How many taps does it take to draw water from a rock?
What was Moses thinking as he stood in front of his people on that hot, dry day in the desert, his staff raised high above his head?
Fresh off a prayer and a promise from God that he could perform a miracle and draw fresh water from the rock, Moses must have had a momentary attack of doubt.
The Lord had told him to strike the rock with his staff and watch as He satisfied the thirst of his people.
Simple instruction. Tap the rock!
But Moses, in a momentary lapse of faith, tapped the rock twice (just to be sure?).
The water flowed, but God became angry.
This is the reason Moses was ultimately denied entry into the Promised Land. Most people think it’s because he tossed the tablets of the Ten Commandments into the midst of the riot when he descended from the mountain.
But in reality, this scene in today’s Old Testament is the reason. (By the way, this makes a great trivia question)!
One might think God was cracking down a little too hard on Moses. After all, it’s just a stick and a rock.
But, when you dig a little deeper, it was more than that.
Think about the journey of Moses … from slave of Egypt to near death in the desert, from a new life with sheep herders on the other side of the sand to sudden prophet of God after an encounter with a burning bush.
Along the way, he is confronted by many tests of his faith and his endurance. Each time, the Lord provided. He was constantly second guessing his own abilities to deliver the Hebrews out of Egypt, and each time, the Lord gave him the right words to say and the right things to do.
How many of us are in this same boat? How many of us doubt that we have the gifts and the skills to evangelize our family, friends, co-workers and fellow parishioners? How many of us sneak into the back of the church and then sneak out early in order to avoid a conversation?
How many of us fear that when the time comes to answer a question of faith, we will be dumbstruck and unable to answer?
Perhaps this is a call to spend a little more time learning about our faith and our Church teachings so that we can do a better job of answering a question … keeping in mind that a single conversation – a single word from you or me – can be the start of a miraculous conversion within an individual who has turned to us for help.
Back to Moses.
Why did God crack down so hard for turning a single tap order into a doubt-filled double tap on that rock?
Perhaps it is because Moses had been through so much that he – above anyone else present that day – should have had the faith to let God work his miracle as he wished.
What’s that saying from Luke’s Gospel? Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.
Clearly, Moses was being held to a higher standard. Perhaps God wanted to set an example.
Either way, a similar incident is recounted in today’s Gospel, where we see that Peter has incredible faith to be able to directly and succinctly declare that Jesus is the Son of God. He gets a lot of praise from Jesus, who promises to build his Church on the faith of Peter.
And then … just a few lines later … Jesus tells that same apostle to “Get behind me Satan.”
Peter had experienced the same moment of doubt when he questioned God’s plan to permit his Son to be judged and crucified.
Jesus tells Peter, he is thinking like a man, rather than thinking as God does.
How many of us spend so many useless hours thinking as men do, instead of keeping our eyes on the prize and realizing that God has a plan, he works in mysterious ways and we should not worry so much about our own abilities to let Him work miracles through the things we say and do?
It all comes down to faith.
And the strength to tap that rock just once!
