Fr. Alan's homily for The Third Sunday of Lent March 11th 2007
Here's something to do on a Sunday instead of coming to Mass in Fordingbridge or Ringwood. Go to Basingstoke and participate at Mass in the newly opened Church of Saint Bede in Popley Way (satnav will get you there in time) and you will find the Burning Bush on the left hand side of the Altar, facing you as you enter the Church.
In the Old Testament reading at Mass today, Moses notices a bush on fire without being consumed by the flames. While brush fires were of course not uncommon, the strange nature of this fire drew Moses closer. This mysterious fire drew Moses into an encounter with the equally mysterious One whose name was a riddle, a conundrum, a mystery: "I am."
The Burning Bush in Basingstoke is in fact the place in Saint Bede's Church where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. It is a bush made of flamed steel, amid which sits the Tabernacle for the Blessed Sacrament. As for Moses the Burning Bush was the place of encounter with God, so now in Basingstoke.
Don't dismiss this as just some designer's clever idea. It has (as I pointed out to someone who complained to the Bishop about it) plenty of Christian precedent, both in icons and in prayers.
First, the Burning Bush is a symbol of who and what Christ is, his divine and human nature united in the Person of the Word made Flesh. The bush is burning, yet is not consumed. Christ's human body burns with divine light (as we heard last Sunday in the gospel of his Transfiguration) yet his human flesh is not consumed, but glorified, by divine fire.
Ancient Christian hymns also use the image of the Bush that burns without being consumed to describe Our Lady. Mary is the one unconsumed by passion and remaining a Virgin who bore the fruit that saves the world.
So on either count, as a place to reserve what is truly the glorified Body of Christ, the Burning Bush is entirely appropriate.
Remember Saint Paul's words last Sunday (worth repeating): From heaven comes the Lord Jesus Christ who will transfigure this body of our lowliness into the likeness of his glorious body. Think faith. Think eternal life. Think resurrected body. Think of the Burning Bush.
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