Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 416

"Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses."



In Exodus 34, we hear the wonderful assurance God gave to Moses:

"The LORD, the LORD, a God gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love and fidelity, continuing his love for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but bringing punishment for their parents’ wickedness on children and children’s children to the third and fourth generation!"

Moses at once knelt and bowed down to the ground.Then he said, “If I find favor with you, Lord, please, Lord, come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and claim us as your own.”

The Lord, in declaring his gracious mercy, had already announced a covenant with Israel. He would always come along in their company. 

Today's first reading recalls the crisis of Moses' death. We've heard God's word to Moses but the question remains, "Will the Lord stay with Israel now that Moses has died?" There is doubt in our hearts, and so the Lord declares to Joshua, 

"Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses."

That doubt persists throughout many generations. Whenever a pope dies, we wonder, "Will the cardinals find a worthy successor?" And, in fact, the momentary crisis in 1378 became a prolonged agony when some cardinals doubted the capabilities of their elected pope and chose a second candidate. And then, a few years later, a third! The Great Western Schism was not resolved until 1417. (But the trauma remained and resulted in the Protestant Reformation, which began in 1517.)

But that crisis was only evidence of the doubt that runs deeper and persists in our hearts. We have seen so many changes -- technological, political, social, economic, cultural, and religious -- that the world has become unrecognizable. Is the God of Israel still with his people? Is Jesus the Risen Lord still with his Church? Does God's covenant last forever, and what does the word forever mean? Haven't we entered a new age since the atom was split? And the invasion of computers, the Internet, social media, climate change, or COVID? Are the old beliefs still relevant? 

We'll not find an answer on a mountain in the near east. 

...nor in the heavens, that you should say, “Who will go up to the heavens to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may do it?” (Dt 30:12)

We often search in the wrong places. In the sixties, many young people trekked to India, Nepal, and Tibet in search of the Lost Horizon. When I was chaplain in the VA I heard many outlandish propositions of where God -- or the Truth -- might be found. And many look to the more familiar gods in alcohol, drugs, sports, pets, gambling, or sex. 

No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart. You have only to do it. 

We find the presence of God when we present ourselves to the Lord. We find that He has always been there; he has never abandoned us. We discover again what our ancestors knew, that God searches continually for his people, even as we search for him. 

He presents himself to a new Joshua especially in the leadership of our Church. The changes can be unsettling. The pope might be German or Argentinian, instead of Italian. He might travel the world instead of hiding in the Vatican. He might speak of climate change and the mass migration of people when we only want to hear pious reflections on the Virgin Mary. 

But as we turn inward for assurance to prayer we find the Lord remains with us. We have only to believe.