Today I read Exodus 3 - Moses encounters the burning bush:
And YHWH's messenger was seen by [Moshe]
in the flame of a fire out of the midst of a bush
He saw:
here, the bush is ablaze with fire,
and the bush is not consumed!
Exodus 3:2.
How does Moses react to this? He turns aside from his path (he was shepherding his father-in-law's flock) to "see this great sight". He's just gonna check it out, because it's quite unusual - a fire within a bush, but not actually burning the bush. Once God sees he's got Moses' attention, he calls him by name ("Moshe! Moshe!") and Moses responds with the proper answer: "Here I am."
The right answer, the "classic response of biblical heroes" according to Everett Fox (citing Gen 22:1, 11; 1 Sam 3:4). Why is this the right answer? Well, let's think about the alternatives. If someone calls me, I might:
* pretend I don't hear
* yell back (annoyed) "What do you want?" or even better, "What?"
* ask "What is it?"
* say "Yes?"
(If it's a phone call, I might say, "Speaking." or "This is she" etc. -- probably the closest thing to "Here I am")
"Here I am" answers the call. It doesn't anticipate the demands. It doesn't resist or try to set an expectation that I will do this only under protest. It makes no assumptions, hides nothing, fears nothing. Completely open. Nothing dodgy. Not a bad example to follow, when you think about it.
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