In the social media world building your “brand” is the way to go. To be successful in that venue you need to manufacture an online identity that will generate “clicks”. So, at the start of your branding project how do you determine what your baseline identity is?
The biblical story of Moses and the burning bush is about the process of discovering the true you. Why did God tell Moses to remove his sandals before approaching the burning bush?
For Biblical scholars: the sandals represent "garments of skin" - all the externals that we use to define ourselves; job, achievements, status, possessions, the types of things we would use to create our own unique “brand”.
If Moses lived today and was traversing the desert of the Internet, he could have said “God I’ve just reached 144,000 followers on Instagram! You mean I’ve to just walk away from all that to draw near you?” Instead, Moses says, “Be it done unto me according to your word”. He then obeys, takes off his sandals and approaches the burning bush.
When Moses asks for God's name, the answer breaks every rule of constructed identity: "I AM THAT I AM." Not "I am the all-powerful one" or "I am the king." God says that he is pure being. Existence itself. His identity can't be reduced to any category. As per Psalm 42:7, God’s approach to us is one where, “Deep calls unto deep.” To encounter pure being, you must strip away everything you use to define yourself externally. God is not interested in interfacing with your “brand”.
In his symbolic reading of the story, St. Gregory of Nyssa emphasized it was a thorn bush. Thorns = the curse, the pain, the suffering we try to avoid. Yet God's presence shines through the very suffering that we fear.
God doesn't appear in a palace or temple. He appears in the thornbush - in the lowly, painful, rejected parts of existence. Like being born in a stable. The divine presence doesn't eliminate suffering - it transforms it without consuming it.
The same motif is there with Mary, for as the Theotokos (God-bearer), she carried the fire of the divine presence of Jesus within her womb without being consumed or destroyed. Her virginity was preserved and yet her “yes” to God did not preclude the “thornier” aspects of her life on earth. At the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple, Simeon prophesied, “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own heart too.” (Luke 2:34–35)
This pattern repeats throughout Scripture. To approach the sacred, you must remove everything external, and this side of heaven entrust your inevitable suffering to God. This is what the phrases “circumcision of the heart” and “dying to self” are all about. In the spiritual life removing the "garments of skin" that hide your true nature is Job 1.
Note: Some insights contained in this reflection were researched through: @CultureUncovered
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