God’s Got Us
“I am who am … the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” – Ex. 3:14-15
Lately, my connection with God has been grounded in something ordinary and yet sacred: my parents’ kitchen.
In prayer, I imagine Jesus quietly standing beside my 90-year-old dad at the sink, washing dishes with him, gently sharing in his diminishment and saying to me, “I’ve got him.” Then I see Jesus looking at my 82-year-old mom — who’s living with cancer — with his calm, steady presence, and again I hear, “I’ve got her.” And then … I sense his gaze turns toward me, and I hear his promise again, “I’ve got you.”
My parents’ kitchen becomes holy ground, a place of encounter with the Divine.
In today’s first reading, Moses also has an encounter in an ordinary place — while tending sheep. It’s there, in the middle of his daily routine, that he sees the burning bush and meets God. God reveals to him: “I am the One who will be with you.” Not just the God of the past – of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – but the one right here, right now, fully present to our pain, our fears, our mess, our hopes. Some theologians even translate “I AM” as “I’m the one who will be there with you.” Catherine LaCugna puts it this way: God is “God for us.”
Believing in a God who is with us and for us doesn’t mean life gets easier. We’ll still face uncertainty, anxiety, and the pull to do it all on our own. But when we let God’s presence anchor us – especially in the raw, unfiltered parts of our lives – it becomes easier to show up for the people around us with love and steadiness.
Every time I return to that moment in my parents’ kitchen and hear Jesus say, “I’ve got you,” I become more rooted. I feel more able to walk with my parents, and to be present to those I serve – not by fixing everything, but by just being with them, laboring with God for them.
What’s one experience or memory where you felt grounded in God’s presence?
Can you return to that moment—not just to remember it, but to rest in it?
Where might God be quietly standing beside you right now, whispering, “I’ve got you”... even if life feels messy, uncertain, or heavy?
Tri Dinh, SJ