DAY FIVE – Monday, February 22, 2021
Exodus 3:13-15
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name for ever,
and this my title for all generations.”
As did Moses, each of us has epiphanies, experiences that “blow our mind” and change our lives, moments when we stand on holy ground. But because we don’t name them, we forget them. Worse, we forget that we forget. Fortunately, Moses remembered his. For him, it meant that God was calling him to return to Egypt and to lead his people back to their homeland. He had a question, “Who shall I say sent me?” “Tell them YHWH,” came the answer.
We translate YHWH into English as “the Lord.” But YHWH in English has no vowels; so it cannot be pronounced. In Hebrew, it has no consonants; so again it is unpronounceable. It wasn’t meant to be spoken–out of respect for its sacredness. The closest we can vocalize it is “ya-a-a-ah,” like breathing out.
We can dialogue endlessly with God. Remember Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof: “It’s no shame to be poor, but would it destroy some universal plan if I were a wealthy man?!” and we feel close to God beyond words. But God is always just beyond our perception. We cannot pin down his character. (His PIN number is his secret.) He is who he is, and more, he is becoming. (“YHWH” and “becoming” have the same root in Hebrew.)
We cannot stand back from someone–God–of whom we are a part. We cannot stand outside of air and above it. We live in it. We are in it and it is in us. So … to open yourself to your own epiphany, as did Moses, give yourself the gift of ten minutes of personal privacy every day, when you allow yourself to be still. Turn off every one of the voices inside your head that shout for attention, important as they seem. And in that silence, wait for God–when the time is ripe–to speak, and surprise you.
Stan Errett(retired minister, Lanark-Balderson Pastoral Charge)
Exodus 3:13-15
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you’, and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name for ever,
and this my title for all generations.”
As did Moses, each of us has epiphanies, experiences that “blow our mind” and change our lives, moments when we stand on holy ground. But because we don’t name them, we forget them. Worse, we forget that we forget. Fortunately, Moses remembered his. For him, it meant that God was calling him to return to Egypt and to lead his people back to their homeland. He had a question, “Who shall I say sent me?” “Tell them YHWH,” came the answer.
We translate YHWH into English as “the Lord.” But YHWH in English has no vowels; so it cannot be pronounced. In Hebrew, it has no consonants; so again it is unpronounceable. It wasn’t meant to be spoken–out of respect for its sacredness. The closest we can vocalize it is “ya-a-a-ah,” like breathing out.
We can dialogue endlessly with God. Remember Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof: “It’s no shame to be poor, but would it destroy some universal plan if I were a wealthy man?!” and we feel close to God beyond words. But God is always just beyond our perception. We cannot pin down his character. (His PIN number is his secret.) He is who he is, and more, he is becoming. (“YHWH” and “becoming” have the same root in Hebrew.)
We cannot stand back from someone–God–of whom we are a part. We cannot stand outside of air and above it. We live in it. We are in it and it is in us. So … to open yourself to your own epiphany, as did Moses, give yourself the gift of ten minutes of personal privacy every day, when you allow yourself to be still. Turn off every one of the voices inside your head that shout for attention, important as they seem. And in that silence, wait for God–when the time is ripe–to speak, and surprise you.
Stan Errett(retired minister, Lanark-Balderson Pastoral Charge)
