In today’s first reading, the Lord God tells Moses of His wrath for His people because they had created a molten calf for worship. Moses went up to the mountain to bring the Ten Commandments from the Lord and in this short time the people acted perversely against the true God who brought them out from the land of Egypt.
God therefore, vows to destroy them, but Moses intercedes for the people saying: “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with mighty hands? Why should the Egyptians say, it was with evil intent that He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people”. With this intercession of Moses, God changed the plans He was to bring on His people. What a short memory and ungrateful heart! Have they forgotten God’s love and compassion?
Obviously, COVID-19 and the new variants have been challenging, a great test for our world and each one of us. Are we thinking to change our minds, for good or worse, to have an idol of “molten calf” instead of God who brought us thus far? Let’s think deeply and reflect how we, too, can be similar to the Jewish people.
Today’s Gospel is a continuation of yesterday’s reading from John’s Gospel. “The Jewish leaders were seeking to kill Jesus, because according to them, He was not only breaking the Sabbath Law, but was also calling God His own Father, thereby making Himself equal to God”. Jesus in fact, is the image of the Invisible God; God incarnate “came to His own country, but His own people did not receive Him” (Jn 1:11ff).Jesus came to reconcile us with God.
May God open our hearts and minds to discern, comprehend and act according to His Holy Will. Fr. Mussie