Do Over
Did you ever make a mistake?
No, I mean a really big screw up. the kind you are sure there is no recovery from?
The LORD said to Moses, "Cut two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you broke. - Exodus 34:1
In today's reading from Zechariah, Moses gets a second chance, after doing something unthinkable, breaking the tablets of stone that God wrote upon.
Moses let his anger get the better of him when he descended from the mountain and saw how Aaron and the people were behaving.
As soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets from his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. - Exodus 32:19
What I find interesting here is the chapter that comes after the tablets are broken and before God gives Moses new ones. In chapter 33, Moses returns to stand before God and negotiate for mercy, not just for himself, but for all God's people.
This intercession is a strange one. It appears that Moses, who should be asking for God's forgiveness, makes demands, wanting to gain favor from God so the people will listen to him. All the while, God says he has not yet decided what to do with this group that has turned against him.
So, what is really going on here?
The favor Moses is seeking is to continue to have God with them wherever they go. God has been a real presence for them, appearing as a pillar of cloud and talking directly to Moses.
You could argue that the people were spoiled. They had a form of access to God that we might envy today.
But wait! There's more.
As Christians, we believe God is with us always, everywhere, in the form of the Holy Spirit who lives within us as a vital part of us. That means we have a one-on-one relationship with God that, like the people in Moses's time, we fail to appreciate at times.
God showed his mercy on Moses and the exiles by giving them a big Do Over, a new set of tablets, and a new relationship, but that wasn't enough.
The really big Do Over came with Jesus. The promise to be with us forever and to go with us wherever we go became real when Jesus ascended to the father and sent the Holy Spirit upon us.
We celebrate this whenever we join in receiving another new life in Christ through baptism, and we remember this on Pentecost, as we will this coming Sunday.
We may take this relationship we have with God for granted, thinking the Spirit is a personal trainer or assistant waiting to help us get going or to get us started on a meaningful project or journey, and that's a shame.
Think of it this way. If you were to take God on a personal journey through your day, your life, your world, where would you go and what would you do? How would you show God what you are and whose you are?
For me, that's a tall order.
Now, what will I do differently today?
More to come...
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