“Moses attentive to
what he sees, names the revelation, makes it conscious and in turn is named by
the Transcendent. From that moment, Moses himself is changed.
He still lisps, he is
still a misfit of sorts, he is still ordinary, but he allows his vision to
affect the very purpose of his existence.
His worldview is changed and his life takes on new meaning. He becomes a prophet and leader amongst
his people” (17)
Are we attentive to what we see in our day? With our smart phones, constant communication, and wired existences would we even see or smell a tree on fire? Moses was attentive. He stopped to take notice. Part of why I like the concept of “Dancing with God” is because we cannot dance without intention. To dance as a verb requires that we take part in moving ones body rhythmically (or at least trying to be rhythmic).
Dancing doesn’t happen by accident great dancing requires
great intention and attention.
Moses paid attention to what was occurring around him, and then took
another step and chose to name what he was encountering.
The process of naming things gives us power. Naming something claims at least we
have limited understanding of that which we are encountering or that which is
encountering us. Moses, simply
calls it a burning bush. That was
the depth of his insight.
Sometimes this is the best we have. I frequently tell my students that sometimes I feel the most
honest way to identify myself is as agnostic, simply out of humility of not
knowing enough about that which I encounter. I know it is
greater. I know it brings me peace. I know that in the presence of the Other I find meaning. Yet there is so
much more unknown. (I
understand if this makes others uncomfortable, I’m not asking you to do the
same I am simply trying to name my experience as clearly and honestly as I
can.) Yet notice that Moses at
first is not afraid. The text says
he saw a burning bush and he moved toward it, he wanted to know more.
Do you move toward the burning bushes in your day or do you
ignore them? To you allow your
sense of wonder to guide you toward a hint of the Transcendent or do you walk
away and as SIRI to explain it to you?
When we walk toward the Transcendent the Transcendent
speaks. And unlike us the
Transcendent knows our name. The
Transcendent knows the deepest us. The us
that we cant even see. Moses
when he ‘looked in mirror’ visulized a broken, afraid, stuttering, weak
rancher. The Transcendent saw a
wise, bold, empowered prophet and national leader.
In meeting the Transcendent, in taking notice, Moses is
transformed. This is the beauty of
walking toward hints of the transcendent: Each time we walk toward the hint, we
are changed.
How can we make room for the Hints?
“Could it be that God
speaks to us as he always has, just that we have forgotten his language or
gotten distracted in ways that human nature has always gotten distracted and
wandered out of earshot?” (18)
