Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9
The Covenant is Renewed
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[4b] He (Moses) rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tables of stone. [5] And the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
God Appears
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[6] The LORD passed before him, and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." [8] And Moses made haste to bow his head toward the earth, and worshiped. [9] And he said, "If now I have found favor in thy sight, O Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance."
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Commentary:
34:1-28. This chapter narrating the renewal of the Covenant follows the same pattern as the account of its original establishment (cf. Ex 19-24); but it is shorter, concentrating on the two main protagonists, God and Moses. Thus, it begins with the preparations for the theophany and for the encounter with the Lord (vv. 1-5); then follows the revelation of God, and Moses' prayer (vv. 6-9); and it ends with the renewal of the Covenant and the so-called Rite of the Covenant (vv. 10-28). The account hinges on the remaking of the tables of stone after the sin of the golden calf; the tables symbolize God's offer to keep to the pact and never to go back on it.
1-5. The theophany is described very soberly here, but it has exactly the same elements as given in chapter 19: very careful preparation by Moses (v. 2; cf 19:10-11); the people forbidden to approach the mountain (v. 3; of. 19:12-13); God appearing wrapped in the cloud (v. 5; of. 19:16-20).
Comparing the two accounts, this one says less about the transcendence of God and puts more stress on his closeness to Moses: "he stood with him there" (v. 5). God's initiative in drawing close to man is clear to see; it lies at the very basis of the Covenant.
"He proclaimed the name of the Lord" (v. 6); the context would suggest that it is Moses who proclaims the name of the Lord, but the Hebrew could indeed be as the RSV has it, "and he proclaimed his name, 'Lord' ". The same wording appears in v. 6 implying that it is the Lord who is "proclaiming", defining himself as he promised he would (cf. 33:19). The sacred writer may have intentionally left these words open to either interpretation; whether spoken by Moses or said directly by God, they are equal from the revelation point of view.
34:6-7. In response to Moses' pleading, the Lord makes himself manifest. The solemn repetition of the name of Yahweh (Lord) emphasizes that the Lord is introducing himself liturgically to the assembled Israelites. In the description of himself which follows (and which is repeated elsewhere, cf. 20:5-6; Num 14:18; Deut 5:9-18; etc.), two key attributes of God are underlined--justice and mercy. God cannot let sin go unpunished, nor does he; the prophets, too, will teach that sin is, first and foremost, something personal (cf. Jer 31:29; Ezek 18:2ff). But this ancient text refers only in a general way to the fact that God is just, and puts more stress on his mercy. A person who is conscious of his own sin has access to God only if he is sure that God can and will forgive him. "The concept of 'mercy' in the Old Testament," John Paul II comments, "has a long and rich history. We have to refer back to it in order that the mercy revealed by Christ may shine forth more clearly. [...] Sin too constitutes man's misery. The people of the Old Covenant experienced this misery from the time of the Exodus, when they set up the golden calf. The Lord himself triumphed over this act of breaking the covenant when he solemnly declared to Moses that he was a 'God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness' (Ex 34:6). It is in this central revelation that the chosen people, and each of its members, will find, every time that they have sinned, the strength and the motive for turning to the Lord to remind him of what he had exactly revealed about himself and to beseech his forgiveness" ("Dives In Misericordia", 4). On "God's jealousy", see the note on 20:5-6.
8-9. Moses once more implores the Lord on behalf of his people; he makes three requests, which sum up many earlier petitions: he begs God to stay with the people and protect them in their hazardous journeying in the desert (cf. 33:15-17), to forgive the very grave sin they have committed (cf. 32:11-14), and finally to make them his own property, thereby distinguishing them from all other peoples (cf. 33:16) and restoring them to their status as "his own possession" (cf. 19:5). These three requests are ones that were constantly on the lips of the people of Israel and in the hearts of everyone who acknowledges God (cf. Ps 86:1-15; 103:8-10; etc.).
Epilogue
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[11] Finally, brethren, farewell. Mend your ways, heed my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. [12] Greet one another with a holy kiss. [13] All the saints greet you. [14] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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Commentary:
11. In his words of farewell, the Apostle once more shows his great affection for the faithful of Corinth, exhorting them to practise the fraternity proper to Christians and thus live in concord and peace (cf. I Cor 1:10-17). And, St John Chrysostom comments, he tells them what this will lead to: "Live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you, for God is a God of love and a God of peace, and in these he takes his delight. It is love that will give you peace and remove every evil from your church" ("Hom. on 2 Cor", 30).
St Paul's call to the faithful to be cheerful is particularly significant--"gaudete"(rejoice) in the New Vulgate--contains a message he repeats on other occasions: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice" (Phil 4:4; cf. 3:1). Joy is something very characteristic of Christians because their awareness of being children of God tells them that they are in the hands of God, who knows everything and can do everything (cf. note on 5:10). Therefore, we should never be sad; on the contrary: we should go out into the world, St J. Escriva says, "to be sowers of peace and joy through everything we say and do" ("Christ Is Passing By", 168).
12. On the "holy kiss", see the note on 1 Cor 16:20.
"The saints" who send greetings to the Corinthians are the Christians of Macedonia, from where St Paul is writing. Regarding this description of Christians, see the note on 1 Cor 1:2.
{1 Cor 1:2. "Called to be saints": through faith and Baptism "all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 40).
"Those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ": this circumlocution describes Christian believers (cf. Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16; Rom 10:12); what makes them different from others is that they worship Jesus Christ as Lord and God, in the same way as the faithful of the Old Covenant invoked the name of Yahweh. To be a member of the Church of God, therefore, it is essential that a person believe that Christ is God. "We believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. He is the eternal Word of the Father before time began, one in substance with the Father, "homoousios to Patri", through whom all things were made. He was incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit and was made man. 'Equal, therefore, to the Father according to his divinity, less than the Father according to his humanity, his unity deriving not from some impossible confusion of substance but from his Person"' (Paul Vl, "Creed of the People of God", 11).}