Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Recently, a national study of teenager and religion came to a profound conclusion that was counter cultural. The survey found that when it comes to faith most teenagers do not rebel against their parents. The survey showed that teenagers in fact follow the model of their parent’s actions. Thus if parents say we need to go to Church every Sunday but in fact only physically go to Mass once a month, then their children understand going to church regularly means once a month.
What is the first rule you can remember bring taught? For many of us, it was a parent telling us that we had to eat our vegetables. Another rule I recall from my childhood was to be sure to look both ways before crossing the road. Consider the reasons your parents taught you rules. Was it your parent’s intention to torture you or to make your life difficult? No. In fact, they gave us such rules since they loved us and wanted the best for us. Thus, our families tried their best to raise us within the rules of the faith.
Moses was one of the spiritual fathers of the people of Israel. His desire was to pass on the statutes and decrees of the Lord so that they would diligently live them in the Promised Land. Moses did not simply communicate the rules to the people. He taught the Israelites to live within the statutes and decrees of the Lord. For Moses, the people of Israel would give testimony to the nations if they lived the statutes faithfully.
Moses did not want the people of Israel to forget all that they had learned so he encouraged them to be on their guard. He encouraged the people to be on guard lest their actions show that they had forgotten their faith. If someone observed us interacting in the world, while driving in heavy traffic or in a long line at the grocery, would our actions reflect Christ?
In observing us, would people see us glorifying the Lord with our lives? When the circumstances of our lives get stressful, do we allow those realities to be the end of the story? Or do we keep the faith and witness to the community beyond so that our merciful God may come to be known by all.
"Lord, support us in living our faith well so that we reflect and serve the one in whose image and likeness we were made. Amen!"
- Mike Montgomery
-Michael Montgomery