God meets the community directly in Exodus. A wonderful and dramatic scene. In this part of our story, God asks Moses to consecrate---to set apart, to make holy---the people. We are a people set apart from the rest of the world. How? We are to live differently---to live the 10 best ways. These commandments, these non-negotiables of our faith, they are actions which set us in right relationship with God and with others. They are how to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul and how to love our neighbors.
And the Chapter in Matthew is also dramatic--the end times; the Apocalypse was very much a part of this culture's beliefs and understanding. But notice that this chapter is really about looking for signs. Signs in our own life---do we see and notice signs of the world reigning in us or of God reigning within us. Who is our master? What do we do when the signs indicate that we are not living with God as our center? We turn, and return---making our way back to a life where the Lord is our shepherd---living in right relationship with God---living in divine protection---when God is the One on whom we are utterly and completely dependent. God is God; there shall be no other.
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