Daily Retreat 07/15/09
2009 Jul 15 Wed:Bonaventure, bp, r, dr M
Ex 3:1-6. 9-12/ Ps 102(103):1b-2. 3-4. 6-7/ Mt 11:25-27
From today’s readings:“Moses was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.... The Lord is kind and merciful.... I give praise to You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, for although You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, You have revealed them to the childlike....”
Appearance of God
A theophany is the technical term given to a manifestation, or appearance, of God. In Chapter Three of Exodus, Moses experiences his first theophany when God appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush.
I have heard and read many insightful explanations for some of the details of this theophany, suggestions, for instance, about the symbolic “meaning” of the burning bush, and why Moses was commanded to remove his sandals, etc. But I think it is better to just admit that God’s revelation was mysterious and intriguing - Moses certainly didn’t walk away from the theophany with the assumption that he had it all figured out, and so neither should we.
At the beginning of the theophany, there isn’t even a suggestion that Moses was praying or engaged in any pious thoughts or that he was preoccupied about the plight of the Israelites. Rather, he was simply going about his work, “tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro.” As you and I go about our own daily work, God will make Himself more known to us as well - but not in such a spectacular and heavy-handed theophany as a burning bush, because Jesus has taught us that God the Father reveals Himself even more to the childlike, to those who have faith that, as He has promised and demonstrated, the loving Father will always be with them, especially in their hour of need....
Ex 3:1-6. 9-12/ Ps 102(103):1b-2. 3-4. 6-7/ Mt 11:25-27
From today’s readings:“Moses was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.... The Lord is kind and merciful.... I give praise to You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, for although You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, You have revealed them to the childlike....”
Appearance of God
A theophany is the technical term given to a manifestation, or appearance, of God. In Chapter Three of Exodus, Moses experiences his first theophany when God appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush.
I have heard and read many insightful explanations for some of the details of this theophany, suggestions, for instance, about the symbolic “meaning” of the burning bush, and why Moses was commanded to remove his sandals, etc. But I think it is better to just admit that God’s revelation was mysterious and intriguing - Moses certainly didn’t walk away from the theophany with the assumption that he had it all figured out, and so neither should we.
At the beginning of the theophany, there isn’t even a suggestion that Moses was praying or engaged in any pious thoughts or that he was preoccupied about the plight of the Israelites. Rather, he was simply going about his work, “tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro.” As you and I go about our own daily work, God will make Himself more known to us as well - but not in such a spectacular and heavy-handed theophany as a burning bush, because Jesus has taught us that God the Father reveals Himself even more to the childlike, to those who have faith that, as He has promised and demonstrated, the loving Father will always be with them, especially in their hour of need....
posted by FrPitstick | 7/11/2009
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