This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
In the gospel, to counter the unbelief of His enemies, Jesus cites Moses as His witness–for, He says, “Moses wrote about me.”
Jesus is the Son of the Living God, Himself divine. John the Baptist witnessed to Him, His own miraculous works witnessed to Him. And, reaching forward through the centuries, Moses witnessed to Him.
It is interesting that this Gospel passage falls together with today’s first reading, where we see Moses interceding before a God who is ready to punish His grossly ungrateful and idolatrous people.
Moses intercedes for the great body of the descendants of Abraham, reduced to base adorers of a metal calf, and wins God’s mercy for them.
And thus it is that he points to Jesus Christ. That same Jesus who cites Moses as His witness is the very embodiment of the mercy of God for which Moses interceded.
Consider, for a moment: What if we become nothing other than new Moses, interceding before God’s fallen people, and winning the grace of the Incarnate Word for them? What if we in this way become nothing other than extenders of the impact of His infinitely powerful saving act? We could do worse.
If we look to the great saints, like St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. John Vianney, we can ultimately distill their lives down to this: They won extra doses of Jesus’ saving grace for souls, through their self-offering and intercession. In this way, they were like new Moses.
If we use our entire lives merely to intercede for sinners through prayer and self-offering with Christ in the Eucharist, we are not wasting them.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to send you His Spirit and craft you into the intercessory powerhouse He wants you to be–one that, through prayer and sacrifice, will bring soul after soul, person after person to the grace of Jesus Christ.
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