15 July 2015
Memorial of St. Bonaventure
The call of Moses shows us something about God and those He calls. (Ex 3) The Lord does not begin by calling Moses’ name as He does with Samuel. (1 Sm 3) He does not appear upon a majestic throne as He does for Isaiah. (Is 6) Rather, the Lord calls Moses in a less direct manner. Leading the flock across the desert, Moses came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. (Ex 3: 1-2) In the mountains, while Moses is in the midst of his daily task as a shepherd, the Lord catches his attention with something wondrous. So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.” (Ex 3:3) The Lord reveals Himself in a humble though amazing way to a humble shepherd.
In today’s Gospel, our Lord praises the Father for the revelation of Himself not to the wise and the learned, but to the childlike. (Mt 11:25) To Moses who simply wants to know why the bush burns but is not consumed, God reveals Himself. To those who see the marvels of creation and redemption and want to know the source of those marvels, God reveals Himself. St. Bonaventure, whose feast we celebrate today, constantly sought in his many wise writings not a knowledge which he could possess, but the love of God which would enrapture his heart. Today let us ask for the gift of humility, to recognize our dependence on God for the gift of faith.