In today’s reading, Moses stands on holy ground. The Lord God tells Moses that he has heard the cry of his suffering people in Egypt and is sending him to rescue his people from slavery. Fearing that he could not do what God asked, God promised to be with him to ensure the success of his mission. With God’s great signs and wonders, Moses did free his people, and for 40 years in the desert, he helped to shape them into a holy people.
Where God is present, there is holy ground. We call places like Arlington National Cemetery and all cemeteries holy because they hold the bodies of our beloved. But really, all ground is sacred because it is God’s creation.
At the end of every Eucharistic celebration, we hear the exhortation, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” We are charged to leave this holy place where Word and Sacrament have fed us in a faith community. We are sent out to the holy ground to spread the love and mercy of God. In his earthly ministry, Jesus paid great attention to the poor, prostitutes, tax collectors, and those possessed by evil spirits. They were seen as sinners, outside of God’s love and mercy. But Jesus went to them, healed them gave them a renewed hope that God greatly loved them. They were his holy ground.
It is clear from both the words and actions of Pope Francis that the followers of Jesus should do the same. We are to reach out to those dying from famine, wars, forced migration, and political instability. They are holy ground. The same is true for the poor, the homeless, the hungry, the addicted, and the despairing of their own country. To them, we are sent, for they are holy ground.
Let Us Pray:
Creator God, all that exists is from your loving embrace. Our world and all who dwell in it are objects of your love and mercy. You empower us with your grace to continue the redemptive action of your Son to reach out with love, healing, and hope to those most in need in any way we can. Give us an abundance of your grace that we might be on fire with your love. Amen.
