 16:7; 22:11, 14; 31:11, 13),immediately after the angel comes on the scene it is God himself who speaks: since God is invisible he is discovered to be present and to be acting in "the angel of the Lord", who usually does not appear in human form. Later, in the period of the monarchy, the existence of heavenly messengers distinct from God will begin to be recognized (cf 2 Sam 19:28; 24:16; 1 Kings 19:5,7; etc.).

Fire is often a feature of theophanies (cf., e.g., Ex 19:18; 24:17; Lev 9:23-24; Ezek 1:17), perhaps because it is the best symbol to convey the presence of things spiritual and divine transcendence. The bush mentioned here would he one of the many thorny shrubs that grow in desert uplands in that region. Some Christian writers have seen in the burning bush an image of the Church which endures despite the persecutions and trials it undergoes. It is also seen as a figure of the Blessed Virgin, in whom the divinity always burned (cf. St Bede, "Commentaria In Pentateuchum", 2, 3).

All the details given in the passage help to bring out the simplicity and at the same time the drama of God's action; the scene is quite ordinary (grazing, a mountain, a bush...), but extraordinary things happen (the angel of the Lord, a flame which does not burn, a voice).

3:4-10. The calling of Moses is described in this powerful dialogue in four stages: God calls him by his name (v. 4); he introduces himself as the God of Moses' ancestors (v. 9); he makes his plan of deliverance known in a most moving way (vv. 7-9); and, finally, he imperiously gives Moses his mission (v. 10).

The repetition of his name ("Moses, Moses!'') stresses how important this event is (cf. Gen 22:11; Lk 22:31). Taking one's shoes off is a way of showing veneration in a holy place. In some Byzantine communities there was a custom for a long time of celebrating the liturgy barefoot or wearing different footwear from normal. Christian writers have seen this gesture as being an act of humility and detachment in the face of the presence of God: "no one can gain access to God r see him unless first he has shed every earthly attachment" ("Glossa Ordinaria In Exodum", 3, 4).

The sacred writer makes it clear that the God of Sinai is the same as the God of Moses' ancestors; Moses, then, is not a founder of a new religion; he carries on the religious tradition of the patriarchs, confirming the election of Israel as people of God. Four very expressive verbs are used to describe this election, this choice of Israel by God: I have seen..., I have heard..., I know..., I have come down to deliver (v. 8). This sequence of action includes no human action: the people are oppressed, they cry, theirs is a sorry plight. But God has a clear aim in sight--"to deliver them and to bring them up [...] to a good and broad land" (v. 8). These two terms will become keynotes of God's saving action. To bring up to the promised land will come to mean, not only a geographical ascent but also a journey towards plenitude. St Luke's Gospel will take up the same idea. (cf. "The Navarre Bible: The Gospel of Saint Luke", pp 22). God's imperative command is clear in the original text (v. 10): "...bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt". This is another way of referring to the salvific event which gives its name to this book; according to Greek and Latin traditions "exodus" means "going out".

3:11-12. In reply to Moses' first objection about his sheer inability to do what God is asking of him, God assures him that he will be at his side and will protect him --as he will help all who have a difficult mission of salvation (cf. Gen 28:15; Josh 1:5; Jer 1:8). The Blessed Virgin will hear the same words at the Annunciation: "The Lord is with you" (Lk 1:27).

The sign which God gives Moses is linked to his faith, because it involves both a promise and a command: when they come out of Egypt, Moses and the people will worship God on this very mountain. When this actually happens, Moses will acknowledge the supernatural nature of his mission but, meanwhile, he has to obey faithfully the charge given him by God.

Moses' conversation with the Lord is a beautiful prayer and one worth imitating. By following his example, a Christian can dialogue personally and intimately with the Lord: "We ought to be seriously committed to dealing with God. We cannot take refuge in the anonymous crowd. If interior life doesn't involve personal encounter with God, it doesn't exist--it's as simple as that. There are few things more at odds with Christianity than superficiality. To settle down to routine in our Christian life is to dismiss the possibility of becoming a contemplative soul. God seeks us out, one by one. And we ought to answer him, one by one: 'Here I am, Lord, because you have called me' (1 Kings 3:5)" (St. J. Escrivá, "Christ Is Passing By", 174; cf. "Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2574-5).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.