4th week in Lent, Thursday – 14th March 2024 – Exodus 32,7-14; John 5,31-47
Moses as Defender and Accuser
Today’s first reading presents Moses pleading with God on behalf of the people, asking God to forgive their sins and relent punishing them. Moses is conscious of the promises that God had made and invokes those promises so that the people might be spared from the wrath of God. Moses was not only considered the one who led the people from slavery, but also the one who defended the people when God wanted to punish them for their infidelity. Moses was also the presenter of the Law. In the Gospel, Jesus also speaks about Moses, who doesn’t speak on behalf of the unfaithful, but condemns those who don’t believe in Jesus. Thus, in today’s reading, Moses is both defender and accuser. In Exodus, the people didn’t have the time to develop a clear understanding of their relationship with God. They have just been set free from slavery. They have not heard all the teachings of Moses. They want to worship God by creating an image and statue of God, like other enslavers who had made images and statues of their gods. Instead of establishing relationship with God, they chose to create the images of God. On behalf of people’s ignorance, Moses acts as defender. However, in the Gospel, the Israelites had known God and His Word as given by Moses, and what was spoken through the prophets. Yet, they fail to be open to the revelation of God’s presence. They did not accept Jesus as God’s Messiah. Here, on behalf of their hardness of God, Moses is pointed out as the accuser.
