19th Week in Ordinary Time: Wednesday 14th August 2019

God takes Moses to the mountain top and lays before him the land which he will give to the people whom Moses had led out of slavery. But Moses himself will stop short at the threshold of the Promised Land. God now teaches him to journey inward. With eyes and heart that have been inflamed by God all his life, Moses comes to terms with journeying quietly and alone, back to God, who has known him face to face.

God in Christ reconciles the world to himself, and Jesus entrusts to us the good news that we are reconciled. Jesus teaches us to reconcile with one another, because reconciliation cannot be achieved by human effort alone. Jesus teaches us to reconcile in openness, sincerity and confidence. If after much goodwill and transparency anyone still chooses to alienate himself from the community, then the burden is not on the community.

Reconciliation therefore is not an alternative; it is not even our choice. It is our experience with God in the existential reality of freedom. In reconciling with one another and with the world, we experience God, who gives freedom and salvation. This God is the God of Moses, the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the Sacrament of Reconciliation between God and all Creation.

May God be blessed, forever and ever.