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The burning bush, or more correctly, the unburning bush. It was probably an ordinary bramble bush, the most usual kind of vegetation in those parts. The fire would not have been that remarkable because spontaneous combustion is not unheard of in dry, hot, desert country. But a fire that burns but does not consume? Moses came over to investigate. Suddenly, he heard his name: "Moses, Moses!" The voice was coming from the bush.

Moses leaned in, his head cocked to one side in wonder. "Here I am."

The voice again. "Do not come any closer! Take off your sandals, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."

"Huh?" Moses, looking as bewildered as you or I might be, fumbled around with the thongs that held his sandals in place, removed them, then looked quizzically at the bush again.

The voice spoke. "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

Right. This is one of those passages that Bill Cosby could have a field day with. The bush spoke ... the voice of God! Right. Am I on Candid Camera? Lucky for us, no cameras back then. Moses responded by shielding his face, because he knew to look at God was to die.

God says, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey...." This is all well and good. One wonders why it took God so long to notice, considering it had only been 400 years that the people have been enslaved, but that is another story. The present problem is God's choice of a leader -- this eighty-year-old shepherd whose only entry to the corridors of Egyptian power would be through a justice system (such as it is) that only knows him as a fugitive from a murder charge.

As might be expected, Moses demurs. "Who am I that I should go to the pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Good question. We can all agree that God's choices are not always easily explained.

Note something -- God never defends the decision, never explains why the choice. In answer to Moses' "Who am I?" objection, the response was simply, "I will be with you." Moses was right -- "Who was he?" Nobody. No matter. "I will be with you." And that is what ultimately counts. I love the "sign" that God promised: "And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." In other words, the only sign you will see is in the rearview mirror, hindsight. One day, when you are back here on this mountain and worshiping with your Hebrew brothers and sisters, you will think back to this moment and realize that God was with you all along, just as promised.

"That is all well and good, God," Moses continued, "but what happens when I get to Egypt and tell the people, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you'? They are gonna look at me like I am nuts! And who could blame them? What am I gonna tell them if they ask which god has sent me, what shall I say?"

Here is where the rubber meets the road. God's response has gotten more theological ink over the years than anyone would care to calculate. Which god? "God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.' " What could that mean?

A quick and dirty language lesson here: Apparently early on, someone somewhere noted the similarity of the four consonants of the Hebrew name for God (transliterated), Y H W H, and the three consonants of the verb "to be," H Y H. So saying, be aware that Hebrew does not use this verb as a common coupler the way English does. Where we would ask, "What is your name?" Hebrew would ask, "What your name?" Hebrew reserves H Y H for much more significant meanings. So we translate this passage, "I am who I am," or even "I will be who I will be." This is the God who is, the God who really exists (as opposed to those false gods we worship who are no gods at all). Even more, this is the God who is present, especially at those moments of deepest need. This is the God with no limits, the God who will be whatever is necessary, no matter what the situation. In another time and place, Isaiah expressed the name as Immanuel, "God with us," the name made even more real to you and me in the coming of Jesus.

Of course, by the time of Christ, this divine name had taken on a mystique of its own. In fact, the religious establishment was ready to stone Jesus as a blasphemer for using the special name in reference to himself (John 8:56-59).

For what it is worth, the establishment was at least partly right -- no, Jesus was not a blasphemer -- yes, he did use the divine name in a personal way. Over and over and over again, in fact. And over and over and over, we find it offers a wonderful word of comfort.

Think of some of the things Jesus said, and then relate them to your own life.

• For you who are hungry for spiritual nourishment that has been neglected in the too-fast pace of modern life, the bush is still burning. Jesus says, "I AM the bread of life" (John 6:35).
• To you who have strayed from the straight and narrow path and now want to find your way back, the bush is still burning. Jesus says, "I AM the light of the world" (John 8:12).
• To you who feel that you cannot get back to the path because you have strayed so far, the bush is still burning. Jesus says, "I AM the good shepherd" (John 10:11).
• To you who have been drained of any joy in life by depression, despair, and grief, the bush is still burning. Jesus says, "I AM the vine" (John 15:5).
• To you teenagers who want solid guidance in your life choices -- school, career, mate -- the bush is still burning. Jesus says, "I AM the way" (John 14:6).
• To you who are wrestling with the ethical puzzles of a confused and confusing world not sure what is right or wrong anymore, the bush is still burning. Jesus says, "I AM the truth" (John 14:6).
• To you who are coming near the end of this earthly journey and wonder what lies ahead, the bush is still burning. Jesus says, "I AM the resurrection and the life" (John 11:35).

Carefully scan the mountainsides of your life. Be alert. Listen quietly. Perhaps a verse of scripture, a word of prayer, a moment of fellowship, a line from a lesson, a sentence from a sermon, the touch of a hand, or the warmth of a smile. That voice. Speaking to you. The bush is still burning.