Today’s Old Testament reading from the book of Numbers is a stern warning about lacking trust. We have a tendency to excuse a lack of trust in ourselves and in others, but clearly, for God, not trusting Him is an offense. I’ve often heard people say that it’s normal to have doubts – but that is akin to saying that it is normal to sin. Even if sinning happens frequently, or doubting happens frequently, that doesn’t make it okay – it might be normal, but it isn’t natural. Normalizing doubt puts us on the way of unfaithfulness. We see that Joshua did not lack trust – even when his countrymen were backing away from the challenge it would represent to take the land by force. Joshua’s name is actually the same as Jesus – Yeshua – and St. Eusebius says that Moses was actually the one who changed Hoshea’s name to Yeshua or Joshua. The name means, Yahweh saves whereas Hoshea means, “The salvation of God.” A slight difference, and perhaps one that Moses created unintentionally since he had a speech impediment. The weakness of men who continue to place their trust in the Lord calls down the strong salvation of God.
Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Part of the way God educates His people through Moses is the institution of feasts, celebrations, and above all the Sabbath. Moses is known as the Lawgiver, but he was responsible for bringing order and purpose to the children of Israel. It is really incredible if you think about it. Imagine organizing an entire nation from scratch. Or imagine waking up one day and there’s someone new in charge who completely changes the way your community and society does things. Moses received abundant revelations from God about how to do this, and what to tell the people to do, but it is really incredible. Moses sets them on a journey to become the people they truly are, their sense of identity is being drawn out of them by all the new things they have to do and observe. Moses reminds them, “remember your fathers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,” they all had the Lord as their God. Now, Moses says, the Lord wants to make you His people.
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings contain a powerful message about the Providence of God. God provides for what we need most, and if we have the humility and faith required we can also see what God is doing. There is a very superficial level at which we can understand God’s Providence, but it will lead to disappointments and crisis of faith if we are not careful. God is not trying to make us as wealthy and prosperous as possible. The more we have in this life, the richer we become, the more we could be tempted to attach ourselves to the world and a worldly way of life. It is so outstanding to see the transformation of Joseph in today’s first reading. The beloved son of his father, rejected by his kin, betrayed and sold into slavery by his brothers, left for dead – we see Christ in Joseph. Perhaps what is most outstanding is his wisdom at the end of today’s first reading: