Jesus teaches us a very subtle lesson in this weeks Gospel reading when he says:
"That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called out 'Lord, 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
Walk through this with me, if you have the patience: I've read Exodus many times. I've read the passage about the burning bush. After reading about Moses' encounter with God on the Holy Mountain, I didn't say to myself "Oh, Moses is talking about the resurrection, here." I mean, yes - it makes sense when Jesus tells us that's what that means. But I didn't get that the first time I read it. Or the second time. Even the third time, when you'd think that surely by now, I must remember the Gospel passage where Jesus tells us that Moses is talking about the resurrection, but no. If I'm being honest, I've been very slow to put this together.
What's my point? I am amazed at how deep and broad and truly profound Holy Scriptures are. Even when I think I understand a simple and straight forward passage such as this one about Moses at the burning bush, I find that contemplating God's word is always fruitful. Even when I "get it," I find that there's another, deeper lesson to understand. What's the subtle lesson the Lord is giving us in this Gospel passage? Of course (ultimately) He's telling us that He is the Resurrection and the Life, but the more subtle message is one about how to read Scripture. There's so much more to it than what lies at the surface. Scripture should be read and re-read, and then read again. Each time, we should not be shy about asking our Lord to explain it to us. I think reading Scripture was always meant to be a prayerful thing. If you don't read Scripture, I would invite you to start. Read something. Read a Psalm. Read a Gospel. Sit with the Lord and contemplate what you read. He will be right there with you.......
Peace,
+Theophilus
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