27 July 2015 - calf exorcizing

They said to me, ‘Make us a god to be our leader;
as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt,
we do not know what has happened to him.’

The children of Israel provide another cautionary tale. Moses is only gone for a short time. The people have only recently seen signs and wonders of deliverance from Egypt. They have only recently witnessed the glory of the LORD as a consuming fire on the top of the mountain (cf. Exo. 24:17). Yet how quickly they forget. How quickly we forget. How often the enemy is able to come and snatch the seeds off of the path.

When the LORD blesses us by revealing himself to us in amazing ways how do we keep these memories safe? How do we treasure them in our hearts (cf. Luk. 2:19) as Mary does so that they can't be taken from us? Most of us have had more revelations from God than we realize. We forget them because the enemy snatches them from us. The birds eat the seeds that fall on the path. We need to imitate Mary and treasure these things to keep them safe. But how? When we receive the word with understanding the enemy cannot steal it. When we don't understand God's revelation it becomes entertainment alongside other entertainment. We forget it just as we forget the latest movie. But when we receive it with understanding we are invited into a real relationship with one who we cannot forget.

A little bit goes a long way when it comes to this relationship. It is the mustard seed that grows into a large bush. It is the yeast which leavens the whole batch of dough. It is enough so that when God isn't supplying special effects we don't have to try to just change the channel spiritually and seek our satisfaction elsewhere.

Let the seeds of God's revelation grow into the bush of relationship with him. This bush can weather the storms and survive periods of dryness and aridity. When we treasure them we are able to leaven the bread that can satisfy us and those around us even in spite of hunger or famine.

But let us take an approach of mercy. We are all too likely to turn aside as soon as we think God is distant. May it make us sympathetic with all of those around us who have done so. May we not condemn or judge them in our hearts but instead take the example of Moses and stick up for them, to withstand God in the breach for them.

Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.

Let us plead for mercy for all of the idolatry of our world so that all together we may "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good." After all, if we're honest with ourselves, we know that golden calves will never satisfy anyone for long.