Is, Was, and Will Be

Homily for Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Today we hear God’s name directly from God’s voice, stated to Moses as he marvels at the burning bush. The translation that we usually hear translates God’s name into “I am who am.” However, the actual Hebrew words in the text are not particularly clear. The very first Hebrew letter in God’s name is the “Yod” which usually signals the future tense rather than the present tense which we commonly read. So perhaps a more accurate translation would be “I will be what I will be.” Those who favor this translation explain it by saying that it reflects God’s dynamic, unfolding nature - one who is not static but continually becoming and revealing.

It becomes even more interesting when we use the Tetragrammaton to identify God, literally the four letters which appear in the text and which the children of Israel refused to utter for fear of breaking the commandment about taking God’s name in vain. Those four letters are the equivalent of our English YHWH and would actually be translated: “God was, God is, God will be.” Consequently, the familiar doxology that we use to conclude every Psalm and every decade of the rosary actually can be traced back to this passage from the book of Exodus.

Scholars therefore indicate that God’s name seems to transcend time, combining past, present, and future into one divine expression.

Why does this matter? There are three ideas that we can take away from this discussion. It emphasizes God’s ongoing presence and unfolding revelation. It suggests that God is not confined to a single moment, but is active across all time. Finally, it aligns with the idea that God’s essence is beyond human comprehension, always becoming, always present, and always eternal.

A few days ago, we celebrated the Feast of St. Bonaventure. You might remember that I said St. Bonaventure began with the notion that human beings were unable to comprehend God, but that we were able to apprehend God. In other words, we cannot define who God is, but we are able to encounter God. Through that encounter, we are able to find God in our past, in our present, and in our future.

The text also identifies God as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, establishing continuity with the patriarchs of our faith. God also tells Moses what God is about to do. This passage is, therefore, rich with theological significance, especially in the revelation of God's name, which underscores His eternal and self-existent nature. It also makes it easier for us to understand how God can continue to be in our present in the Eucharist, and how the Eucharist is a foretaste of what will be our future.