Stiff necked people

One of the readings for today is Exodus 34 in which Moses goes back to the mountain to receive - a second time - the commandments from God.  It is a reminder of the grace of God  and it contains these verses as well.

 “The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness 

What I realize about myself is how much I like to think about and preach about the forgiveness of God.  That is what I preached on Sunday using the image of a fountain.  That is who I believe and want God to be - the giver of constant and everlasting forgiveness and grace.  

And I believe that we are transformed gradually as we recognize who we are  - the gifts and the shadows, the saint and the sinner and continue to come to God for grace and to grow the fruits of the spirit.

Also in this text Moses describes the people of Israel who he is leading through the wilderness. These people who groaned under slavery and now are impatient and unfaithful on this journey. 
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He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

So, as we go through our Lenten journey maybe we all need to consider what it is to be "stiff necked."    This phrase is used several times in the book of Exodus and once in the book of Acts and once in Baruch.  When I looked it up in the dictionary:
 

 If you say that someone is stiff-necked, you mean that they are proud and unwilling to do what other people want.   Synonyms: stubborn, uncompromising, haughty, opinionated

The other text that in the lectionary today was Matthew 18 and the story of the lost sheep.  So, we are stiff necked when we go our own way and refuse to be lead by God.

I write this as I continue to work my way through Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr.  Today I am leading two groups threough chapter 3 - cleansing the lens.  And what I know to be true is that too often we think we are on the right track and we aren't., we think we are open to God's way and we are stubbornly hearing only what fits our own plans, our ego and pride can take over slowly subtly and then there we are  - stiff necked and lost.

So, I begin with prayer for vision and as always, for humility.  May I be open to see what God has for me today.  May I respond with faith and not resistance. 

May God bless in your BLINDNESS                                                                                When it is impossible to see in spite of all your looking,                                        

 May God bless you with the ability to envision a better world and to visualize a healed creation.                                                                                                             

   May you be given the gift of prophecy as you share your vision with all who surround you.                                                                                                                               And may you help others to see by your touch of compassion and your word of encouragement.                                                                                                                         May the God if VISION BLESS YOU.