Lent Meditation: Day 32- March 21, 2026

📖 Scripture Verse

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.”  He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” — Exodus 3:13-14

🕯️Meditation

In the deep recesses of the human story that was unfolding among the desert peoples of the ancient near east, the divine name YHWH comes to be known.  It is connected etymologically (probably) with the verb “to be”.  “I AM WHO I AM” — every study bible with decent and honest notes will say about this name, “meaning of Hebrew uncertain.”

The mystery of the meaning of this name adds theological depth to our story of our God.  There is an inscrutability and unknowableness at the heart of who God is for us—and it is inscribed for us in the very name itself.  It means something to do with life and being, probably, but what exactly no one knows.  

In John’s Gospel in particular, Jesus leans on this name spoken from the burning bush to Moses in his own revelation of himself.

I am the bread of life

I am the light of the world

I am the door

I am the good shepherd

I am the resurrection and the life

I am the way and the truth and the life

I am the true vine

Like the name spoken from the fire to Moses, these words of Jesus are both mysterious, and an invitation to contemplate him.  Like the footnote “meaning of Hebrew uncertain”—the name from the bush, and the I AM statements of Jesus both reveal and dazzle—they both show us who he is, and teach us that a lifetime of contemplation will show only deeper depths of meaning yet to unfold.

🙏 Prayer

Almighty God, you are a mystery to me, and yet I long to know you.  Help me to learn who you are. Reveal yourself to me what I need to know to grow in friendship with you.  Help me always stand in awe of the divine mystery of your love and justice.  Amen.

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