B: Solemnity of the Corpus Christi (6 June 2021) - ANSWERABLE TO GOD (Exo 24:3-8)

Moses is consistently presented as the lawgiver in the course of the Israelite history. The first five books of the Bible, i.e., the Torah (“the law”), are traditionally regarded to be written by him, albeit this assumption has already been debunked in recent OT scholarly studies. His portrait in Christian iconography and sacred art is a person holding two stone tablets, reminiscent of the narrative episode in Exo 20:1-26 (cf. Deut 5:1-33), when he was handed by God with the so-called Ten Commandments. In the NT, his image as lawgiver is ubiquitous and he is repeatedly portrayed as the giver of the Israelite laws along with their other traditions, practices, and beliefs (e.g., Mk 1:44; Mt 8:4; Lk 20:28; Jn 1:45; Acts 15:5; 1 Cor 9:9).

Our first reading, however, uniquely presents Moses as having a cultic role, too. Ordinarily, all tasks related to worship and performance of rites were delegated to his brother Aaron. Indeed, Aaron was the one in charge of the altar of sacrifice, the tutelage of all priests, and the ceremonial prayers on Israelites’ behalf as this was precisely God’s mandate to Moses, “Bring near to yourself Aaron, your brother, and his sons from the sons of Israel to serve as priests ... and they shall make the holy vestment of Aaron for the holy place” (Exo 28:2-3). Subsequently, Aaron became the embodiment of the priesthood (Exo 27:1; Num 3:10) and was even regarded as the first High Priest himself according to the Samaritan tradition.

Surprising in our first reading is the scenario where Moses was performing cultic rites in communicating to God. Accordingly, he “built an altar at the foot of the mountain” (Exo 24:4), “sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord” (v. 5), “half of the blood he dashed against the altar” (v. 6), and “took the blood and dashed it on the people” (v. 8a). After he had finished doing these things, he said to the Israelites, “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words” (v. 8b). What happened here is that Moses, while entrusted with the role as chief lawgiver, wished to instill to the Israelites that it was God who gave them their laws and to whom they would be answerable in the event that they transgressed his precepts. As it is God who was the main source of the law, it is also with him that their covenant as a people was sealed and would be kept for the next generations.

Revelatory in this story of Moses’s dual task as the Israelites’ lawgiver and covenant-maker is the message that the practice of law and the performance of worship are not polarized activities wherein one who is involved in one cannot be a catalyst in another, or one who focuses on one cannot be concerned with the other. Both cannot and should not be dichotomized. As God is encountered both in following his laws and rendering him proper worship, a congregation’s integrity as one people of God subsists and solidifies with the faithful observance of both.

Along these lines, we should, hence, not attempt to give importance to one to the point that the other is undermined; or radically ignore one while exaggeratingly emphasizing the other. A true Christian should be cognizant of his/her duties of both following God’s laws (inclusive of the civic laws of the land from duly elected officials, albeit always critical if they are in line with God-values and promoting the public’s welfare) and regularly participating in liturgical services (e.g., receiving the sacraments, devotional prayers, and daily intercessions).

- Rex Fortes, CM