moses

SUNDAY 1 MARCH 2026: THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT.

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The Transfiguration, Leandro Miguel Velasco 2007, Incarnation Dome of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington DC, USA.

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And (Jesus) was transfigured before [Peter, James and John]; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.      Matthew 17:2-3.

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At the end of this remarkable event, Jesus told Peter, James and John, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead” (verse 9). They could not comprehend neither the event, nor the words “Son of Man has been raised from the dead” but it is clear they remembered everything, written down years later. It seems to parallel Jesus’ baptism, the first revelation of the Blessed Trinity, but with two divine presences this time, God the Father and God the Son (both identified by what the Voice said) rather than three. The Holy Spirit might have been present in the dazzling light though… The disciples saw two towering figures from the Hebrew Scriptures appearing with Jesus. Moses, he who had actually encountered God, both in the burning bush episode and when he received the Tablets of the Law, the 10 Commandments, from God on Mount Sinai (and note that he holds the two Tablets of the Law in the picture above, the first three commands with reference to God, and the remaining seven to us, the children of God). And Elijah, who had also experienced God’s presence on Mount Horeb (some say it is another name for Mount Sinai) and, most famously, was taken into heaven in his chariot of fire!

Elijah Taken Up in a Chariot of Fire, Giuseppe Angeli c.1740, Samuel H. Kress Collection, The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA.

But almost universally the scholars say the two figures with Jesus embody the Law of God and the Prophets of God. It also displays the continuity of the Law and the Prophets leading inexorably to the Messiah standing between them. The man kneeling and watching Elijah ascend to heaven is his disciple and successor, Elisha.

Today’s first reading goes back even further than Elijah and Moses, back to Abram (even before God renamed him Abraham). This was back to the original promise, to make Abram’s successors into a “great nation”. And remember there are three Abrahamic peoples: the Jewish people, the Muslims and us Christians. It might even seem to suggest that God looks on us three almost as “a great nation” and that all others will find blessing in us all… In which case we should all try to outdo ourselves in putting God’s law, love of God, neighbor and self, into fullest action! How about that for a Lenten thought!

But we Christians are called back to our own mission in life by today’s second reading. Here we are reminded of the “grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”. And we are part and parcel of that “light through the gospel”. It has to be through each one of us that Jesus is clearly seen, in our words and actions. And so we end up in Lent once more. This is the ultimate time of the year when we examine our own lives, actions, words. Do we try and make everything we do and say a reflection of the Lord living in us? Not that we should be sanctimonious, because that smacks of being “holier than thou” which is NOT the idea! Just simple generosity on every true level is what we are called to. And once more, we are not alone in this. If we allow it, the Lord’s strength is within us to help and guide us. We just have to ask and apply….

The Transfiguration, Lattanzia Gambara c.1570, Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, Parma, Italy.

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Today, 1st March, is St. David of Wales’ feast day, my patron and confirmation saint. I was born in Newport in Wales and although brought up in London, have always considered myself Welsh. David was a tough leader, nicknamed WaterMan as he forbade beer in his monasteries… He was one of only two UK patron saints who actually lived there (Patrick 0f Ireland was the other – possibly Welsh himself; George of England and Andrew of Scotland never set foot in old Britannia). 

St. David pray for us!

If you think these thoughts might be pleasing to one or other of your friends, please forward it to them. Thank you.

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com 

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SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER 2025: THE TWENTY-ninth SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

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The Unjust Judge, John Everett Millais 1863, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA, USA.

(The judge said) ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'”        Luke 18:4-5.

