Confidence and Humility
Jul 19: Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I’m sorry this one is late! My schedule has been a little off kilter. You’d think I’d get more done working from home, but…
Reading 1
Ex 3:1-6, 9-12
Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned."
When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
He answered, "Here I am."
God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. The cry of the children of Israel has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
He answered, "I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain."
The Burning Bush is one of the indelible images in our culture, and has thus rightly been commented on for millennia. I don’t think there’s much more I can add to that conversation.
So it’s with great irony I note that Moses said to God, “Who am I that anyone should listen to me?”
Well, no one, really. The important thing is that God is with Moses. God is who they will be listening to, not Moses.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 103:1b-2, 3-4, 6-7
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the Lord, because we can’t do anything entirely on our own. Moses is the great hero of the Hebrew Testament, yet what did he do of his own accord? He saved one slave, then, when he was found out, he fled.
It’s God who raised him up to be the great leader and lawgiver. God works miracles through people, but we shouldn’t get confused who does the miracle.
Alleluia
See Mt 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A favorite verse of little kids everywhere!
Gospel
Mt 11:25-27
At that time Jesus exclaimed: "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him."
Qualifications and degrees don’t always mean you know what you’re talking about.1
Jesus reveals Himself to those who have a childlike faith. It’s through Jesus, not our own knowledge and power, that we are able to see the Father in heaven.
I should know; I have another substack called Too Much Film School.