Exodus 32:11
But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand?"
For parents, sometimes it's hard to determine the right punishment for your children when they mess up. Sometimes it's a lecture, maybe time out, grounding, or even a controlled spanking. If you're a parent then you know that others judge you on how you handle these situations. "He needs to be tougher." "She shouldn't spank him!" "If that was me I would have…." You know the deal.
In today's first reading, we hear that God's chosen people have again violated his commandments. Moses, as the parent of these people, has to act as the "go-between" between God and the people. God has already wiped out the people with a great flood in the story of Noah and started over. Now God has expressed to Moses that he's going to do it again. However, Moses prays to God, imploring his mercy. God relents and forgives. We are all sinners and we mess up. We promise that we won't do it again, but then we mess up again. God knows this and is willing to forgive if we, A. are genuinely sorry, B. promise not to do it again and C. do something to improve ourselves and those we've hurt or impacted. Our God is merciful and knows we mess up. During the final days of lent, if you have fallen short of your promises that you made at the start of lent, there is still time to correct. Like today's reading, God will forgive if you get back on the horse and try again.
