17th Week in Ordinary Time: Monday 29th July 2019

Moses had been on the mountain for a long time. The people had grown impatient. They wanted a god that they could see so they gave Aaron gold to make a golden calf. When Moses saw the golden calf and the people dancing, he smashed the tablets of the covenant which God had given him. The people had already broken the covenant by committing idolatry. Moses returned to the Lord to offer to make atonement for the sin of the people. But God said he would punish those responsible, not Moses. God was not pleased and referred to the Israelites as “the people” rather than “my people” as before. What are some of the idols that separate us from God?

When Jesus arrived in Bethany Lazarus had been dead for four days. Martha was disappointed with Jesus for not coming sooner as she believed that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been there. Martha misunderstood Jesus when he assured her that her brother would rise. She thought he was referring to the resurrection in the future. The central point in this conversation occurred when Jesus declared “I am the resurrection and the life…” This is a powerful and life-altering statement — eternal life begins now, not in the future! Martha responded in faith by declaring that she knew that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of God…” How do we respond?

Lord, help me to make You the centre of my life.