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God is totally other
than human persons. God is transcendent and we are not.
Yet, we are called to share the holiness of God and come
to know the presence of the transcendent in our
lives. Despite the reality of human
weakness and our limitations, we are called to be holy
and reflect in our lives the presence of God who dwells
in us. Holiness is not devout perfection and faithful
law keeping. Holiness is the messiness of living life in
love and justice in the reality of our personal history
as those who profess faith in God, and in Christ Jesus.
In other words, you don’t have to be perfect to be holy.
Moses fled
Egypt after murdering the Egyptian, and became a
shepherd in the desert of Sinai. Still a man of passion
and justice, Moses is trying to find his way in a
troubled world. Faithful to his core belief, he remains
open to God and the divine way. God knows, and has
formed the heart of Moses. Today God acts on Moses’
behalf to fulfill a divine purpose. Moses is being
called to be holy, set apart by God to fulfill the
divine will.
The burning
bush is a symbol for the divine. The bush is not
consumed for God is eternal. The bush is on fire because
the fire of divine love purifies and reveals.
Approaching the bush out of curiosity, Moses is startled
by the voice of God and removes his sandals for he is
standing on holy ground. Now God has his attention.
Removing the shoes shows both reverence and
subordination in the presence of God. Moses learned this
growing up in Egypt where all who came into the
Pharaoh’s presence must do so barefoot.
This
story parallels the story of Abram in that God is
initiating a personal relationship and revealing the
divine self to a human person. Called to liberate the
suffering Israelites, Moses asks who
conclusion to this
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