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On one occasion, after Moses had grown up,
when he visited his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor,
he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen.
Looking about and seeing no one,
he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
when he visited his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor,
he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen.
Looking about and seeing no one,
he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
Here is something that may tax your memory if you, like me, are a baby boomer. One of the iconic television series back in the day was a program called "The Fugitive." I am talking about the TV series that featured David Janssen that ran from 1963 to 1967 for a total of 120 episodes. It followed the story of Richard Kimble who had been convicted of killing his wife and had been sentenced to death. On his way to Death Row the train he was on derailed and he was able to free himself and he began his odyssey to find "the one armed man" whom he said was the actual killer. Week after week he stays one step ahead of Lt. Gerrard who seems to be able to devote quite a bit of his time in chasing Richard. In the end, a much anticipated final chapter the one arm man confesses to Richard but then is shot by Lt. Gerrard and Richard accepts his fate but since he was a good guy someone is found that testifies that the one armed man was the killer of Richard's wife and the show ends with the narrator saying "September Fifth, the running stops." Richard leaves the court and shakes the hand of Lt. Gerrard. Fade to black.
In today's reading, we hear of the time when Moses who is destined to be the leader of the Hebrew people that leads them out of Egypt, killed an Egyptian that was brutalizing a Hebrew. He hides the body and continues with his day. The next day he breaks up a fight between two Hebrews and one of them asks if he is going to kill them like he killed the Egyptian. Moses knew the jig was up. If these lowly Hebrews heard the story, then everyone knew the story. The Pharaoh was ticked off and Moses and wanted him to be brought before him so that he could condemn him. Moses showed how fast he could run and he got out of Dodge as quickly as his legs could move him.
What can we say about Moses here? He murdered another man, but then again, it was before the Ten Commandments were handed to man so it wasn't technically wrong, was it? Well, even before the Ten Commandments, men had in their heart a revulsion for those that took the life of others, they had a conscience back then. If he had no conscience, then Moses would not have run. He knew in his heart what he did was wrong and we see that because he hid the body in the sand. If it was okay to kill, well he would not have bothered to bury the victim.
Now, imagine God in heaven. What do you do with a man that has shed the blood of another? Do you give him the mark of Cain and punish him for the rest of his life? What do you do? In this case, God had His plan ready. For a number of years, He would allow Moses to be at peace in a foreign land. He would marry, not the girl of his dreams mind you, and he would become a man of great wealth and influence in the region. Then God put it into his heart that He had to return to Egypt. He did this not by a dream or not by sky writing, but by a bush that was on fire and yet was not consumed. And Moses returned to Egypt and eventually led the slaves of the Egyptians out of bondage.
We see here that God can make good come out of evil. The path that led to Jesus was trodden first by a murderer. Moses never lost his temper, it served him well on the forty year journey. At the end of his life, when all of the original slaves had died off, Moses was told that he would need to be content with a view of the promised land and that he would not himself set foot there. And so they buried him and God's plan to save you and me continued.
I am not saying to go out and murder someone but remember the story of Moses. God can work with the clay he created no matter how many defects there are in the clay. Just be ready to say to the Lord, "Yes, Lord, send me for I am your servant."
The poor souls in purgatory cannot help themselves. They need prayers from the faithful still on earth. Remember them today as you go about your business, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be takes so little of our time and it means so much to them.
In today's reading, we hear of the time when Moses who is destined to be the leader of the Hebrew people that leads them out of Egypt, killed an Egyptian that was brutalizing a Hebrew. He hides the body and continues with his day. The next day he breaks up a fight between two Hebrews and one of them asks if he is going to kill them like he killed the Egyptian. Moses knew the jig was up. If these lowly Hebrews heard the story, then everyone knew the story. The Pharaoh was ticked off and Moses and wanted him to be brought before him so that he could condemn him. Moses showed how fast he could run and he got out of Dodge as quickly as his legs could move him.
What can we say about Moses here? He murdered another man, but then again, it was before the Ten Commandments were handed to man so it wasn't technically wrong, was it? Well, even before the Ten Commandments, men had in their heart a revulsion for those that took the life of others, they had a conscience back then. If he had no conscience, then Moses would not have run. He knew in his heart what he did was wrong and we see that because he hid the body in the sand. If it was okay to kill, well he would not have bothered to bury the victim.
Now, imagine God in heaven. What do you do with a man that has shed the blood of another? Do you give him the mark of Cain and punish him for the rest of his life? What do you do? In this case, God had His plan ready. For a number of years, He would allow Moses to be at peace in a foreign land. He would marry, not the girl of his dreams mind you, and he would become a man of great wealth and influence in the region. Then God put it into his heart that He had to return to Egypt. He did this not by a dream or not by sky writing, but by a bush that was on fire and yet was not consumed. And Moses returned to Egypt and eventually led the slaves of the Egyptians out of bondage.
We see here that God can make good come out of evil. The path that led to Jesus was trodden first by a murderer. Moses never lost his temper, it served him well on the forty year journey. At the end of his life, when all of the original slaves had died off, Moses was told that he would need to be content with a view of the promised land and that he would not himself set foot there. And so they buried him and God's plan to save you and me continued.
I am not saying to go out and murder someone but remember the story of Moses. God can work with the clay he created no matter how many defects there are in the clay. Just be ready to say to the Lord, "Yes, Lord, send me for I am your servant."
The poor souls in purgatory cannot help themselves. They need prayers from the faithful still on earth. Remember them today as you go about your business, an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be takes so little of our time and it means so much to them.
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