Word to the Wise
Thursday, April 3, 2014 - 4th Week of Lent - Thurs
[Exod 32:7-14 and John 5:31-47]The Lord said to Moses: "Go down at once to your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved. They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
Moses has always been one of my favorite characters in the Bible. I identify with many of the situations he found himself in, from the time he encountered God in the burning bush till his last words overlooking the Promised land. In today's first scripture, Moses is the mediator between a very angry Lord and a very impatient bunch of Israelites. Moses had gone up the mountain to receive the terms of the covenant (the Ten Commandments) and he took so long that the Israelites decided to create their own "god" that they made out of jewelry and other gold they had with them! In doing so, they gave us the term, "golden calf," to mean a false deity! What follows is almost comical if it weren't for the seriousness of their offense. There is Moses, standing before God who is yelling, "Lemme at 'em! I'll fry 'em!" and trying to calm things down by pointing out that the "fry job" would undo a lot of good work and make God look foolish in the eyes of the Egyptians!
The ancient story is not so ancient. We are surrounded in our own time by "gods" of our own or others' design! It's amazing what humans will worship, given which appetite happens to be strongest! We have trouble being patient with God and look for immediate gratification. Whether it is political power, money, consumer goods, sex, substance...you name it.... it can become our "golden calf." The God of our faith becomes a museum piece! The church is put into the position of a "mediator" trying to call people to account while dealing with what we know to be God's commandments!
I am grateful for the ancient scribes who preserved the memory of Moses so that we can be constantly reminded that we are no exception to human experience in faithfulness. We have a long way to go and "golden calves" are not going to get us anywhere! AMEN