I am thinking now of old Moses sitting on a…
““I am thinking now of old Moses sitting on a mountain—sitting with God—looking across the Jordan into the Promised Land. I am thinking of the lump in his throat, that weary ache in his heart, that nearly bitter longing sweetened by the company of God... And then God—the great eternal God—takes Moses' thin-worn, thread-bare little body into His hands—hands into whose hollows you could pour the oceans of the world, hands whose breadth marked off the heavens—and with these enormous and enormously gentle hands, God folds Moses' pale lifeless arms across his chest for burial. I don't know if God wept at Moses' funeral. I don't know if He cried when He killed the first of His creatures to take its skins to clothe this man's earliest ancestors. I don't know who will bury me— ...Of God, on whose breast old Moses lays his head like John the Beloved would lay his on the Christ's. And God sits there quietly with Moses—for Moses—and lets His little man cry out his last moments of life. But I look back over the events of my life and see the hands that carried Moses to his grave lifting me out of mine. In remembering I go back to these places where God met me and I meet Him again and I lay my head on His breast, and He shows me the land beyond the Jordan and I suck into my lungs the fragrance of His breath, the power of His presence.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
A vivid meditation on mortality, divine companionship, and the longing for spiritual fulfillment, using biblical imagery to express personal yearning.
In simple terms: Longing for divine intimacy
Faith frames suffering as a shared journey with God
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal prayer
- sermons on death
- spiritual counseling
- creative writing workshops
- theological study groups
Key Concepts
Practical Applications
- pastoral care
- spiritual reflection
Questions to Reflect On
- How does envision imagery shape our experience of loss?
- What does 'the land beyond the Jordan' symbolize for you?