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The first thing that struck me (if I can say that) is the judge’s fear “lest she finally come and and strike me”. First, this is a widow he’s scared of, not usually associated with threatening behavior sufficient to strike fear in a judge! Then I looked up the original Greek passage in Luke’s gospel. The key word is ὑπωπιάζῃ, hupōpiazē, meaning to wear out, weaken; to beat up, treat roughly. One commentator even suggests “getting a black eye”! I suppose even a widow might be driven to such a desperate course of action in the face of intransigent, utterly ignored behavior from the bench. Jesus does not reveal what the cause of this despairing  behavior was, but it was clearly impinging on this woman’s world to an extreme level, demanding action. It was obvious the judge could not give a damn, until he saw that his behavior was beginning to drive this woman to possibly dangerous extremes: he had to act! Of course, Jesus was comparing this judge’s behavior to what one can expect from God, the eternally just, listening judge who hears our every word. We cannot consider giving God a black eye, but it should not be necessary; the Lord hears our every cry. Isn’t that sufficient?

Jesus was clearly making the point that God, the all-just and all-hearing, will be immediately aware of our needs and our concerns even before we utter them. Unlike the uncaring and unresponsive judge of the parable, God knows our cares almost before we do! The thing is, of course, how does our just God respond to our needs, because it is so often not the way we would wish and hope for. Now in a court of law, the setting for today’s gospel, remedies are rather restricted. Fines, imprisonment, confiscation of money or goods, court orders, even the death penalty in some parts of the world (which is categorically condemned by the Church),  that’s about it. But God has an infinite way of responding to our requests for help, ranging from guiding each of us to handle our needs ourselves, to the church-recognized miraculous (which is extremely rare – but does happen). And there is always that helpful maxim, “A problem shared is a problem halved”. And there are numerous church charities designed to help those in desperate need, even though many would be very reluctant to approach them, being too proud or timid. But they are all there to help! Even a simple “To Do” list can be very effective in dealing with crises. But quietly sitting down with the Lord might be the best, and letting it all hang out and, in silence, considering all the  possibilities worthy of a Christian, remembering the words “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” 

Another lesson lies, it would seem, in the first reading. Here the Promised Land was facing dire threat of invasion. Moses directed Joshua to go out with his army to confront the enemy. He, Moses, would be standing at the top of a nearby hill with his arms raised up. When in that posture, Joshua would have the best of the battle. If, however, Moses began to waver and droop his arms, the enemy would be gaining. It was at that point that Moses’ companions Aaron, his brother, and Hur, supported Moses’ arms which then remained upright and steady, and the enemy was defeated. Today’s psalm says it all: “Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth”. There is no shame in accepting help. If even Moses needed assistance, who are we to deny it we need it from time to time? And the final word might well lie with today’s second reading:  “…be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.” At that point we could well be talking to ourselves! Except, even then, God hears us and helps us, no matter what the problem may be. We are never alone.

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THANK YOU.

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com 

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SUNDAY 23 MARCH 2025: THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT.

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Moses and the Burning Bush, Jean Baptiste van Loo, no date, Chi-Mei Museum, Tainan City, Taiwan

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When the LORD saw him coming over to look at [the burning bush] more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.      Exodus 3: 5-4.

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Today’s first reading has to be among the most famous scenes from Scripture. Put it another way, who has NOT heard of the Burning Bush? Moses, caring for his flock of sheep, noticed that there was a bush on fire, presumably isolated from neighboring vegetation otherwise he might just have gathered the whole flock and moved away from apparent danger. But no, this was unusual, as there was no spreading of the flames, but even stranger, the fire was not consuming the bush; it just burned and burned. So, as anyone would, he got up and went over to take a closer look. And then he heard The Voice, as shown in the caption above. Clearly this was something very, very, special. He heard the voice telling him he stood on holy ground and that therefore he should remove his sandals as a sign of respect. This Moses did. But who or what, we might ask, was going on and whose voice was it? It turned out that Moses was probably thinking the same thing, because the voice from the bush anticipated it, and stated “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” In other words, here was the God who had inspired the founding fathers of the faith into which Moses had been born many generations later. Understandably, Moses was reluctant, terrified even, to look up, for to see the face of God was to die. There is nothing in the text to say Moses looked up even for a second. Then God began to explain what this incredible scene was all about.

