When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:4)
“Have you ever noticed?” is not just the lead-in to a comedy routine by Jerry Seinfeld. It’s also the first transcendental imperative of the great 20th century theologian, Bernard Lonergan (“Be attentive”).
It’s shocking to realize just how inattentive we can be as we go routinely through our days. We drive to work in a zombie-like state, automatically taking the proper turns, but when we pull into our parking space, we can’t recall how we got there.
We filter out the familiar. We are naturally drawn to something that is out of place or changed in our environment. This was a great evolutionary advantage to our distant ancestors, but maybe not so advantageous for us now.
There are great gifts in the ordinary. There’s a world of wonder in the things we bypass without a glance each day.
How well do you know your own back yard? When you walk through the neighborhood are your senses open to all the sights and sounds and scents that are present?
If you with live with others in your household, ask yourself: can you recall what your spouse, child, partner is wearing today?
Moses didn’t hear his name called by God until he “turned aside to see” the bush that was burning yet not consumed. The ancient Greek theologians believed that the bush Moses saw was not a unique occurrence. Rather, they believe that on this occasion Moses saw the true nature of the bush, indeed the true nature of all creation — aflame with the radiance of God’s presence.
He saw it because he was attentive, because he was willing to turn aside from his ‘very important work’ to experience wonder.
Maybe we don’t hear from God because we don’t pay attention to the world around us and especially the people around us. What messages could we hear from our spouses, our children, our friends if only we paid attention?
Prayer: Open my eyes, Lord. Let me see the flaming light of your grace in every face I see today and in every familiar path I tread.
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
From Aurora Leigh, Elizabeth Barrett Browning