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.’ (Exodus 3:14)

In Jewish culture and history, to know someone’s name is to put you on a similar level to them. You know them. This poses an ongoing question, ‘How can we know God?’ And yet, as humans, we require some sort of naming to be able to engage in dialogue, or just plain wonder, about our creator. Scripture provides us with hints and glimpses as to how God acts and interacts with humanity. We can focus on our heritage and we can long for a future, but this Scripture answers the question, ‘Where will we find God?’ The response is that God is in the present, in the ‘now’ of our lives.

We can long for the ‘sugar daddy’ God who will save us from all inconvenience, disappointment or pain. Maybe even save us from ourselves. Rather, God is to be found in the present – in our hopes and dreams, our pain and suffering – the real messiness of our lives. This is where we will recognise the joy that is the infallible sign of God’s presence. May we all have our eyes open!

Have a great week!

Patrick