Scripture:
Exodus 32:7-14
John 5:31-47
Reflection:
"Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them… Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people… So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people." Ex 32:10,12b,14
Anger is a dangerous thing. We can do things we would never think of doing when we are mad about something. We have lots of cats in our neighborhood and many of them have adopted our yard as their kitty litter box. I personally like cats, but I’m not interested in cleaning up after the neighbor ones. I get especially irritated when I am digging in a flower bed and am met with a very unpleasant odor and a gloveful of something that isn’t dirt!
One day I was in my kitchen, and noticed one of the cats in the flower bed. I rapped on the window and told the cat to take his business elsewhere. He didn’t move a muscle. He stared at me defiantly asking, "So, what are you going to do about it?" Well, I showed him – I pounded on the window at which he jumped and ran, but at which also the window broke into several pieces. It wasn’t fun telling my husband how the window broke, let alone having to pay $100 to get it fixed!!!
Too bad Moses wasn’t here to calm me down before I did the damage! Breaking a window is nothing compared to wiping out your people, but I’m sure you see my point. Anger left unchecked is not a good thing. And how incredible that God would allow us to stand in the gap for someone! Just as Moses talked God down so to speak, we can pray for others who may be in danger of God’s judgement. Don’t ever underestimate the power of your prayers!!!
Keep praying for your kids and grandkids and neighbors (and neighbor cats), and if you have a prayer left, say one for me to learn to let the Lord calm me down before I do another stupid thing.
Janice Carleton and her husband Jim live in Portland, OR and partner with Passionist Fr. Cedric Pisegna in Fr. Cedric Ministries. Janice also leads women’s retreats. She is the mother of 4 grown children and grandmother of 6. Visit Janice’s website at http://www.jcarleton.com/ or email her at [email protected].