Exodus 3:1-15
Psalm 63:1-8
1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Luke 13:1-9
Some commentators on today's passages feel that they allude to what is commonly referred to as the "Day of Judgment." Perhaps this position is based on the repeated phrases in Luke which read, "...but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did."
There is a natural desire to want ultimate justice, of course, where the good guy wins the battle and reaps the rewards, and the bad guy is duly and severely punished. Many of our cowboy westerns and modern day action films are based on this archetype. After all, it seems only fair. So when we read such verses, it's easy to assume that there must be a heavenly system that will uphold our human concept of justice, sending good souls to eternal bliss, and bad souls to eternal damnation.
God's system of justice, however, may have a much different objective. Instead of separating the "good guys from the bad guys," He is more interested in separating the good parts of us from the bad parts of us. In other words, the focus is to restore each and every person to wholeness, removing those things that are not of God, so that what remains is what was intended to be. The separation is not one person from another, but the removal of the bad parts from the good. It's spiritual surgery at its finest.
When Jesus warned his listeners that "...unless you repent, you will all perish as they did", he may have been describing what we do to ourselves apart from God, rather than what God would do to us as punishment. The symbolism found in the story of the Exodus supports the idea that God's love for us is unconditional, and that He will work with us to remove the things that oppress us and keep us from His grace.
The Exodus reading reminds us of how God had "seen the affliction of [His] people in Egypt, and have heard their cry..." Clearly God knows the people's sorrows and sets in motion plans to help them through Moses. The oppressors of the Hebrews in Egypt kept them in physical bondage, but the symbolism of the story could include any oppression that diminishes our own souls, particularly the impact of a misguided, dysfunctional ego.
God frequently works through other people to help those in need. Moses was His instrument of choice for the Exodus from Egypt. For us today, "Moses" may be our spiritual formation team, counselors, therapists, doctors, pastors, or friends. The Exodus journey for us is our spiritual journey back to wholeness. It may be a long journey through a wilderness that seems to have no end. For some, it may even be a 40-year trek through a dry desert with stony paths.
But along the way, we gradually begin to understand that God is trying to show us how to get rid of the things in us that are not of Him, so that what's left is pure and good. It's not a test to see if we qualify as "good" or "bad" as a person, but to recognize that there is good and bad mixed together, and we have to sort it out.
That's what happened to the people during the Exodus. They had to learn what works, and what doesn't. If they went too far away from God, they generally imploded – they self-destructed. This is a story repeated many times in history – people or nations who turn their backs on the love, compassion and mercy of God will eventually collapse under the pressure of illusion and deception. Accurate translations of scripture don't say that God destroys these people or cities, but that they end up destroying themselves.
Paul writes to the Corinthians that many people of the Exodus displeased God, "and they were struck down in the wilderness." They were not struck down by God, but decayed from the inside out. They fell to idolatry, immorality, bickering, doubt, and lack of contentment. They gave up their higher standards of love, unity, community, family, purpose and direction, only to settle for selfishness, illusion, and idolatry. Individuals, and societies, can't survive in this state. By the time the people reached the promised land, they had a lot of this figured out.
Anyone's spiritual journey can be challenging. So we should not expect the journey to be easy. But the extent of God's love for us makes it impossible for Him to give up on us. It just can't happen!
So Jesus' warnings in Luke to repent were pleas to choose a life following God, or we may risk losing the richness such a life offers in the way of love, inner peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and unity as a human family. He does not want us to lose these spiritual gifts. Let Him "dig around your roots," to nurture you and help you grow – to bear fruit of His love, compassion and mercy.
Reflection Questions
1. Did you have a "Moses" in your life that helped you get out of a physical, psychological, emotional, or spiritual prison? How did he or she do it?
2. What tools does the psalmist offer us in Psalm 63 to help us on our journey?
3. Can you accept the fact that even though you sometimes mess things up in life, God is still there for you?
4. Read through the scripture lessons for this Sunday again, and spend some time journaling your thoughts.
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