20210811 A QUIET DEPARTURE
11 August, 2021, Wednesday, 19th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 © |
Moses dies and is buried
Leaving the plains of Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land; Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the stretch of the Valley of Jericho, city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, ‘This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross into it.’ There in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of the Lord died as the Lord decreed; he buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye undimmed, his vigour unimpaired. The sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days. The days of weeping for the mourning rites of Moses came to an end. Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. It was he that the sons of Israel obeyed, carrying out the order that the Lord had given to Moses.
Since then, never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man the Lord knew face to face. What signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 65(66):1-3,5,16-17 © |
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!’
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps110:7,8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;
they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
Or: | 2Co5:19 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 18:15-20 © |
If your brother listens to you, you have won back your brother
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’
A QUIET DEPARTURE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Dt 34:1-12; Ps 66:1-3,5,16-17; Mt 18:15-20 ]
Most leaders, when they finish their term of office, are given big farewells with much fanfare, long recitations of the good works have done, and their achievements. Even though there “never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses”, yet his term as the prophet and leader of Israel came to a quiet end. The account of Moses’ last days was modestly recorded. Regardless of the great works he had accomplished, nothing much was said about him, except that he was “the man the Lord knew face to face.” This is the only testimony given to him, and although nothing was said about his achievements, no greater honour could anyone give to a person than that he is a friend of God and that God speaks to him as a man speaks to his friend. His intimacy with the Lord was the basis of all that he did. What he did was secondary, compared to his personal relationship with God, a gift that gave him strength, perseverance and consolation in his difficult task as the leader of Israel. Seeing the Lord face to face was sufficient reward for Moses.
When Moses was not allowed by God to enter the Promised Land which he was supposed to lead the people into, in our reckoning, we would consider it too harsh a punishment by God for his failures as a leader. It would seem unreasonable and a great setback for Moses as he worked all these years to bring the people into the Promised Land but never got to enjoy the reward. But if one has seen the Lord face to face, what more does one need? He was already in the Promised Land. Hence, the Lord only gave Moses a preview when he was asked to ascend Mount Nebo where he was shown the entire land that Israel would eventually occupy. The Lord said to him, “This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross into it.”
Moses was contented just to have a preview. He did not grumble or complain because He knew his work was done. His task was simply to fulfil the mission the Lord had given to him. He was contented that he had done his job to the best of his ability. Indeed, he was always conscious that it was not him who did the job but it was God who did the work through him. It is telling that the book of Deuteronomy ended with these words, “What signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!” Moses never forgot that it was not his achievements but it was God who made it possible. God was the underlying force and power in all that he did. Moses was not the deliverer. It was God who brought Israel out of Egypt. Moses was merely God’s instrument and servant. (Ex. 3-4).
Indeed, like St Paul, Moses saw himself only as the servant of God. “There in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of the Lord died as the Lord decreed.” All other biblical figures have also been called God’s servants, but Moses was addressed in numerous occasions as the servant of God. He was a faithful servant right to the end. The key is faithfulness. God told Miriam and Aaron when they complained against Moses, “When there are prophets among you, I the Lord make myself known to them in visions; I speak to them in dreams. Not so with my servant Moses; he is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face – clearly, not in riddles; and he beholds the form of the Lord.” (Num 12:6-8a) God had full confidence in Moses and hence spoke to him as a friend.
At any rate, the mission was still not done. As St Paul told the Corinthians, we are part of God’s bigger plan for humanity. “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor 3:5-9) We should not expect any other reward, but just be grateful that He has called us into His service. As the Lord said, “So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!'” (Lk 17:10)
Moses, aware that the mission must continue with or without Him, prepared for his successor to take over from him. “Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. It was he that the sons of Israel obeyed, carrying out the order that the Lord had given to Moses.” He did not leave the people without a leader. A great leader is one who ensures the continuity of his mission. But what was also great about him was that he appointed Joshua who was not even related to him or belonged to his own tribe. Moses belonged to the tribe of Levi whereas Joshua came from the tribe of Ephraim (Num 13:8) Most dynasties and leaders tend to pass on the baton to their children or relatives. But Moses was not interested to start a legacy or a dynasty after him. For Moses, the best man leads the people, which means one who has devotion to God and is obedient to His word.
Indeed, the greatest legacy Moses left behind was the Law, the Word of God, so that the people could continue to faithfully obey God and live a prosperous life. “Now this is the commandment–the statutes and the ordinances–that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children’s children may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey.” (Dt 6:1-3)
This also explains why Moses refused to mark his tomb for generations to remember him. “There in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of the Lord died as the Lord decreed; he buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave.” He did not want to have any monument erected for him. He did not want people to venerate him for fear that it would distract them from worshipping God alone. The temptation was real because no one had seen a prophet as great as Moses. But as far as he was concerned, for all the great things he had done, he remained just a servant of the Lord, which we all are. This is the worthiest title and fitting memory of him. Jesus called Himself the servant of the Lord as well.
Such was Moses, in spite of his achievements, he knew that even as the servant of God, he was imperfect. He made his mistakes as a leader. Like St Paul, he saw himself as an earthen war jar, imperfect and weak. “But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” (2 Cor 4:7) Like all of us, he was initially resistant to God’s call. He was hot-headed when the people misbehaved. He was frustrated and angry with the people when they demanded water at Meribah Kadesh. Moses was unable to control his emotions and took out his anger on them, striking the rock twice and calling them rebels instead of just speaking to the rock as the Lord commanded him. He was impatient and perhaps arrogant when he told the people, “Listen, you rebels, shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” (Num 20:10) As a consequence, the Lord reprimanded Moses, “Because you did not trust in me, to show my holiness before the eyes of the Israelites, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” (Num 20:12) Regardless of his imperfections and weaknesses, he was certainly considered the greatest representative of Israel’s law, for he would appear with Elijah on the last days of Jesus before His passion at the Transfiguration. He saw Jesus fulfilling his prophecy (Dt 18:15) that the prophet would come and to Him, we must also listen.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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