Homily – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

I am particularly intrigued by the story in our first reading for this Sunday, taken from chapter seventeen of the Book of Exodus. As we know, one of the many challenges faced by the Israelite people on their journey from the land of slavery in Egypt to Canaan was opposition from various groups or tribes and at times, they had to engage in military battles against them.

This time, they had to fight the Amalekites – a semi-nomadic group based in the Sinai Peninsula who waged war against them. Moses instructed Joshua to select men and go out to battle while he himself climbed a hilltop, accompanied by Aaron and Hur, with the intention of holding up the staff of God to help them advance. Earlier in the Book of Exodus – chapter four – God had entrusted Moses with this staff, the Rod of God, as an instrument to perform miraculous signs during the confrontation with Pharaoh and the escape from Egypt.

In this episode, Moses once again uses the Rod of God to help the Israelites defeat the Amalekites – their enemies. The battle lasted a long time, and Moses grew tired from constantly holding up the staff. Whenever he let his hands rest, their enemies gained the upper hand. So Aaron and Hur arranged a rock for him to sit on and supported his hands – one on each side. With their support, Moses was able to keep the staff raised, and in the end, they defeated their enemies.

It is quite interesting to listen to such a story, especially with modern ears and minds full of imagination. Recently, a friend of mine forwarded me a YouTube episode titled Pilot from a series called The Promised Land. It is actually a comedy show. These days, anything can be turned into comedy. However, every passage of Scripture offers us nutritious food for theological thought and reflection.

As we can see, the staff Moses used to help the Israelites advance was indeed his, but it had been entrusted to him by God as a sign of divine authority to perform miracles and empower the people. It was the same staff Moses used to part the Red Sea, helping God’s people escape from slavery in search of the Promised Land (Exodus 14:21-22). It was the same staff he used to strike the rock at Horeb, from which water sprang forth to quench the thirst of weary pilgrims (Exodus 17:1-7). In today’s episode, Moses uses it again to help the people defeat their enemies.

Each of us has surely received special “staffs of authority” that God has entrusted to us. These may come in the form of office, position, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, wealth, time, technology, media – you name it. Sadly, some people use these God-given staffs to strike others for personal gain. But there are also those who use them effectively: to help others escape modern forms of slavery, to quench people’s thirst for meaning, and to empower others to stand up for themselves in a world full of injustice, inequality, and unfairness.

How about us? What staffs of authority have we received – and how are we using them so far?

By Fr Sang Ho