Thursday of 15^th Week in Ordinary Time

Ex 3: 13-20; Mt 11: 28-30

Dc. Larry Brockman

I am who am- Yahweh!  That is the Jewish name for the Almighty God.  So sacred is it that the Jews don’t pronounce that name, and Pope Benedict has decreed that we should not use it either.  This honor of the name of God is called for out of respect- respect for the almighty power and sacredness of God.  In a nutshell, these attitudes towards the sacred name describe the transcendence of God, the fact that God is so powerful, so holy and good, so far above and beyond our nature, that we should always show the utmost of respect, and recognize the infinite gap, the distance, between us and God.  The very answer, “I am who am” is such a perfect description of the mystery of God.  Because no matter how hard disbelievers try, nobody can explain how anything ultimately came to be.  God’s answer to Moses, “I am who am”, is such a perfect answer.  It cannot be explained; it just is. 

And so also is that innate feeling of transcendence between ourselves and God.  But, despite the reality of the separation between God and us, God chose to willingly narrow that gap.  In the first covenant, he did it by communicating with his people by being present with them in the Cloud or the Pillar of Fire, and as a voice to Moses.  Then later, God was constantly present through the prophets.  But the people did not respond; did not stay in obedience to His will and commands.  And so, God sent his only son, Jesus, true God and true man to live among us and show us the way.  This forever bridged the transcendence between God and Man.  No other religion can make that claim. 

And so, as Christians, we benefit from the intimacy that God shared with us   By assuming our human nature. and living amongst us for 30 some years, long enough to show us that it was possible to please God in our human nature. 

The first reading is a most ideal way to set the stage for our Gospel, today.  Listen again: “Jesus said:  “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”” 

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 7:35 am and is filed under Holy Family Weekday Homilies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.