They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Amazing deeds in the land of Ham,
fearsome deeds at the Red Sea.
He would have decreed their destruction,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destroying anger. (Psalm 106:21-23 NABRE)
The Psalmist reminds us how the Israelites who were led out of slavery in Egypt soon forgot about the amazing deeds God performed while saving them from their enemy. More than that, they lost sight of God's greatness and their own infinitesimal smallness by comparison. And it was Moses who asked God to be merciful toward his chosen nation.
Today, we know that Jesus took the place of Moses as Savior of his people, and salvation has been opened up to all. But like the Israelites about whom the Psalmist sang, we have an awful capacity to forget the greatness of God and to exaggerate our own importance. My ideas are the best. I should be able to do whatever I want. I don't want to answer to anyone. I deserve it. Let me have it. Let me go first.
All of these things lead us away from goodness and toward evil. Each of them reflects a deception of the great enemy of our soul. And they all make us think more highly of ourselves than we ought to.
Today, I will remember Jesus' promise to save me, and I will maintain my faith in him.
Saint John Ogilvie, whose life calls us to unity among all believers, pray for us.
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