Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, June 22, 2022
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
God is going to give Moses authority. That’s what this is about. They’re going to give a great show to prove to everyone that Moses has the ear of God and knows what he’s talking about. This way, God’s messages will be clearly carried to the people by a single, trustworthy authority and won’t get muddied or watered down.
It’s a neat idea, but personally I think it’s dangerous. Two reasons (at least.) First, it opens the door to incredible corruption on the part of the very human person who supposedly speaks for God. That kind of power and authority would make anyone bent. Second, it silences any interpretations of God’s action in the world other than that of a single (in this case) man, who is only capable of interpreting God through his own extremely limited lens.
I know theology can get messy and contentious and lead to schisms and reformations and all manner of seemingly destructive outcomes. But I far prefer the idea of wading into that mess with an open heart and mind and listening to voices that are not my own, with perspectives I don’t have, in order to encounter a fuller, richer depth of understanding of who God is and who I am in relationship to God.
A single set of supposedly God-given laws presented by one male in a patriarchal society just isn’t going to do it for me, folks. God is waaaaay more interesting than that.
Who do I see as people of authority in regard to my faith?
