Our Scripture passages today seem to be a continuance of last week’s readings. If you remember from last week, we saw the Transfiguration of the Lord, during which Our Lord’s Passion was seen as His “exodus”. This theme is continued in our first reading today, with the calling of Moses, but the second reading from St. Paul and today’s Gospel provide some warnings for those of us who follow Our Lord on His exodus.
As I said last week, Israel’s Exodus which freed them from the slavery of Egypt is a foreshadowing of Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection which frees us from the slavery to sin. The first reading from the Book of Exodus today shows the promise of God that He will fulfill the covenant He made with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If the Israelites are willing to follow Moses, whom God has sent, they will enter into “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
While all the Israelites received the gifts of food and drink from God to sustain them during the Exodus, St. Paul reminds us that many of the Israelites were not faithful to God. These unfaithful Israelites were not allowed to enter into the Promised Land, perishing in the desert. Even Moses himself was only allowed to view the Promised Land from afar, dying before the Israelites set foot within the land.
For those of us who profess to follow Christ, we also have been given the promise of “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Unlike the Israelites’ Promised Land, ours is an eternal reward for being faithful to the New Covenant that Jesus established here on Earth. When we were baptized, we entered into that covenant, following Christ through His new exodus.
Just as the Israelites had to remain faithful to God throughout their Exodus to enter into the Promised Land, we too have to remain faithful throughout our exodus. St. Paul tells us that what happened to the Israelites “happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did,” and “have been written down as a warning to us.” We need to look at the example of those Israelites who were unfaithful to God’s commands to understand what will happen to those who are unfaithful to His commands today.
Those of us who are faithful do not have reason to gloat over those who may have fallen from following God’s path. St. Paul reminds us, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” We need to be constantly aware of our own sinfulness and not think of our salvation as a one-time-good thing. Even if we are regularly doing the “right” things, we need to make sure that we don’t become prideful, but allow the graces of God to work through us to change our sinful desires.
There was an idea running throughout the history of the Jewish Covenant that God will curse in this life those who are unfaithful to His covenant. This is most clear in the Book of Job when his friends were sure that his sorrows had to be caused by sins Job had committed. We also see this idea in how people at the time of Jesus reacted to the deaths in Galilee and Siloam, thinking them as punishment for their sins.
Jesus very clearly rejects this idea, stating that those who died were no worse sinners than those who were listening to Him speak. He tells them, “If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” We need to listen to these words as well, and need to repent from our sins. We may not be punished in this life if we do not, but Jesus is clear that we will be punished in the next for failure to repent.
How do we repent from our sins and ensure that we are following God’s commands? Our Lord gave us the tool that we need: the Sacrament of Confession. When we confess our sins sacramentally, we will receive the forgiveness of God and make true repentance for our sins. In order to properly use this tool, we must daily examine our consciences, finding those sins which have the most effect on our lives. We also must make regular confession – at least once a month – a part of our routines, and ask God for the grace to dig the roots of sin out of our souls.
When we are faithful to repentance for our sins throughout our entire lives, we will enter into the eternal Promised Land at the end of our exodus on Earth just as the faithful Israelites entered into their Promised Land.
