THE EXISTENTIAL AND ESSENTIAL GOD - C: 3rd Sun of Lent

First Reading: Exo 3:1-8, 13-15 (20 March 2022)

“And God said to Moses, ‘I Am who I Am. This’ he added ‘is what you must say to the sons of Israel’” (Exo 3:14).

“I Am who I Am” is the so-called name of the God of Israel in the Bible. It is also referred to as the tetragrammaton (i.e., a four-letter-name) based on the Hebrew alphabet with the letters aleph, heh, yod, and aleph, which are transliterated into the English as Y-H-W-H. This produces the more renowned appellation of Yahweh.

This name is introduced by God himself when he revealed himself to Moses. In the Masoretic text, the exact phrase is: Ehyeh asher Ehyeh. The word eyeh here is derived from the verb hāyāh, which means “to be, to become, to happen.” If value is given to this meaning, the text of Exo 3:14 denotes a certain kind of becoming or transformation that happens in the future, which is rendered into the English as “I will be what I will be.” Taken in the theological sense, we can say that God is not somebody with a fixed existence but with a dynamic way of living.

Yawheh, then, is the God of change, transformation, and possibilities ... values that can truly comfort sinners since nobody is condemned on earth since repentance is always possible.

However, this existential sense is not depicted in the rendition of the Greek Septuagint, which features the phrase: Egō eimi ho ōn. The verb ōn is derived from the verb eimi which means “to be, to exist.” Given the force of permanence in the use of this verb, the literal translation of this Greek passage is: “I Am Who Is” (cf. New English Translation of the Septuagint). Here, the theological input is that God’s being or nature is something fixed, which indicates that God is unchanging, permanent, and ever-faithful over many generations.

These attributes comfort those who suffer today, knowing that God is constantly on their side, which enjoin them in effect to be faithful as well in witnessing to their assigned mission of holiness and goodness.

As both perspectives have their valid points, it can be said that God is both in the mysterious existence of “becoming” and “being”. This binary is associable to the philosophical notions of Existentialism and Essentialism. The former holds that human existence is bound to be lived into its full potential, making life on earth truly dynamic and transformable. The latter, meanwhile, maintains that human nature is defined by its very constitution as a created being, making life something already determined based on one’s assigned purpose on earth. Both views make sense in application, and we can learn a lot from this dual mode of existence.

In the existential mode of living, we must live our full potential, go beyond perceived limitations, explore our dreams, and change to the person where we can find true happiness, meaning, and fulfilment. In the essential mode of living, we must discover God’s so-called job description for us, faithfully witnessing to the purpose assigned to us by God in our creation on earth.

Both of these aspects are equally important and should be valued by any person, given that these binary attributes are ascribed to by God himself in Exo 3:14.

The problem, however, in our present-day society is that one of these aspects tends to be given more importance while the other is undermined. In a liberal society, the existential mode of living persists, where the “I” is given utmost value over the “We”. In a traditional society, the essential mode of living dominates, where community rules and norms matter most, seemingly elevating the “Us” over the “Me”. Ideally, a balance is asked of each of us by appreciating both personal fulfilment and the common good to be God-like in our very existence.

- Rex Fortes, CM