In the Lectionary

October 18, 29A (Exodus 33:12-23)

Moses has never been one to keep his mouth shut.

Following the disastrous episode with the golden calf, when our ancestors in the faith let their anxiety over Moses’ delay on Mount Sinai get the best of them, Moses and the Israelites teeter on the edge of promise—that liminal space between wilderness and home, between despair and hope—with the sands of Sinai shifting beneath their feet. Because of their disobedience, God has determined not to continue among them when they resume their journey to Canaan.

It has been a devastating turn of events, not at all what Moses expected.

But Moses has never been one to keep his mouth shut in his encounters with the great I AM. Even in the midst of his own uncertainty, Moses speaks his mind to God. He would be the sort of employee who causes the HR department to cringe whenever they see him coming—even if his complaints are reasonable—as he tries to shift work to others or asks for better benefits.