Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Throughout the ages, God wishes to be revealed to the people of the world. At the same time, Humanity longs to have an answer to the question, ‘who is God?’ Today’s readings show God’s long effort to communicate divinity to humanity. So often, we get stuck on the power and might of God, and what he can do. But God is especially interested in communicating to us who he is. We can know a bit of the mind and the heart of God.
In the first reading, the conversation between God and Moses reminds me of all the “Hold me back, Bro!” memes in pop culture. At this time in history, people believed all gods ruled like the kings of the age, with a heavy hand and fickle minds. If you lost the king’s favor or disobeyed his commandment, you could expect to be destroyed. God starts with that image, and plays the part, to goad Moses into showing God’s true, merciful nature. The Lord says to Moses, ‘go down to your people, whom you brought out of Egypt,’ as if Moses were the one who brought 10 plagues from Heaven. So we know God isn’t speaking literally here. God didn’t really want to destroy the people of Israel. Instead, he was letting Moses figure out how true power and divinity acts in relationship to a chosen people. Moses, as the leader of his people, was also learning from God to be merciful, to act out of love for the people, instead of simply demanding mere obedience.
In the gospel we see Jesus taking a more direct route. He’s explaining how he’s the Son of God, the Messiah, the one who will save Israel. With a logical argument and counter-arguments, he’s laying out his case. But even in this combative exchange, Jesus reminds us of his Diving, loving nature: “Do not think that I will accuse you…” God is not trying to catch us doing something wrong. God isn’t interested in punishing us for our sins; instead, Jesus wants us to turn our hearts to him, to repent and believe in the Good News that God is present among us.
In this season of repentance, let’s approach our sins the way our Lord has always approached us. Our Holy God doesn’t want to accuse or punish us for our mistakes, even though they are truly wrong and it would be fair for us to endure harsh consequences! Instead, let us see ourselves as God sees us; broken, confused, hurting one another, in need of a loving savior to heal us and set us straight. With the Holy Spirit’s help, let us compassionately and relentlessly repent of the sin in our lives. Today, ask the Spirit to give you holy eyes to see yourself. In love, let us do the work of repentance. Amen!
-Chris Nieport