March 8/Third Thursday of Lent
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” ~ Ps 95.8-9
Some days it goes like this: all is calm, all is bright, and we experience a deep sense of well-being. Or as the nineteenth-century British poet Robert Browning wrote in “Pippa’s Song,” a breezy little piece: “God’s in His heaven – All’s right with the world!” When all’s right with the world, it is easy to sing joyfully to the Lord or to enter into his presence with thanksgiving, as the psalmist invites us to do at the beginning of this psalm. It isn’t even difficult, for those so inclined, to bow down reverently and gratefully to “the Lord who made us.” But as soon as our fortunes reverse, our hearts harden, our necks stiffen, and we snatch back this joyful trust in our creator. That’s what the people of Israel did repeatedly. The psalm’s references to the double-named place Meribah (from the Hebrew for “quarrel”) and Massah (from the Hebrew for “test”) point to a moment during Israel’s wilderness wanderings when they were experiencing hardship. Even though God had just led them out of enslavement in Egypt – certainly a cause for rejoicing! – they did not find the desert to their liking. They were weary, disgruntled, and thirsty. So despite ample evidence of God’s past goodness, their necks stiffened, their hearts hardened, and they put God to the test. Perhaps we might give some thought today to whether we, too, are “fair-weather” believers, praising the Lord when he gives, second-guessing or quarreling with him when he takes away. Our challenge for Lent and beyond is to keep our necks pliant and our hearts open to God in the rough times as well as the smooth.
Lord God Almighty, Rock of our deliverance, Soften our hard hearts, and grant us infinite trust in your goodness. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030818.cfm
