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Exodus 3: 1-6, 9-12
Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.
Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb,
the mountain of God.
There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire
flaming out of a bush.
As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush,
though on fire, was not consumed.
So Moses decided,
“I must go over to look at this remarkable sight,
and see why the bush is not burned.”
When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely,
God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He answered, “Here I am.”
God said, “Come no nearer!
Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground.
I am the God of your father,” he continued,
“the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
The cry of the children of Israel has reached me,
and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them.
Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people,
the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God,
“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh
and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
He answered, “I will be with you;
and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you:
when you bring my people out of Egypt,
you will worship God on this very mountain.”
The Word of the Lord.
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I will be with you.”
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We’ve all been in a position in life where it seems like we must do the impossible.
Think of the first time you laid eyes on your newborn child. How can I give this child everything he or she deserves?
“I will be with you.”
Or the moment you show up for your first day on the job. You’re a teacher – a class full of twenty young children. Can I really teach them all how to read?
“I will be with you.”
Or that malignant diagnosis, your first day of retirement, the moment you lose a loved one…or, in my case, the day of my priestly ordination. Can I really do this?
“I will be with you.”
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These five words – “I will be with you”– are the words spoken by God to Moses in our first reading.
Moses faced an impossible task – he was called to lead his people out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land.
He was terrified – he questioned – but the Lord spoke to him from the burning bush simply promising, “I will be with you.”
The same God who guided Moses guides us today. Whatever our challenges or trials may be, we can move forward in confidence, because the Lord is with us, whispering in our hearts:
“I will be with you.”
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Image credits: (1) Pinterest (2) God and Moses at the Burning Bush, Earl Mott, Fine Art America (3) Pinterest