Brother,
In today's readings of Sacred Scripture, God reveals to us 3 things: 1.) the meaning of a name and universal essences 2.) How God desires to be worshiped and 3.) What we are to learn from Him.
1: The meaning of a name
Names have meaning and are often seen as being deeply connected to one's identity: personal history, culture, and how the world perceives an individual.
Moses asks for God's name (Exodus 3:13) however, God does not give it. Because God has no history or cultural background. For God to have a name presupposes a created being; as we give names to our creation.
Finite things have finite powers and can be defined. ~ Philosophy: What Every Catholic Should Know, p.147
God cannot be defined, by a name, because to define implies a thing which is limited. As the word define contains the same root word as finite. And God is INfinite; an infinite being with infinite power and "cannot be limited either in fact or in thought" or in nomenclature.
Nomenclature: the defining or choosing of names for things, especially in a science or other discipline.
God's response to Moses
God has no beginning, he was not created, therefore he has no name. He is being itself. Instead God responds with His essence –– WHAT He IS –– His essential nature (which is being itself).
To share your name with someone on the one hand displays trust and an invitation to connection. On the other hand, from a mystical perspective, it can be used to control, influence, and affect individuals. The overuse of one's name could be perceived as an attempt at manipulation.
What do you do when you attempt to display your authority over your child when they misbehave? Do you not call them by their full name? You know you're in trouble as a kid when your mother calls you by your full name –– especially if you have a middle name.
In the words of Joey Tribbiani (a character from the sitcom, Friends) when Phoebe calls him Joseph Francis Tribbiani! To which he replies, "hey, what are you middle-naming me for?!"
Considering all of this... God does not give a particular name ... but rather the essence of His Being. After all, how can you name the essence of a thing?
Instead, He tells Moses:
This is my name (I AM Who I Am) forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. (Exodus 3:15)
2: God reveals how He desires to be worshiped
What does it mean to "worship?"
Biblical worship is centered on sacrifice; not song and dance. The sub-virtue of justice is religion –– which means, philosophically, to bind, to bring together, and to reconnect with our cause of being. Without religion, we are lost.
True religion, "religion that is pure and undefiled before God" (James 1:27), is to give to God what is due to him (justice). And the heart of that, undefiled religion, is worship; with the heart of worship being sacrifice. The word "worship" literally means WORTH-SHIP. In other words, it's giving to God what He is worth.
Venerable Fulton Sheen tells us:
(Worship) is a manifestation of the worth in which we hold another person... To worship, God means to acknowledge in someway His Power, His Goodness, and His Truth. If you do not worship God, you worship something else, and nine times out of ten it will be yourself. If you do not worship God you will be imperfect and happy. ~ Preface to Religion, pg. 14
We perfect ourselves through worship of God –– in the way He desires to be worshipped –– by love rather than hate. Love –– which is the nature of God, His essence –– is a gift.
It's a grace from God, which perfects our nature. We are perfected because we are seeking to serve instead of desiring to be served; because... we are putting the happiness and good of another before our own.
3: What we are to learn from Him
Come to Me... learn from Me... (Matthew 11:28, 29)
Christ tells us to come to Him when we are burdened.
What's our response when we are burdened; when we are overwhelmed? What/Who do we worship? Inanimate objects? Ourselves? Do we contract and hide? Or do we EXPAND and run to Jesus to elevate ourselves? In today's Gospel Jesus says there are two things to LEARN from Him during times of distress and chaos.
- Humility: To see ourselves as we truly are. Because HUMILITY = TRUTH. And that truth; that reality; that essence; is... we are nothing without Him; nor can we do anything apart from Him (John-96 AD 15:5).
- Meekness: This is disciplining your behavior. To be meek is not to be weak. It's having your emotions under complete, and voluntary, control. We can't control what happens to us. But it is a man's RESPONSibility to control how circumstance affects him, his energy, and how he treats those God has entrusted to his care.
The results of humility and meekness
If we can learn these two virtues –– these disciplines –– Jesus tells us the result will be "finding rest for our souls" (Matthew 11:29).
To worship God is to offer our life to Him. There is no such thing as getting something for nothing; to think so violates the Law of Economics. We don't go to church to get anything; we go to give ourselves; to die to ourselves... so we can live.
To receive the life of Christ, we are to sacrifice ourselves to Him (after all is God not worth the submission of your will, intellect, and your very life?) and in return He offers His life to us in the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist –– where bride and groom become ONE flesh (Genesis 2:18-24).
In communion we exchange our yoke with that of Christ's.
For His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:30).
¡Que Viva Cristo Rey!
Your brother in Christ,
St. Sebastian "The Dauntless Christian"
References
- https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071725.cfm