The LORD said to Moses,
“Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
The great sin of the Israelite people was the sin of ‘forgetfulness!’ After all that the Lord had done for them, calling them to be his special and beloved people in covenant and liberating them from the bondage of Egypt and opening the door of freedom for them, they complained that the price to pay was just too much. They wanted instant gratification and turned to the golden calf, stupidly thinking that a lifeless idol would be better than the God of their ancestors.
It was to Moses and all the prophets to be the voice of remembrance, calling the people back to their first love. In many respects, the prophets played the role of the ‘conscience’ of Israel. When tempted by ‘strange gods’ and lured by the prospect of instant gratification, the prophets called them to remember the loving kindness and unfailing mercy of their God.
It might be very easy for us to point the finger of blame and judgment on the Israelite people, for their ‘forgetfulness,’ until we realize that at the heart of all sin in our own lives lies the same forgetfulness of the God who loved us into existence and sustains us by his loving kindness and mercy. We too are tempted to think we might get a ‘better deal’ with the instant gratification of exploitation of our neighbor for our own narcissistic ends, refusing to discipline our senses so that virtue might flourish.
Lent is the time of great remembrance as we savor again the stories of God’s enduring faithfulness even in the face of our constant wanderings in the deserts of forgetfulness. For the Lord’s love and mercy endure forever.