Now, recall that Moses, who had grown up in the household of the Egyptian king, the pharaoh, having been rescued from the River Nile following the order of the king that all Hebrew boys were to be destroyed (the Hebrews had become too numerous and hence were a threat to the Egyptians). An Egyptian princess had rescued him and had brought him up amid privilege and wealth, including, it can be assumed, a fine education. Hence he was special – Hebrew slaves were not educated. But he knew his roots, that he was Hebrew, not Egyptian. One day he was outside and an incident took place which meant he had to escape Egypt. Read all about it here. That explains why he was a humble shepherd when today’s incident took place. But God had other plans for him, and I believe this to be the underlying theme of today’s readings. But before we get on to that, consider the implications of what followed between God and Moses. Moses agreed to return to Egypt and obey God’s command that he insist the pharaoh release all Hebrew slaves and allow them to depart to the land promised them by God, a land “flowing with milk and honey”. But then Moses asked, “But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you’, if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” (Remember that all the Egyptian gods had names, Isis, Osiris, Ptah, etc.). Note that God had only given Moses his titles (“The God of Abraham” etc.), not the personal name of God, which was, until this moment, completely unknown. So God answered, “I am who am.” Then God added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” In Hebrew, Yahweh. This is the most sacred name in existence. To strict Jews it is never to be spoken. So ancient is this stricture that no-one is really sure how to pronounce the name properly. The consequence is that Moses now has an intimate bond with God: he knows the sacred name, and a sacred relationship was now established as never before between Moses and God, who, note, also called Moses by his name. Later, through Moses, that relationship was expanded to the entire Hebrew people, now the Chosen People of God.

The Tetragrammaton, the Sacred Name of God, Museum of Stained Glass, Chicago, USA.

Moses had fled Egypt as there was, so to say, a price on his head for killing an Egyptian who was striking a Hebrew. Given today’s first reading, it is clear that God had forgiven Moses, presumably taking all things concerning the incident into account. Scripture also tells us that the pharaoh of that time had died, suggesting that Moses was less likely to be accused of a crime. But now God had given him a much more important mission, to lead God’s people out of Egypt to a new, promised, land. Clearly this mission was greater than tending sheep; yes he was to be a shepherd still, but of God’s chosen people! And here we can begin to see the links in today’s readings. God has given each one of us a mission, and the talents – skills – to enable us to fulfill such a mission. The second reading demonstrates that the rescued Hebrews, instead of being overwhelmed with gratitude that God had led them out of slavery, acted in ways which were not evident of thanksgiving. Yes, life is tough, even horrible at times, but there is always a God of love ready to assist us. Instead, as the second reading says, many Hebrews “desired evil things” and many of them “grumbled” about their conditions. In other words, they brought evil upon themselves.

This stands in contrast to today’s gospel however. Two incidents are mentioned, presumably current and well-known at the time, where people had died, which were not the result of dissatisfaction with God, but simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Poor construction caused one disaster, and a brutal Roman governor the other. All who suffered were not guilty of anything in those cases. But, concluding, Jesus does point out that indeed each one of us has been given a divine vocation where we are responsible for what happens. The fig tree that produces no figs is pretty clearly not fulfilling its destiny, but is given one last chance. That applies to everyone with no exception. We are all gifted by God, some more abundantly than others, and only God knows why. But each one of us is expected to use our God-given talents in ways God expects, to serve God, others and self. On that we can be sure we will be judged. This being Lent, we are all asked to consider our response to that challenge anew: are we, in fact, fulfilling our destiny? A grand word – but the right one for each one of us. And with God happy and willing to assist us in that, are we grabbing that opportunity and doing what we ought? Are we being God’s true, obedient and willing children?

The Fruitful Fig Tree, Jill Morgan, Homes and Gardens, January 2023.

PLEASE SHARE THIS REFLECTION WITH SOMEONE YOU KNOW WOULD APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com 

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