Comments on: Friday March 27th, Jesus the Prophet

By: Ogene Abu

Ogene Abu — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 16:24:17 +0000

Thanks to all those who work and enable us to isolate ourselves at home.
May God continue to bless them and keep them safe and well.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 13:51:54 +0000

Regarding the comment above, “Anonymous” to “JKD”. Although addressing the individual who had the concern, I think you also informed a lot of others. Thanks for sharing the Bishop’s homily on yesterday’s reading.

By: J

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 13:51:09 +0000

I echo the thank yous to your daughter, caregivers, medical staff, first responders, truck drivers, and everyone everywhere who is putting themselves out there so we can live. THANK YOU!
Also thank you to anonymous above “when we worship (or fail to do so) God the wrong way we experience it as wrath…. that makes so much sense to me.
Bob, how is your sister doing?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 13:50:06 +0000

Thanks for that explanation anonymous.I love A Catholic Moment community and look forward to the thoughts and relections shared on the website.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 12:45:12 +0000

Dear JKD,
This is in response to your comment of yesterday (26 March 2020). Quote “Thanks particularly for your reflection on today’s first reading. I struggle with this bit of scripture because it seems as if God is admitting to Moses, by backing off on his plan to wipe out the Jewish nation, that Moses was right and God was wrong?
If God is all knowing, wouldn’t he have known about this conversation in advance and refrain from saying what he said about wiping out the Jewish nation? I’m not trying to be disrespectful on this matter. I must just be missing something. Please help me understand what it is that I’m missing. Could it be that He was just trying to develop Moses’ love for the Jewish people by forcing him to stand up for them even though they were clearly wrong to turn their backs on God? Unquote

Below is almost verbatim, Bishop Barron’s homily on the same first reading of yesterday on You Tube Daily Mass with Word on Fire (26 March 2020).

God expresses his great wrath, his anger at this act of idolatry. This is a symbol. God is not passing into a bad emotional state. Don’t think of God as a raging, dysfunctional father. Think of it rather as spiritual physics. When we worship the wrong way we excite the wrath of God, meaning we fall out of right relationship with the source of our joy in our life and so we experience that as wrath. It’s a description from our side, not from God’s side. We feel God now as distant and angry because we are worshipping in the wrong way. Moses begins to negotiate with God. We see Moses as cajoling God and therefore God changed his mind and did not destroy the people. This is a symbol again.

God knows everything and doesn’t change – that’s the nature of God. God is omniscient, God is immutable. Don’t think of God as a reluctant Pasha and if we come to God with enough supplication, maybe he’ll change his mind. This is the wrong way to think about it. What is going on is basic in the bible and called “intercessory prayer.” We don’t change God’s mind in an ordinary sense. Nevertheless, God exalts in intercession and intercessory prayer. I ask on behalf of somebody else, I pray for somebody else. It’s not my sin or my problem, I pray for the alleviation of another person’s suffering. I don’t know the dynamics of how this all works, but I know it pleases God to allow one member of the mystical body to bear the burden of another, even in our prayer. So think of someone interceding on behalf of another person, or in this case Moses on behalf of the entire people. It is as if Moses is bearing their burden, he’s praying for them and this pleases God. There’s a kind of transference that goes on within the mystical body. God delights in it that we can bear the burdens of others.

By: Sandi

Sandi — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 12:36:48 +0000

Thank you, Bob. Thank you to all the heroes who risk your lives to keep our world functioning by providing our basic needs. A huge thank you to all our healthcare workers who care for those suffering. God bless.

By: Gloria

Gloria — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 12:31:41 +0000

I just discovered this web page yesterday and I look forward to the daily readings and reflections. We do take many things for granted and most times forget how blessed we are. I will continue to pray for all those in the front line. Your daughter is among many heroes who do their best to save lives.

By: Ditma Luz Trocio, mic

Ditma Luz Trocio, mic — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 12:06:51 +0000

Thank a lot Bob. We need more people of your kind. Yeah, you are just like the heroes you admire. I admire you too. I will pray for you and for all these heroes of our day. How the Lord must be pleased with them! I praise and thank God for them. If only all those proclaimed Christians live their faith, our world will be much better-off, isn’t it?