Word to the Wise
Thursday, July 23, 2015 - Thursday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b and Matt 13:10-17]Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the Lord came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him in thunder. When the Lord came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain. [Exodus]
In the Bible, big things happen on mountain tops! Moses meets with God! Jesus preaches the Sermon on the Mount. The transfiguration takes place on a mountain top. Jesus is crucified on a high place called Calvary. All of these events are revelation events. In the case of the Lord and Moses on Mt. Sinai, the revelation is what theologians call a "theophany" - a revelation of God. God reveals God's self to Moses on the mountain with a great deal of "special effects" to make it clear this is no casual thing. Indeed it is one of those pivotal moments in the Old Testament. God is about to deliver the Ten Commandments and the Law, which will constitute God's covenant with the Chosen People.
Tomorrow's first scripture will introduce us to the Ten Commandments. For today, we note the tremendous power of God and the smallness of one human who dares to climb that mountain and talk to God. The conversation will be "on-going" and will be interrupted by the incident of the golden calf, but we who live thousands of years later need to pay attention. The covenant that will come from this impacts our lives every day! AMEN