Nothing Else
Sodom was destroyed by lime-colored brimstone
Eternity, seeking justice, has relived this moment
100 times
Yet the hell of God’s shadows
Never persuaded the dead
To rise again and plead their anger
With justice and composure
I act like a Spirit, holy and in flames…
I am the burning bush
Asking for a mouth to open
And address the mountainous terrain
All on its own without serious complaint
Eternity, seeking justice, has relived this moment
100 times
Yet the hell of God’s shadows
Never persuaded the dead
To rise again and plead their anger
With justice and composure
I act like a Spirit, holy and in flames…
I am the burning bush
Asking for a mouth to open
And address the mountainous terrain
All on its own without serious complaint
No one listens when you shout your shouldn’ts!
Instead, let them know what is in their power to do.
Lust is in limiting the power of others
While touching cold flesh,
And hoping for warmth and intimacy
When there is nothing else.
Instead, let them know what is in their power to do.
Lust is in limiting the power of others
While touching cold flesh,
And hoping for warmth and intimacy
When there is nothing else.
Moses And The Burning Bush -- Dieric Bouts
When Moses was grazing the flocks of his father-in-law on Mt. Horeb he was confronted by a bush that was on fire but was not being consumed. (The Hebrew word “seneh” means “brambles” not “bush.” The name may have been either a pun on Sinai, which was described elsewhere as being on fire.) In Eastern Orthodoxy it is known as the “unburnt bush,” a prefiguration of Jesus’ virgin birth since his mother Mary gave him birth without suffering any harm or loss of virginity, and that the flame Moses saw was actually God's eternal Uncreated Energies/Glory manifested as light, the basis of the Orthodox definition of salvation. An angel appeared in the bush (which is the divine logos, in Orthodox belief), and Adonai (God) called out from it. When Moses approached Adonai told him to take off his sandals since the place was holy ground, and Moses turned his face away. When Moses questioned Adonai’s identity, Adonai replied that he was the God of the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “ehyeh ašer ehyeh” (he who is he, or I am that I am; “havah” is the source of Yahweh [Jehovah] as the divine name). Adonai told Moses that the Jews were being oppressed, so Moses must get his adoptive relative the pharaoh to allow them to leave Egypt, and that he was to inform the Jewish elders that Adonai would lead them into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land of milk and honey. Then Adonai performed various miracles: his staff was changed into a snake, his hand was temporarily made leprous, and water was transmuted into blood. But Moses demurred, saying he lacked the necessary eloquence. Adonai rebuked him for lecturing the one who had made the mouth on who was qualified to speak but agreed to allow his brother Aaron to be his spokesperson. As ordered, Moses led his people from Egypt and to Mt. Sinai, where he was given the Ten Commandments (which are given variously by different Christian denominations): “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honour thy father and thy mother. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Thou shalt not covet (neighbor's house). Thou shalt not covet (neighbor's wife). Thou shalt not covet(neighbor's servants, animals, or anything else). Ye shall erect these stones which I command thee upon Mount Gerizim." (These, of course, are Dustin's "shouldn'ts.")
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