Introduction To my knowledge, unlike gods of other religions who expect devotees to come to them; the God we believe in as Christians comes in search of us. He reveals who He is through the relationship He develops with His people. God even condescends to become man so that we could have a relationship within the grasp of our frail human faculties. These two facts alone tell us that The God we believe in is different. He is HOLY. The Entrance Antiphon prepares us to receive the Good News in today’s proclamations.
Entrance Antiphon I will prove my holiness through you. I will gather you from the ends of the earth; I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins. I will give you a new spirit within you, says the Lord.
The First Proclamation Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the Lors appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.” When the Lors saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the Lord said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” But,” said Moses to God, “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I Am who Am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations.
Prayerful Awareness God reveals Himself as I AM WHO AM. Not as Whom I was or who I will be. God is total presence in the present. God reveals Himself to us in the NOW. To Moses God reveals that He is aware of the suffering of His people are going through at that time. For the God we believe in everything is in the present, happening right now.
The Gospel Proclamation At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them —do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. (So) cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”
Gaze at Jesus Lord! You challenge your disciples to become aware of their engaging in the blame and shame game, and to getting down to repentance on a now basis. Through the parable of the barren fig tree you stress the importance of doing something NOW so that the future when it becomes the present will be fruitful. Lord! You also make us aware of Your loving Father who is always willing to give us any number of chances to repent and turn around. What matters with Thy Abba is what you do with the chance you are given NOW. Thank you Lord!
The Second Proclamation I do not want you to be unaware, brothers that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.
Our Sonship Let us remember that we have been chosen to be the channel through which God reveals His holiness. Read the entrance Antiphon once again. We are called to live for a special purpose intended by God. That purpose is that we demonstrate who God is by our relationship with Him. The relation ship we are called upon to have with God is one which is always in the now. There is absolutely no time or space to rest on our laurels; the future is unfolding incessantly. For that we have been made clean by God and His Holy Spirit has been given us to guide and direct us on a moment to moment basis. Are we ready and willing to accept this challenge?
Prayer Starter Lord! Turn us around so that we may realize and reclaim our identity as your chosen people. Grant us the gift of awareness of your constant presence within as the “Burning Bush” that is never consumed.
