Lenten Reflection Day 26

We, as humans, are fickle creatures. We are easily swayed by our passions, good or bad, and are so easily led astray. The daily readings of the past few days have shed light on this reality.

It is a strange feeling identifying with the peoples of Moses’s time. When they cried out in the desert, hungry for food and longing to end their journey, frustrated in following a god they could not see. How often I have felt these same feelings, searching through the overgrown foot paths of my life for a well-marked trail. Struggling to keep faith when I am experiencing what feels like God’s absence in my life.

Today we read in Exodus of the people making the molten calf and worshiping it, and how it angered God. I think of the times I have failed to put God in his proper place within my own life. Instead choosing to worship other things (the gods of wealth, the gods of entertainment/frivolity, the gods of earthly pleasures). But the biblical teachings do not end in despair, rather, God sends messengers- ministers, if you will, to lead the people and to be the voice of reason, guiding them to the straight and narrow path. Often times these prophetic individuals pleaded with God on behalf of mankind and were able to relinquish deserved punishment (EX 32: 7-14).

God in his mercy has been sending his prophets to the world throughout the history of time. In every age, in every culture, his love for us moves him to send his holy spirit among us to draw us closer to Him and avert our own punishment. These messengers, like Moses in Exodus, are even able to reason with God to steady His hand in enacting judgement.

It is as mentioned before, we humans are a stubborn and pigheaded lot. We often time think we have all the answers and are self-sufficient, relying on ourselves for everything. Excluding God in such a way that we are incapable of recognizing the signs around us and too busy to listen to the messengers He sends.

Luke 5: 19-31 has one of the most scandalizing lines in scripture. Jesus gives a sobering lesson on ignoring the teachings of God and the messages brought to His people through the prophets.

He tells the story of a rich man who dies having ignored a poor beggar that lived close to his home. The beggar dies on the same day. Upon death, the rich man finds himself in hell and from hell he sees the beggar enjoying heaven. Abraham is also there in heaven and corresponds with the man who begs to be allowed to visit his family to warn them of the reality of hell, so that they can amend their lives. Abraham says, “IF they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”

In over two thousand years, not much has changed. We still tend to ignore the men and women God sends us, we tend to turn a blind eye to the waywardness of the world as if not acknowledging such evils somehow releases us from the share in their sinfulness. Our world is suffering and experiencing unprecedented times. As we examine ourselves this Lent, let us not be afraid to look around a little. We are to be God’s light to the world, a beacon for others to guide them onto the right path. Let us not find ourselves like the rich man, where it is too late to save ourselves, rather, let us be God’s messengers, bringing His people back to Him, and inspiring a new generation of believers.

Blessings to You and Yours!