Moses Before The Burning Bush
 |
| (Picture can be found in sites like this) |
The story tells us that Moses was tending the flock of
Jethro, his father-in-law, and led the flock to the far side of the desert. He
came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There, the angel of the Lord appeared to
him in flames of fire from within a thorn bush. Moses saw that, although the
bush was on fire, it was not consumed. So Moses thought, ‘I will go over and
see this strange sight—why the bush is not burnt.’ When the Lord saw that Moses
had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush: ‘Moses! Moses!’
And Moses said, ‘Here I am.’
‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals,
for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ Then he said, ‘I am the
God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
At this, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
The icon [Moses and the Burning Bush] ... depicts this
encounter. Several aspects of the icon highlight our journey toward
discernment. First, the bush is actually a thorn bush, typical of the desert,
indicating that there isn’t any place where God cannot be encountered! Next, we
see the blackened sandals behind Moses. Sandals are made of the skin of
animals; they are dead skins, indicating the passing nature of our persona, our
identity in this world. Moses puts behind him his sense of who he has been;
without it, he is vulnerable and full of fear. Yet, the icon manifests his
readiness to follow the call into an unknown, to a mysterious and awesome
divine encounter. His ego identity is not in control. The icon also indicates a
change in his consciousness of who he really is. His clothing is radiant with
divine light. His ego is not obliterated but participates in the Light of God.
He has awakened to the divine spark within, to his true identity in God. His
inner senses are illumined, awakened, and he hears the voice of God telling him
to lead his people out of Egypt.
What ensues is a dialogue with God. Moses’ first reaction is
‘Who am I?’ Stripped of his former security in who he thought he was, he now is
aware of his limitations, his sense of inadequacy. But his former identity
doesn’t just totally disappear; for now it will become God’s agent in
responding to the plight of his people. God assures him, ‘I will be with you.’
To us as to Moses, this is the invitation to center our attention on a new
identity—on God consciousness, on a God who is full of compassion.
After the divine awakening comes the descent into the daily:
the call for us to incarnate (‘en-flesh’) God’s presence in this broken world.
We perceive Moses’ resistance, his difficulty in accepting the challenge of
being God’s instrument in the liberation of his people. He is invited by God; this mission is not
forced upon him! The experience gives him the light, the strength, the
discernment to face the challenges, to face his own fears, his resistances, and
his limitations in fulfilling the divine mission—which is also his own purpose.
We see Moses at the foot of the holy mountain. Mount Horeb
is at the bottom; the summit is Sinai, which Moses will later ascend and where
he will commune with God in the deepest recesses of his being. This present
encounter is his new beginning. Enlightenment is not a place where we build a
tent and savor God’s presence in bliss for the rest of our lives. Nevertheless,
it is a divine light.
...Our experience may not be as dramatic as Moses’ or St.
Paul’s experience, but even if it is more subtle, it is nonetheless real. It is
one thing, however, to experience this divine presence and another to flesh it
out in our lives. This process requires serious reflection on the tools for the
spiritual journey. Who am I? What am I called to by God? How do I discern the
path ahead? Discernment grows as we are purified in all the areas of our being.”
~Rebecca Cown
Comments