Memorial of Saint Bonaventure
July 15, 2021
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Exodus 3:13-20
God continues to speak to Moses from the burning bush. He tells Moses–and the Israelites–his name. In the culture of this time, telling someone your name was an exercise of respectful intimacy. He is “I AM”, the God of their fathers–of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It is God’s intent to lead them out of their slavery in Egypt and restore them to their ancestral homeland. They are to begin this project by demanding of Pharaoh that he allow them to go into the desert to offer sacrifice. Pharaoh will refuse at the beginning, but eventually God will force him to comply.
It’s an awesome project that God is undertaking with his people, one with consequences that persist even to this day.
