3nd Sunday of Lent, Year C March 7, 2010
We Never Walk Alone
After his escape from execution in Egypt, Moses felt that life could not get much
better. The pasture was good. Water was plentiful. The sheep were flourishing. The
family he had married into loved him. He was right: life was about to get a lot worse.
He had been intrigued when that burning bush was not reduced to ashes ... and it was
there that God was waiting for him - with a job offer rather less attractive than his
present occupation. Moses did his best to argue his way out of it. But God was
adamant.
So Moses left the peaceful security of his rural life, returned to Egypt, confronted the
Pharaoh and finally led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the desert. For forty years
he led them a quarrelsome, obstinate group. Whenever anything went wrong, shortage
of food or water, it was always Moses' fault. Several times the people were ready to
kill him. At times, he must have regretted his curiosity about the burning bush.
How does the burning bush affect us more than 3000 years later? Actually, it is one of
God's favourite ways of calling us to change direction. Many of us plan our day ahead
so as to know exactly what we have to do. By the end of the day, we can look back
with satisfaction on a good day's work. However, God often calls to us from the
burning bush. It might be in the shape of a telephone call: "My car won't start and I
can't get my two children to school. Could you please help me?" It might be the parish
secretary. "The person who draws up the list of readers and acolytes has the flu. We
need the list for the coming weekend. Do you think you could do it?" These are the
little burning bushes that come our way frequently. God is calling us out of our
comfort zone, away from our well-planned day, to go another, more inconvenient way.
Sometimes, it is a much bigger burning bush. It might be retrenchment ... a child
involved in an accident ..., financial ruin ..., the death of a spouse. In all of these, God
is calling us to a different future, not one we would choose ourselves. It is a darker
way, less secure, lonelier. All we know is that the desert stretches far ahead of us.
If we listen, God is reminding us that Jesus has already walked through the same
desert. We are following in his footsteps. Leaving his peaceful life at Nazareth, Jesus
then took a way that was far more bleak and dangerous, a way that led to Calvary and
death. He remained faithful to his Father; and the Father, in turn, raised him from the
dead and made him Lord of heaven and earth.
When God calls us to walk these painful ways, we are not walking alone. Jesus walks
with us, assuring us that the desert will end and, with Him, we will enter the Promised
Land.
Reg Ahearn CSsR
© Redemptorists 2009
**********************************************
We Never Walk Alone
After his escape from execution in Egypt, Moses felt that life could not get much
better. The pasture was good. Water was plentiful. The sheep were flourishing. The
family he had married into loved him. He was right: life was about to get a lot worse.
He had been intrigued when that burning bush was not reduced to ashes ... and it was
there that God was waiting for him - with a job offer rather less attractive than his
present occupation. Moses did his best to argue his way out of it. But God was
adamant.
So Moses left the peaceful security of his rural life, returned to Egypt, confronted the
Pharaoh and finally led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the desert. For forty years
he led them a quarrelsome, obstinate group. Whenever anything went wrong, shortage
of food or water, it was always Moses' fault. Several times the people were ready to
kill him. At times, he must have regretted his curiosity about the burning bush.
How does the burning bush affect us more than 3000 years later? Actually, it is one of
God's favourite ways of calling us to change direction. Many of us plan our day ahead
so as to know exactly what we have to do. By the end of the day, we can look back
with satisfaction on a good day's work. However, God often calls to us from the
burning bush. It might be in the shape of a telephone call: "My car won't start and I
can't get my two children to school. Could you please help me?" It might be the parish
secretary. "The person who draws up the list of readers and acolytes has the flu. We
need the list for the coming weekend. Do you think you could do it?" These are the
little burning bushes that come our way frequently. God is calling us out of our
comfort zone, away from our well-planned day, to go another, more inconvenient way.
Sometimes, it is a much bigger burning bush. It might be retrenchment ... a child
involved in an accident ..., financial ruin ..., the death of a spouse. In all of these, God
is calling us to a different future, not one we would choose ourselves. It is a darker
way, less secure, lonelier. All we know is that the desert stretches far ahead of us.
If we listen, God is reminding us that Jesus has already walked through the same
desert. We are following in his footsteps. Leaving his peaceful life at Nazareth, Jesus
then took a way that was far more bleak and dangerous, a way that led to Calvary and
death. He remained faithful to his Father; and the Father, in turn, raised him from the
dead and made him Lord of heaven and earth.
When God calls us to walk these painful ways, we are not walking alone. Jesus walks
with us, assuring us that the desert will end and, with Him, we will enter the Promised
Land.
Reg Ahearn CSsR
© Redemptorists 2009
**********************************************
