Through a strange sight, Moses receives his call, “I must go and look at this strange sight, and see why the bush is not burnt.” What was the sight? And, what did Moses hear? Indeed, because the sight was extraordinary, it captured the attention of Moses. But what he heard was beyond his imagination. He could never have imagined that he would be standing on holy ground, and hearing from the eternal reality. “Take off your shoes, for the place on which you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father.” The sight that fascinated Moses soon overwhelmed him with fear and awe. At this, Moses covered his face, afraid to look at God. Should men be afraid of God? The psalmist would say, yes indeed: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
God reveals to Moses that He is one eternal God, the creator and sustainer of the universe. Although God is all powerful, He does not destroy creation or creatures to make what is wrong right. And so the bush is not consumed by the fire, and Moses is offered God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. God wants to liberate the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the promise land. Those who refuse the invitation of God are consumed by their own faulty aspirations and determination, and that’s what happened to the Egyptians. The fire of God’s love is ever burning, and does not consume, but rather invites us to seek the warmth of eternal love. He tells Moses, “I have seen the miserable state of my people in Egypt. I have heard their appeal … I mean to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians and bring them up out of that land to a land where milk and honey flow.”
“I am who I am” is the nature of God, who is ever present, and whose love never burns out. Egyptians and Israelites were to recognize this ever present God in their lives and in their history. There is no other God but the God of the Israelites, “I am who I am.” God tells us, “This is my name for all time; by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come.” Indeed, God is beyond name and form, time and space, yet He is ever present for all his children. Like Moses, we have to heed the call of God, who is calling us, through ordinary and extraordinary signs. Although, as the psalmist writes fear is the beginning of wisdom, we have to move beyond fear to begin a loving relationship. God is eternal love, and He never ceases to invite us to experience his love, mercy and forgiveness.
Although Moses alone among his peers was privileged to hear from the eternal reality, in Jesus, this privilege is offered to all. Jesus says, “I am who I am” … I am the way, the truth and the life … I am the light of the world … I am the good shepherd.” It is the same eternal reality that Moses encountered at the burning bush, but it has come to dwell among us in a new way, with name and form, in time and space, and yet it is not consumed. Who can delve into the mystery of eternal reality and unwrap the meaning? “Why is the bush not burnt?” Jesus says, “I am before Abraham was.” It is true, God is eternal and immutable. Hence, let us come to Jesus, the burning bush, and listen to his voice calling us, “Come follow me.”