No question: Moses had every right to be angry as he came down from that mountain, stone tablets in hand.
Those ungrateful people … with so little faith. They had called out for help while enslaved in Egypt. Help came in the man, Moses, who led them to freedom. They whined when times got tough and food was scarce. Some even wanted to go back to Egypt. But Moses led through the parted sea to yet another place of freedom.
Finally, at the base of the mountain where God promised to deliver them a set of laws – the ultimate recipe to live a good life on earth and rest eternally in the peace of heaven – they became impatient, were led astray once again and turned sinful, fashioning that famous golden calf.
That did not end so well for many, as Moses cast the stone tablets into their midst and inflicted his own form of punishment as we read in today’s First Reading.
How many times have we felt such anger at those we love. Our kids. Our co-workers. Our neighbors. Our fellow Christians. Our country. Despite the warnings and the common sense “God gave a goose” (as my grandmother used to say), they seem to constantly do the wrong things.
Take for example the youngsters we warn to stay away from chasing drugs and the life of crime. They often end up dead or in prison. Or the man who cannot control his drinking and ends up behind the wheel of car headed to disaster. The growing number of drivers who insist they can read their cell phones while driving down the highway, only tragically to learn otherwise.
We get so angry. We often yell at the evening news. We condemn a generation of people who seem to be on the wrong path.
Moses could have done the same, but instead he got his anger under control and went back to the top of the mountain to plead for mercy from God.
So Moses went back to the LORD and said, “Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written.”
The LORD answered, “Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book. Now, go and lead the people to the place I have told you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
This is what God said: Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book.
This is what he did NOT say: Forget it Moses, you are all corrupt and condemned. BAM! Be gone!
In today’s world that seems divided over so many issues, it’s easy to get caught up in the notion of condemning an entire nation, an entire race, an entire religion … but God reminds us today that it isn’t up to us to do any condemning.
God said: “When it is time for me to punish, I will punish …”
And he promises only to punish those who truly sinned against him. Not those who were innocent bystanders or those who looked guilty by association. Only those who individually sinned … and as you might suspect, only God knows who truly has sinned in his or her heart.
As we continue to fight the good fight of leading people closer to God, rather than closer to a culture that is losing touch with His laws and His way, let’s remember to avoid painting condemnation with a broad brush over a single group of people.
Let God do the judging as He sees fit.
