The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to meditate on the experiences in our lives where we have tried to remake God in our own image probably to avoid some painful revelation that may have led to growth in fullness of life.
 |
| The Golden Calf |
The reading from the Book of Exodus tells of the creation of the Golden Calf by the Israelites while Moses was with God on the mountain.
* [32:11–13] Moses uses three arguments to persuade the Lord to remain faithful to the Sinai covenant even though the people have broken it: (1) they are God’s own people, redeemed with God’s great power; (2) God’s reputation will suffer if they are destroyed; (3) the covenant with Abraham still stands. The Lord’s change of mind is a testimony to Israel’s belief in the power of intercessory prayer.1
Psalm 106 cites the golden calf episode as one of Israel’s transgressions.
* [Psalm 106] Israel is invited to praise the God whose mercy has always tempered judgment of Israel (Ps 106:1–3). The speaker, on behalf of all, seeks solidarity with the people, who can always count on God’s fidelity despite their sin (Ps 106:4–5). Confident of God’s mercy, the speaker invites national repentance (Ps 106:6) by reciting from Israel’s history eight instances of sin, judgment, and forgiveness. The sins are the rebellion at the Red Sea (Ps 106:6–12; see Ex 14–15), the craving for meat in the desert (Ps 106:13–15; see Nm 11), the challenge to Moses’ authority (Ps 106:16–18; see Nm 16), the golden calf episode (Ps 106:19–23; see Ex 32–34),2
In the Gospel from John, Jesus declares the Father as Witness.
* [5:32] Another: likely the Father, who in four different ways gives testimony to Jesus, as indicated in the verse groupings Jn 5:33–34, 36, 37–38, 39–40.3
The readings today are a reminder for Cindy Costanzo to stop, look and listen.
How do I worship the Golden Calf and obsess over money (or lack thereof), material goods, labels, positions, and/or status? Or perhaps my Golden Calf is my busy-ness. My lack of discipline where I allow distractions to take me away from my quiet listening time with God. Or perhaps it is my conscious decision to be a ‘sloth’ where I intentionally withdraw and disengage. When I worship the Golden Calf or am distracted or disengage then the sacredness of everyday life and messages from God pass me by.4
Don Schwager quotes “Christ is our Master who teaches us,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354- 430 A.D.
"There is a Master within Who teaches us. Christ is our Master, and his inspiration and his anointing teaches us. Where his inspiration and his anointing are lacking, it is in vain that words resound in our ears. As Paul the Apostle said: 'I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.' Therefore, whether we plant or whether we water by our words, we are nothing. It is God Who gives the increase; His anointing teaches you all things." (excerpt from Sermon on 1 John 3,13)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on John 5:31-47 comments that we have heard the voice of the Father testifying to who Jesus is, both through the Scriptures and the Church. But do we hear him testifying to who we are?
In the course of our daily lives, his voice can get drowned out by other voices—perhaps by our own condemning thoughts, the demands of life, or the temptations of the devil. So let’s take some time today to imagine our own heavenly Father speaking to us:
“You are my beloved child; I love you unconditionally. Just as I called Jesus my ‘beloved Son,’ so too are you my beloved child (Matthew 3:17). I am pleased with you. I created you out of love, and you bring me much joy, simply because of who you are...6
Friar Jude Winkler points to the lack of trust in Providence of the Israelites building the Golden Calf to lead them to the Promised Land. In the Gospel, Jesus identifies the words of Moses as a witness to His Divinity. Friar Jude warns of the action of the Pharisees to make God in our own image.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author and Episcopal priest Barbara Taylor Brown, who quotes Miriam Greenspan, as she invites us to consider the lessons that suffering has to teach us and reminds us that we can only learn when we are willing to stay put instead of turning away.
Psychotherapist Miriam Greenspan says that painful emotions are like the Zen teacher who whacks his students with a flat board right between their shoulder blades when he sees them going to sleep during meditation. If we can learn to tolerate the whack—better yet, to let it wake us up—we may discover the power hidden in the heart of the pain. Though this teaching is central to several of the world’s great religions, it will never have broad appeal, since almost no one wants to go there. Who would stick around to wrestle a dark angel [see Genesis 32:22-31] all night long if there were any chance of escape? The only answer I can think of is this: someone in deep need of blessing; someone willing to limp forever for the blessing that follows the wound.
What such people stand to discover, Greenspan says, is the close relationship between “individual heartbreak and the brokenheartedness of the world.” [1] While those who are frightened by the primal energy of dark emotions try to avoid them, becoming more and more cut off from the world at large, those who are willing to wrestle with angels break out of their isolation by dirtying their hands with the emotions that rattle them most.7
When we stop, look, and listen to our lives we may hear God inviting us to greater trust through experiences that we would not choose for ourselves, perhaps, because we are listening to the god made in our image.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment