Thursday of the
Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 3:13-20; Matthew 11:28-30)
“Call me whatever you like,” people used to kid, “just
don’t call me late for dinner.” Did they really mean that? Is it all right to be called anything
whatsoever as long as one has three squares a day? The first reading today
indicates something different.
When Moses asks God for a name, God responds enigmatically.
It is not easy to interpret what “I am who am” means. Some philologists find the term a way to
conceal one’s identity. For them it
means “I am what I am (and that’s enough for you to know).” They understand God as saying that He is a
mystery who remains beyond human comprehension.
Others find the term more revelatory.
They would say that God is declaring Himself to have all Being as His
essence. For them God is the source and
horizon of all that is.
In any case the purpose of God giving His name here is to
tell the people of Israel that He is on call to help them. They now know where to look when troubles
pile up. In time God will come even
closer to His people. He will present
Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Perhaps
today’s gospel passage indicates God’s readiness to help us as well as any. Jesus invites us to go to him when we find
life burdensome. He assures us that we
will find our relief in him.
