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“And God said unto Moses… Well, aren’t your people a fickle lot”
March 23, 2023
Exodus 32:7–14 | Psalm 106:6–7,19–23 | John 5:30–47
In the readings for this week of lent I found myself reaching to the same conclusion… we are a mess, and not the simple get a paper towel clean up job; but rather a get the full hazmat team of cleaners here and maybe…just maybe we can be made presentable. The running theme is that we as the human race are a fickle lot and have expectations that God must meet our every desire, and in speedy efficiency. In the collect we humbly assign blame for our weakness in a roundabout way.
“Almighty and most merciful God, drive from us all weakness of body, mind, and spirit; that, being restored to wholeness, we may with free hearts become what you intend us to be and accomplish what you want us to do…”
In this fashion we find plausible deniability for our actions. We can simply state “Well Lord you left me to my own devices, so I really couldn’t follow your teachings”. At the same time knowing full well where God wanted us to stand in a given situation. Yes, it is understandable that some situations would require more strength, but no matter what that first step will be the hardest and most powerful one. Also, who knows reinforcements could be just waiting for that first step to happen. This in turn could be the start of something, but like the distracted, what’s next people that we are we quickly move on to the next shiny thing. This is easily exposed in the interaction between God and Moses.
The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, `These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'”
Once again, we put our expectations on the strength of God, not in the strength of our faith. Or maybe that faith was comprised of how much I can get from God not how much I can do to live in that faith and within those teachings. I guess being freed, fed and guided to a promised land was cool, but that was so last season. If there is no continuation of reward, we are quick to change alliances. (On an aside imagine how much faster this would have happened if they had our technology). As you can see the “something new came up” has existed probably since Genesis. We believe ourselves lucky that there is someone, despite knowing full well what a mess we are, who is willing to argue on our behalf.
The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.”But Moses implored the Lord his God, and said, “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 a mighty hand? 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.
I am not quite sure what kind of a world it would have been if “the build a great nation” part of that interaction would have been enacted… Can you just imagine all those little Moses running around. I mean the staff that turns into a snake is awesome, but that is a large echo chamber and what mess that would have created.
In the end the fickle lot that we are find ourselves in confusion about our ways, our destination, and uncertain about what’s to come. We may not build a calf (copper is expensive) to worship, but much like those days we need guidance from the noise around us and trust the strength of our faith to provide footing to launch us to do what’s right.
Geo Borgia
