The first reading you will hear at Catholic mass this weekend is from the Book of Exodus. That book recounts the Israelites travails in Egypt, through the desert for forty years and into the Promised Land.
At one point, the Israelites became depraved and were idolizing a golden calf they had made. They worshiped it, brought sacrifices to it and called it their god. That's the thanks God got for rescuing them from slavery. According to the book, God had chosen to bring fire on all those who worshipped the idol and burn them up. Moses, their leader, went to God and begged that he resist punishing them. God relented.
So what does a story like this tell us. First of all, could it be true? Could God be so angry and vindictive? Could a man really change God's mind?
Think of this. It all happened before Jesus Christ was born. People had no model to use, to instruct them in how to live. They were a tribal, warring people who lived by "might makes right." They were uneducated and had little knowledge of the earth and how things worked. Whatever they didn't understand or that sustained them was subject to be considered a god. They pictured that bad things happened because the gods were angry and good things happened because the gods were happy.
In this context, the story is not so strange. What we can take out of it is that prayer (that's what Moses did) works. God listens. Have faith. Keep the faith. Live the faith.
Have a great weekend! You are blessed. I love you.
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