Homily: Fifteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Fifteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time (Ex. 2:1-15a)

The Exodus story is one of the defining stories concerning the People of Israel. Before the events in this book the descendants of Abraham were a small band of people that were wandering herdsman. After the time of Exodus, Israel was a nation with a government, homeland and a set of laws.

Moses is one of the most fascinating personalities in the Old Testament. We get to know him better than almost anyone else in the Bible. Moses was very mercurial. Some of the time he is very unsure of himself. At other times he is bold and daring. At times he seems very close to the Lord at other times God gets mad at him for being disobedient.

Perhaps the best part of Moses story is that he is constantly being redeemed by the Lord. We begin his story today. We see how Moses ends up killing a man in a fit of rage. He then runs away. He seems like he is destined to live out his life in obscurity. But God will not let him go. He has plans for Moses.

We can’t help but remember St. Peter. Peter would make a mess of things like when he denied that he knew Jesus three times. It seemed like he too would fade into obscurity. But Jesus came to find him after the Resurrection. Jesus did not lose faith in Peter. Jesus was comfortable with the repentant sinner.

We could say that the God we meet in the Old Testament is like that with Moses. Moses flees to the land of Midian. He hides from everyone, but he cannot hide from God. God sees where he is, and he seeks Moses out.

God calls to Moses from the burning bush and the rest is history. The Moses story can give us confidence. Maybe we feel like we have blown our big chance. We might feel like were ill equipped to accomplish a task. But God might see in us what we do not see in ourselves.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Do I think of Moses as a weak or strong leader? Why?

2.   Have I ever felt like I have been redeemed? When and how?

Dear Parishioners,

           The Eucharist revival continues to unfold. We had another Eucharistic moment this past weekend given by Colleen Rafferty. Everyone who has shared so far has offered inspiration in their own way. A witness from someone in the pew is usually an eye opener.

          You listen to my voice a lot and sometimes I wonder if my words have much effect. Maybe you wonder what everyone else is thinking and feeling when they come to Mass. The answer to that question is that a lot more is happening than we might think.

          We come to Mass for each other. When we gather with others who believe on Sunday, we find reassurance that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.

          May Our Lady pray for our troubled world today,

          Fr. Mark