GOD WAS NOT PLEASED…

Exodus 3:1-8,13-15

1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian; and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”
4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here am I.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the LORD said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings,
8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6,10-12

13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

1 I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,3 and all ate the same supernatural food4 and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ.
5 Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.6 Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did.10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer.
11 Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come.12 Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

Luke 13:1-9

1 There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus?
3 I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem?5 I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.
7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?’
8 And he answered him, ‘Let it alone, sir, this year also, till I dig about it and put on manure.9 And if it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'”  

MEDITATION

THE FIRST READING: An unquenchable fire that attracted Moses’ curiosity, was indeed the genesis of his encounter and walk with God. Moses’ interest in the supernatural order of creation, was the flint that elicited God to call him to be a father and shepherd of the Hebrew nation. Moses is comforted when he heard that God is fully aware of the miserable condition of the people and that He desire to free them from the Egyption tyrant.

St PAULS EPISTLE is a response to a report of a number of complaints and internal fighting that emmanated from within the Church of Corinth that Paul established. Paul makes the point that the Corinth community is not unlike the experience of the Israelites—a motled group of sinners and saints who were released from the clutches of an evil dictator wherethrough they escaped a death as by water. Moreover they were fed with supernatural bread and their thirst was quenched with supernatural water that came from a rock. Notice that Paul makes a typological link between the Sacraments —baptism, Holy Eucharist—supernatural realities that give rise to our escape from ‘Eqypt’ (a metaphor for sin and death), as we the people journey to the promised land. 

THE GOSPEL READING: After teaching on the matter of hades and the final judgement, Jesus is questioned about the salvific status of the Galileans both Jews and gentiles who were massacred by Pilate, as well as the innocent people who lost their lives when the tower of Siloam fell on them. 

Our Lord concede that bad and good people are not immune to suffering and death in circumstances that they have no control over. Jesus do however issue a cautionary notice by means of a parable (v5), that unless we confess our sins to a priest as was done under the OT (Lev 5:4,13), and reaffirmed in the NT (Jn 20:21-23), then we will perish.v3 God is certainly not pleased with us when we sin, which is akin to the stench of manure! Confession is the means whereby we are pruned; dead foilage are removed to be replaced by purity and good fruit. Christ certainly do not want to cover our dung with snow as Fr Martin Luther the reformation firebrand asserted! No, we must be in a state of grace, a clean slate that bear good fruit in and out of season!

LET US PRAY:Psalms 103:1-4,6-8,11
Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
6 The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

Commentary. Henry R SYLVESTER Note: The daily scripture readings are taken from the Roman Missal which the Catholic Church use in the daily Celebration of the Holy Eucharist throughout the world.Some weekly readings may differ because of the celebration of local feast days.