A Burning Bush

Fortunately for the Hebrew slaves in Egypt – and fortunately for us – Moses took time to discern the extraordinary from the mere ordinary.  Living in such a hot, dry area, Moses would not be surprised to see a bush on fire.  But Moses looked closely – and saw that this was no ordinary brushfire, the fire was not consuming the bush.  Moses’ sight became insight – and the rest is history.

Today, like Moses, it’s not unusual to see burning bushes.  And, like Moses, these are generally normal bushes on fire, bushes that simply burn away to nothing.  Our culture demands activity, demands success, demands our time and energy.  The boss needs this done right away, the children need to be at their appointed games, the bills need paid, we need to run faster, we need to work harder.  In our accomplishment-driven culture, we accept these challenges with great gusto.  But the days keep getting longer, the sleep get shorter, and, for many, this “fire in the belly” eventually consumes; we physically or mentally break down.

We think we can put off this end if we just stay in shape, watch what we eat, etc. etc.  This must be a popular thought because the shelves are filled with books describing diets and workout regimens that will help us succeed.  But eventually, this becomes one more thing on the list of things that must be done, one more thing to fit into our schedules, one more thing to consume us.

Perhaps wealth or a good job is the answer.  If only I had the money to let other people do the mundane, I could focus on the important things.  If only I had money to buy what the family needed, I wouldn’t feel the pressure to constantly earn more.  Yet as I work to earn more, I find that I spend more.  My “needs” – easily confused with my “wants” – seem to increase even faster than my ability to pay for them.  When I think I have enough, I see something that requires more.  The faster I run, the behinder I get.  I am consumed again.

Thomas Merton teaches us that our first command as Christians is not to love, but to believe.  Unless we believe in God’s unconditional love for us – an infinite, divine love that we cannot possibly deserve – we cannot love at all.  Without complete faith and trust in God’s love, I become so concerned with protecting myself, with trying to earn love which cannot be earned, with working to gain more love when I am already loved infinitely and can’t be loved any more, that I turn in to myself and away from others, away from God.  By cutting myself off from God’s infinite love, the meager, finite amount of fuel that I can muster is eventually consumed – I burn up and burn out.

But when we “get it,” when we believe in our hearts and feel in our guts this infinite and unconditional love, we have fuel that burns forever without being consumed. 

For example, Dorothy Day was a burning bush that was never consumed.  Nobody could have been busier than she is her work for the poor of New York and the poor of America.  Yet she was always serene, always composed, always at peace.  Of course, she expected that all those around “got it” like she “got it.”  Her granddaughter, Margaret Hennessey, said, “To have known Dorothy meant spending the rest of your life wondering what hit you.”  Hers was a contagious fire.

This faith not only calms in the midst of the unrelenting busy-ness that often accompanies Jesus’ call to love everyone, even our enemies, it also encourages us to love through the infernal fires of sin and evil that are so present to us in today’s world.  For the past couple months, we’ve been surrounded by burning, yet unconsumed bushes – extraordinary burning bushes – right here is Newtown.  When I see the parents and families of the December 14 victims seeking not retribution for their loss, but simply witnessing in love for some way to keep such evil from happening to others, I, like Moses, know that I am standing on holy ground.  When I see the constant reminders around town to choose love, I, like those who have known Dorothy Day, know that I will spend the rest of my life wondering what hit me.

M prayer this for you this Lent is the same as my prayer for me.

May we know God’s infinite and unconditional love deeply and richly.  For when the fire of God’s love burns in our hearts, we will not be consumed, but strengthened; we will not be destroyed, but purified. 

And when we look in a mirror, may we see a burning bush.