You Can Do Better

When Moses approached the camp and saw the golden calf and the people dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. He took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.
-Exodus 32:19-20

The people of Israel were still celebrating their freedom from slavery in Egypt when they began to grumble.  We don’t have enough water!  We don’t have enough food!  What is this “manna” we are supposed to eat?  We want some meat, too!  God led them to Mt. Sinai and called Moses to join him on the mountain.  The people were too afraid of God to even approach the mountain of God.

Moses was there with God on top of the mountain for 40 days when the people once again began to grumble.  They had seen the lightning and heard the thunder and believed that Moses was dead.  In their fear, they asked Aaron to fashion a new god for them to worship.  Thus, the golden calf was formed.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt.  They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’ (Exodus 32:7-8)

Moses was angry with the people.  They hadn’t even received the 10 commandments before they started breaking them!  Just like Moses, there are times when we see people disobeying God’s laws.  Most often, it is in myself that I see failure to obey the law of God.  Thankfully through the act of confession, repentance and changed behavior we experience God’s grace, forgiveness and love.  The work of change is painful at times.  Just like drinking the ashes of the golden calf, it may leave a bitter taste in our mouths… but it will change us for the better.  We can be better.  We can do better.  God will make us better.

Loving God, you gift your whole creation with abundant life, plenty for all. So often we see only what we lack, and we cannot imagine a way out of the rules and systems we have set up to portion out your gifts. We confess that we are often more tied to our human regulation than we are to your ever-expanding grace. We confess that there is often no room in our faith for you to speak a new word, especially one that breaks down those boxes we put each other in. Forgive us. Open our ears to hear you speaking, and our hearts to embrace your purpose. Amen.