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I invite you to close your eyes and to be attentive to all that you hear. (allow 2 minutes) I now invite you to open your eyes. Remembering what you have heard,
try to locate where the different sounds came from.
Do you see anything unusual, extraordinary, or unexpected?
Rejoice and thank God our Creator for what you have heard, seen, and discovered… and allow it all to draw you into the presence of God!
Scripture Reading: Exodus 3:3-4
Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
A thought Moses turns aside to see…
and in that turning aside,
he encounters the living God; a God who calls him by name, from the midst of a bush.
Reflection 1: The burning bush experience does not happen apart from or in spite of everyday life but in the midst of life. Moses was watching over the flock of his father in law. He was doing the ordinary routine things of his life, the same things he did the day before, the week before, and the month before.
Burning bushes show up as we keep our flocks of
routine and everyday life.
Reflection 2: I wonder…
Is that how it happens? In that unplanned moment
or that unexpected interruption
When out of the corner of our eye we catch a glimpse
And turn our head and refocus our attention
That the Holy has a chance to brush up against our life?
How often do we miss what God is doing because we are not ready, or willing to see it, because we are blind, indifferent,
because we become “slaves of routine”?
If we can but open our eyes then we too may see
God in the holy ground of all Creation.
How will you open your eyes, ears, heart, and mind to the ‘divine fire that exists within the essence of things’ today?
Laudato Si 81
The sheer novelty involved in the emergence of a personal being within a material universe presupposes a direct action of God and a particular call to life and to relationship on the part of a “Thou” who addresses himself to another “thou”.
Reflection 3:
In our times we have more ways to avoid that
burning bush than anyone before us: more activities and busyness, more use of technology, more urgencies and demands of all kinds, more distractions and entertainment. We repeat, “We have no time!” We are overwhelmed by so many things to do. We integrate the “time is money” logic into our life. Growth is no longer achieved by increasing speed, but by compressing time through “simultaneously doing”. The capitalist commandment is now no longer (only) "Do it faster!", but "Do it at the same time!"
If we do more in the same amount of time, this is almost always associated with increased energy consumption. More resources are needed and consumed. This has a direct impact on our ecological footprint. That means even more exploitation of
mother earth; more exploitation and suffering of people in mining areas.
By turning aside, how can we learn again that time is a precious gift, that time is part of God's creation? Do we give space and time for listening the voice of God?
Do we take time for discerning what is holy in the midst of the daily life?
The burning bush awaits us in our own hearts; it does not go away, rather it continues to invite and wait.
Concluding Prayer:
Now, O Lord, you have my attention.
Calm me into a quietness that heals and listens, that moulds my longings and my passions,
my wounds and wonderings.
In the silence, let me listen
and hear the truth you have put into me;
trust the love you have for me. Speak to me;
in the crackling of the fire, in the light of the flames
in the beauty of my heart
in the ordinary and everyday speak Lord. I am listening.
