A Burning Bush

If you are driving along the Tebrau Highway and you see a bush that is burning and yet is not consumed (not burnt up), what will you do: (a) whipped out your hand phone and call 911 to inform the Bomba; (b) ignore it and drive by to your next appointment; (c) slow down, get out of the car, join the rest of the crowd to see the spectacular free show or (d) recognize the presence of God?

While recognizing our civil duty to call in the Bomba, most of us will not do so. We do not want to get ‘involved’. Someone else will call in will be our justification. However, that may not stop us from calling our friends to tell them about the fire. Most of us will ignore the burning bush and just drive on. We are in a hurry and there is so much to do and so little time to do it. Some will get out to look at the burning bush. “How do they accomplish this special effect?” they wondered. “Are they making a movie?” Very few will recognize the presence of God and even fewer will move close enough to hear the voice of God as Moses did (Gen.3:4).

What we choose to do is a reflection of our spirituality. Most of us have the ‘do not get involved’ attitude. Let someone else do it. We know we are to love our neighbours (Mk. 12:31) but let’s not get too involved. Many of us are suffering from the ‘hurried’ syndrome. We spend our days rushing from one task to another, filling our lives with stressful hurry. We forget the one thing needful (Lk.10:41). Many of us also love the spectacular and like to be entertained. A continuously burning bush. Wow. What a spectacular pyrotechnic show. Very few of us will notice the presence of God. Why? That’s because we are so attuned to the natural world, so centered in our own lives that we are not open to the presence of God around us. What the mind do not think of, the eyes do not see. That’s why St.Paul called us to train our minds (Rom.12:2).

There is a story of two fish in an ocean. They set off on a spiritual quest to find water. Water is said to have special qualities. Water gives life and can exist in three states: liquid, solid and vapour. They spent many years searching yet they cannot find this water. One day, they asked a wise fish, “Where can we find water?” The wise fish replied, “Water? It’s everywhere. You are swimming in it!” Are we like these two fish? We are living in the presence of God and yet are not aware of Him. We see a burning bush and disregard it, not knowing God wants to speak to us. So let us be mindful of the presence of God in our everyday lives and not miss ‘a burning bush’. Soli Deo Gloria.