THE WORD IN LENT - Thursday, 4th week in Lent
March 18, 2021: Exodus 32: 7-14; John 5: 31-47
The one who loves more will be hurt more! This is an ordinary experience of life. True love never counts the hurts, nor does it give up, fearing hurt. God's love for us has proved this to us time and again. We see in the first reading today how the people were absolutely insensitive to God's love and went behind their need for a concrete and tangible expression of a passing love. All that they needed was to just take time and look into themselves, to look back into their lives, to look at the way they had come by! Moses had to come down, break those tablets amidst them and call their attention to those very things, and they realised their folly!
We may wonder reading this account,
how was it possible for them to do it! After all the great experience of
wonders and marvels in Egypt and in the desert, how could these people think of
making a god for themselves! Let us not be too fast in this. Let us just pause
and look at ourselves. How better are we?
How swift we are to give up on the
Lord and Lord's ways, even after having experienced the Lord so much! We give
it up for gods of our own making - our time more important than spending few
extra minutes listening to the Word of God, our work more important than giving
God the due that we should, our pleasures more important than taking up a few
sacrifices for God and for God's plan... aren't these the same as what the
people of Israel did?
Go into the depth of your hearts and look at the way you have travelled, the way God has loved you all this while, the way you have been nourished by the love of God, you will understand where you are going wrong! Be courageous enough to turn back, re-tread your ways to the Lord.
To grow in true Christian love, revive your capacity to look into yourself, every now and then!