The Great I Am

Rev. Erik Swanson
August 30, 2026

You can watch the sermon here.

I continue to wrestle with who God is in my life and in our world. When I look at the suffering, oppression, and destructive behavior around me, I sometimes wonder why God doesn’t simply intervene, stop the bad behavior, rescue those who are oppressed, and punish those who cause harm. When God doesn’t act in the ways I expect, I can become dismayed, depressed, or hopeless. Sometimes I need to return to the formative stories of our faith to reconsider my understanding of God, myself, and the world.

Changing How We See God

The story of Moses and the burning bush is one of those stories. While I understand it as a sacred story filled with wisdom, I also believe it has the power to change how I see God and how I understand my own life. At the center of the story is God’s name: “I Am.” At first, that can seem like a strange and unhelpful name. Yet the more I consider it, the more meaningful it becomes. “I Am” reminds me that God is ultimately mystery — knowable and yet completely unknowable. I want certainty and control, but God’s name invites me instead into wonder.

Experiencing God In A Deeper Way

I also find myself challenged to think of God less in terms of what God does and more in terms of who God is. “I Am” is fundamentally a statement about Being. God is. God has always been and will always be, present in every moment whether I acknowledge God or not. That shifts my expectations about what God is supposed to do and invites me to experience God in a deeper way.

God Desires Freedom and Liberation

At the same time, the story makes clear that God sees and hears the suffering of oppressed people. God calls Moses to participate in their liberation. This is a central theme throughout scripture and in Jesus’ teachings. God desires freedom and liberation. I am therefore challenged to ask whether I am participating in that work or standing in its way. I cannot claim to be on God’s side while behaving like the oppressor in Egypt.

Doing Versus Being

The Great I Am also changes how I understand myself. I can become so focused on doing — my accomplishments, responsibilities, schedules, and checklists — that I forget that my deepest identity is rooted in Being. Beneath all my roles and labels is an “I Am,” a sacred place where the mystery of God meets the mystery of who I am. When I pause and simply be, I have an opportunity to discover that sacredness and to recognize that my Being is intertwined with God’s Being.

How We See Other People

And this changes how I see other people. At Silicon Valley Pride, we celebrate and support our LGBTQ siblings, recognizing the sacredness of their Being. Too often, the church has focused on labels, appearances, behaviors, and identities while failing to honor the deeper “I Am” at the heart of every person. When I honor the Great I Am within another person, I honor the sacredness of who they are.

One Sacred We

Ultimately, I am invited to wonder more deeply about God, myself, and everyone around me. We are all part of one sacred “we,” each of us embodying the mystery of Being. May I continue to live, grow, shift, and change as I discover more deeply who I am, who God is, and how deeply our Being is intertwined.