Thursday 20 July 2023
St Apollinaris
Exodus 3:13-20. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever – Psalm 104(105):1, 5, 8-9, 24-27. Matthew 11:28-30.
God reveals his name to Moses
The encounter between Moses and God at the burning bush is comfortably among the most striking and rich passages in the Bible. Beauty and insight can be found in every element. Perhaps what grabs me most is the interplay regarding God’s name. Rationally enough in a world of many gods Moses wants to know which he is speaking to. An answer comes back, but not on the same terms as the question. God gives Moses something to say, but not a true name. He simply is. This God is the unconditioned, undefinable, incomprehensible One. In God’s reply, he both holds out a means by which he might be known, and asserts the limits of knowledge. God can’t be limited to a place or a people, and yet mysteriously he has taken one people to be his own. As Jesus will reveal perfectly, God is, but not how we might expect.
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