+ Today we read of God’s patience and his kindness towards
the people that he is trying to form into a people we identified recently as
“peculiarly his own.” We must remember that he knows them perfectly as the
injured and wounded people who lost a great deal of the strength of their human
capabilities as a result of the sin of the first parents; but he is still seen
as often times frustrated with this squirming bunch of ungrateful souls who have
very short term memories, who can’t remember what he does for them, and who
just won’t take the time to let the natural law within them guide them the way
it is designed to do.
Moses finds himself in a
leadership position with this on-again-off-again lot of people – because at
least his faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob seems to be strong; in
fact, God likes Moses, in his simplicity and humility, so much that he has
conversations with him on a mountain, and uses him to communicate to this would-be
unified group of faithful family members of God a message of fidelity and
compassion.
In time, Moses is put in a
very precarious position when God tells him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to
let “his people” go! – and to say that “I AM” is the one demanding this: I AM
being God, of course. This Moses does – and we will see what happens with all
that later.
The
second reading today also talks of unification, brought about by
God – this same unification of God’s special people, which resembles very closely
the unification of God’s new family in the Mystical Body of Christ; Christ the
Rock – just as the rock of flowing water followed God’s people in the desert,
so the Rock of Christ’s presence and spiritual graces are always present to
those who ask for them even now.
And so this Lent, we continue
to take heed of the subtle message that you can’t help but notice – perhaps
this is a good time, a very good time to repent as we never have during Lent
because the end of the ages is here
(although it has been coming for a very long time), and may within the not too
distant future will conclude as it is foretold – the gospel tells us that God is kind and patient, and gives even an
unblossoming fig tree chance after chance – but when the time has arrived for
no more chances – there will be no more – and the barren tree will be cut down.
Take care NOW to be sure that that barren tree is not you – let your life
blossom forth with good works spawned from faith in and love of God – and you
will have nothing to fear!
Repent, says the Lord; the kingdom of
heaven is at hand.
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