16 Aug 2023
The Next Leader
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For 16 August 2023, Wednesday of week 19 in Ordinary Time , based on Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is 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 Plain—that is, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees—as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, ‘This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, “I will give it to your descendants”; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.’ Then Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, at the Lord’s command. He was buried in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor, but no one knows his burial place to this day. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died; his sight was unimpaired and his vigour had not abated. The Israelites wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days; then the period of mourning for Moses was ended.
Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequalled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants and his entire land, and for all the mighty deeds and all the terrifying displays of power that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.
Scripture passage from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
16 August 2023 @ 4:08 pm
Moses died showing us, “No individual person is indispensable.” That message is such a contrast to yesterday’s homily commemorating Mary’s Assumption. She, being lifted up, shows us something different, yes? It would be easy for me to simply ask, does God view us as dispensable? Or did His Son give all for us to redeem us? Perhaps our roles, our assignments are dispensable—if we don’t obey, or if it is just time for the passing of the torch. the opportunity to produce fruit is granted to others, but people themselves are indispensable in our Father’s loving eyes. He will leave the 99 and look for the 1 lost. That’s the message of God familiar to me.