I WANT YOU!

I think we can all agree the people generally like other folks who are down to earth.  Imagine this scenario, you have to meet an important personality, say a university professor, to discuss some idea or get his or her advice for your dissertation.  This can be somewhat intimidating for some of us. Now, if the person is humble and exhibits a pleasant demeanor, you will walk away for the engagement with a positive feeling about the interaction, right?

Now put yourself in Moses' sandals.  God calls out from a burning bush, Deacon Joe! Deacon Joe! 'Come no nearer." (Ex 3:5)  God's got my attention!  Yet note how patiently God reaches out to Moses.  First, he gives Moses time to prepare.  Calling out to him, he has him remove his sandals which gives Moses a chance to collect himself.  Then God introduces himself, "I am the God of your Father,..." (Ex 3:6) and explains his purpose for the engagement, "The cry of the children of Israel has reached me, ..." (Ex 3:9) and shares his plan to set them free.  The he tells Moses, I want you to convince Pharaoh to let my people go.  Who am I? is Moses response and God assures him, "I will be with you." (Ex 3:12)

Heaven is reserved for those who are down to earth, for the childlike.  John Chrysostom noted that "the secrets of heaven are revealed to the childlike, that is, to the uneducated and the simple.  Jesus wasn't opposed to education and learning, but he was challenging those who think they have all the answers.  Some people are just too smart for their own britches."

Some rejected Jesus because he wasn't a professional (an official rabbi).  Jesus' teaching often fell on deaf ears because the audience was too proud to accept it.  The majority of bishops at the Second Vatican Council insisted that Catholics need to review Church teaching, return to the primitive message of the gospel, and reapply it to a modern world.  Some rejected that decision because they thought the magisterium already had all the answers.  Pope Francis keeps asking us to look at the gospel again, to hear and respond humbly to God's simple message of love.  

Moses responded with humility when he encountered God in the burning bush, hiding his face, afraid to even look.

The God of surprises still surprises those who are down to earth enough to allow such surprises.  Let us spend our day open the God's surprises and may we humbly respond with simplicity of heart in a down to earth manner.