Thursday, March 21st, 2013

The first reading brings me back to my first semester of my sophomore year at Creighton in Dr. Legaspi's Old Testament course. I have to admit, while I entered college with an understanding of my faith and of the general teachings of the Church, my knowledge of the Old Testament was embarrassingly low. Who knew the book of Exodus was almost entirely about Moses? I just knew the song haha. I remember sharing some of these thoughts and having some people express utter astonishment toward my ignorance. But I did not see it that way, for the first time in my adult life I was gifted the opportunity to read through a book that had absolutely shaped me from the day of my baptism, and I got to do it with a guide that genuinely appreciated my enthusiasm for knowledge. I remember reading this portion of Genesis and emailing Dr. Legaspi with my wonderings about God's gentle and loving relationship with this human. I remember thinking, wait... isn't the God of the Old Testament the one that is mean and scary? As always, the images of God throughout this book are just that, images and they are human created images from a suffering people trying to make sense of the world that seemed to constantly reject them. What I love so much about this covenant is its permanence.
                                          I will maintain my covenant with you
                                                        and your descendants after you
                                                        throughout the ages as an everlasting pact,
                                                        to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

Lucky for us, God isn't going anywhere no matter how many times we screw up. What I wish was that this reading was coupled with a Gospel describing the new covenant. In a way the Jesus of John's Gospel is attempting to bring this covenant to light, but unfortunately the message does not sink in. Which is not a surprise. Rarely is there a concept that I teach within my classroom that students achieve on the first try. Learning is change over time through the engagement of activity. Gradually and the apostles and desciples became more engaged in Jesus' work, ministry, and teaching they came to better understand his message and existence here on earth. But the truth is, understanding God's presence in our lives is a constant journey, it is not something that we ever come to fully understand or know because God is not something we can ever come to fully understand or know. We are in a constant state of becoming while God just IS. As we grow and develop we are able to orient closer to our creator, but we are also able to orient further away. We chose whether or not we wish to deepen our relationship with God. We choose to do good and we choose to do evil. We break our relationship but we can also replenish our relationship. God is a constant that will always BE. God's door to relationship is always open, it is up to us to choose whether or not we wish to see what is on the other side.

Happy Thursday!

Laura