Exodus 40: Seek the Word
Friday, November 8, 2024
Claiming the Word
I am thinking of how careful Moses is as he prepares a place for the Lord’s word to rest. The tablets of the Ten Commandments are contained in the Ark of the Covenant along with a jar of manna that fed the Hebrews in the desert, and Aaron’s rod which blossomed and performed miracles in Egypt. This special ark was adorned with gold and placed in a special tent, and the tent later became a temple. The children of Israel – led by Moses – took care to set aside these emblems of the covenant in a special place. We too, are called to prepare the temple of ourselves in which the Holy Spirit might take up residence. Several times in this chapter we read: Moses did exactly as the Lord had commanded him. We – like Moses – must prepare our hearts for the in-dwelling of God’s spirit just as God asks.
In his letters, St. Paul reminds us that our bodies are the New Testament temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19, Ephesians 2:21-22) replacing the temple in Jerusalem. In Romans 10, Paul tells us where to find this word of God, and also how to claim it as our own: The word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith, the faith which we preach, that if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. It is by believing with the heart that you are justified, and by making the declaration with your lips that you are saved.
Belief that God creates, that Jesus saves and that the Holy Spirit comforts does not make us followers of Christ in and of itself; we must also proclaim this story to others with our own lips and our own actions. Yet, even this declaring alone does not bring us into full participation in Christ’s body. We must, as James tells us in his letter, be doers of the words and not sayers only. (1:22-23) When we claim this word with our lips and hearts, and when we act on this word, we enter into full partnership with Christ.
The prophet Jeremiah predicted that there would come a day when the word of God would no longer be contained by tablets but would be written on our hearts (31:31), and it is with this writing that God claims us as his own. It is this stepping forward on our part that designates us as the faithful. We who come willingly and openly to sing God’s praise and to claim God’s word and to also join our hearts with God’s.
A Favorite from November 23, 2009.
Image from: https://sunshinedays.blog/blog/bible-verses-about-landing-page
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