Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Most are familiar with the holy name of God revealed to Moses on Mount Horeb. We will get this in tomorrow’s reading from Exodus: I am who am. This could be the revelation of God’s nature, as the One who is being itself, existing for all eternity without beginning or end. It could also be a kind of rebuff to Moses the mortal, akin to a parent saying to a child, “Because I said so.”
Yet, in this interchange today, Moses is not acting arrogantly. Scripture tells us Moses was the meekest man who ever lived (Num. 12:3), even afraid to speak publically (Ex. 4:10). He inquires, “Who am I that that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” What is God’s response? “I will be with you.”
Some translators say that the name I am who am could rather be rendered: I am who will be. This is then a promise of fidelity. God makes a covenant with us, but this is not because of our stability but because of His steadfast love for us. Mature people know that love is not a feeling. It is an act of the will, a choice. And a significant aspect of love is loyalty. Love is proven in good times and in bad, as the marriage vows state. God is and will be with us.
Perhaps this is why Jesus praises the childlike. To be childlike means that you possess the trust of children. Oh, how the little ones are selfish and get angry with their parents with they don’t get what they want! Yet even those who do not have a concept of time to experience future or past, know that whenever they cry out in distress to mom or dad, they will be cared for. So, we are called to understand that we are not the makers of our salvation, but we will receive as sons and daughters again and again from a Father who will reconcile us and be with us always.
Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections