Wednesday of the
Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 34:29-35; Matthew 13:44-46)
One of Michelangelo’s most famous sculptures shows Moses with
horns coming out of his head! It was not
that Michelangelo thought Moses some kind of devil. Rather he was faithfully depicting the figure
described in the Latin Bible that was used at the time. In it the Hebrew word for radiance was incorrectly translated as horn.
Hence the great sculptor and religious devotee shapes horns protruding
from Moses’ head. Moses is radiant, of
course, from having spent time with God who imparts his wisdom to him in the
Ten Commandments.
The gospels speak of Jesus as having a similar radiance when
he is transformed on the mountaintop. He
also has seen God face-to-face. We learn
from him even more clearly God’s will for us.
Today’s gospel expresses that will as seeking the kingdom of God. It tells us not to allow anything or anyone to
take priority to living the joy and peace of that life.
