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The most
endearing quality of the Old Testament tradition is the way in which
God
reveals himself to humankind in such a profoundly personal way.
In Genesis Chapter 18, the Lord appears to
Abraham not in any grand and glorious way, but merely as a traveler
along the
dusty road as Abraham is relaxing at the entrance of his tent and
trying to
beat the afternoon heat.
The most curious thing about this encounter,
and something
that has fascinated and confounded Bible scholars for countless
generations, is
the fact that there are actually three human appearing travelers that
appear to Abraham in this divine encounter at a place called the Oaks
of
Mamre. The identities of these three
individuals are never revealed, and, in the Genesis story, the three
are
referred to simply as “the Lord.” This
has led to much speculation: Was it
three angels? Did two angels accompany
the Lord? Or does this encounter show
us, perhaps, the presence of God in three persons some two thousand
years
before this would be revealed more fully to the world through the
appearance of
Jesus Christ? At face value this is what
the story tells us, and it calls to mind a line from the old Don McLean
song
“American Pie” in which he sings about “…the three men I admire most,
the
Father, Son and the Holy Ghost.” This,
then, is the Lord revealing himself to us in a prophecy in which he
himself personally participates, and we would do well to remember
Abraham’s
example of gracious hospitality in providing a feast for the
three. When strangers are encountered in our midst,
we never know just who it is we might be entertaining!
A little more dramatic is the encounter with
the Lord that
Moses has on Mt. Sinai in today’s first reading. After descending
in a cloud, the Lord
declares his name to Moses then declares himself to be, "The LORD, the
LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness
and fidelity."
After paying him homage in worship, Moses offers the Lord the following
invitation, "If I find favor with you, O Lord, do come along in our
company. This is indeed a stiff-necked
people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your
own." The Lord then accepts this
invitation by proclaiming his covenant with the people, and again makes
prophecy of the coming New Testament revelation when he proclaims in
Exodus 34:
10 that, “Before the eyes of all your people I will work such marvels
as
have never been wrought in any nation anywhere on earth, so that this
people
among whom you live may see how awe-inspiring are the deeds which I,
the LORD,
will do at your side.”
In the person of
Jesus of Nazareth, God did
indeed do awe-inspiring deeds at our side, and surely there is no
marvel to
match that which has been wrought for us by securing our eternal
salvation
through his death on the Cross. However,
it is the resurrection that is a witness for us to God’s continuing
love, which
through his Church guides us down through the ages until he fulfills
his
promise to come again. It is in the Real
Presence of Jesus Christ within his Church that the invitation at Sinai
has
been accepted. It is through repentance
that we find favor with our Lord, and it is through the personal
relationship
that we have with Jesus Christ that he does come along in our company. And so we celebrate that even though we are a
stiff-necked people, our wickedness and sins have been pardoned, and
God
himself has received us as his own. It
is indeed right to give him thanks and praise, for God the Father has
revealed
the resurrected Son to us by the power of the Holy Spirit and it is by
this
that we know we are saved. And this is
why we celebrate the Holy Trinity, for God has expressed his love to us
through
these three aspects of himself. Through
the power and glory of his three persons, we are led to become one
complete
person in him.
Those of us fortunate enough to be
blessed by the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives through this
revealed
power of the Holy Spirit know the truth of John 3: 16, for it is
written on our
hearts that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone
who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” And the message that God has given us to take
to this dying world that groans under the weight of its own sin is that
there
is hope that springs eternal for all who would but give their lives to
him,
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
that the
world might be saved through him.”
Today, God makes camp with us at
the Oaks of Mamre. He joins us in our
earthly existence and he meets us where we live. He
descends to us in a cloud of faith and he
proclaims himself to us, “the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow
to anger
and rich in kindness and fidelity.” And
through our savior, Jesus Christ, in his very person, the God of all
eternity
has extended to us the invitation to “come along in his company,” and
beckons
us with the words that have echoed from the lips of Jesus down across
the vast
mountains of time to our ears today, “Follow me!” And
so, to those of us who have been crippled
by sin, he offers the true healing that extends from this life to the
next, and
offers to us the invitation that is made to the paralytic in Mark 2:
“Take up
your mat and walk.” And, through the
power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to do so.
Now the words of Paul from our
second reading have become ours as well, and I say to you with him,
“Rejoice! Mend your ways,
encourage one another, agree
with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be
with
you.” And we shall walk with him both
now and forevermore. And, by the power
of the Holy Spirit, the God who has been merciful and gracious to us
beyond
measure in the person of his very own son Jesus Christ will come along
in our
company and guide us in all that we do until we find eternal rest with
him
forever in heaven. Amen!
Today, we look to the horizon beyond the
suffering of our human existence and see our Lord Jesus waving us
forward,
beckoning us to come along in his company, offering to wed our
suffering to his
at the Cross and take us home to be with him where pain and death and
destruction are no more. And the fare he
asks of us to make this journey with him is the repentance of our sin,
and our
hearts turned in unswerving and ever loyal devotion to him. Given that the ultimate consequence of our
sin is death and the ultimate prize of our repentance is life eternal,
this
seems a very small price to pay.
Thank you and God
bless you! |
May 18, 2008
Ex
34:4b-6, 8-9
Early in the morning Moses went up Mount Sinai
as the LORD had commanded him,
taking along the two stone tablets.
Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with Moses there
and proclaimed his name, "LORD."
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity."
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O Lord,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and
sins,
and receive us as your own."
Dn
3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56
R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
2
Cor 13:11-13
Brothers and sisters, rejoice.
Mend your ways, encourage one another,
agree with one another, live in peace,
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the holy ones greet you.
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the love of God
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.
Jn
3:16-18
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
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