Moses with Horns. February 18, 2013

Just celebrated mass at San Pietro in Vincoli where the chains that bound Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem and Rome are on display. This is also the church that has the masterpiece sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo. Look closely at the statue an see the horns sitting on top if his head, looking very much like a devil.

These horns were sculpted on his head due to a mistranslation of the biblical text. One word was incorrectly translated as "horn" when the word really means to shine. After Moses received the Ten Commandments he descended from the mountain with his face in a glow. The Hebrew word meaning to shine or glow is similar to another word meaning horn. Jerome, who translated the bible into Latin missed on this word so Moses got his horns.

The gospel that was proclaimed as a horned Moses gazed at me from his niche along the wall, told the parable about the king who divides the people in two groups: the sheep and the goats. Matthew 25, a text dear to the people of st Teresa of Avila parish in Chicago. These very verses may be inscribed on the windows that hopefully will be created on the brick wall of the church facing armitage ave : "I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was naked and you clothed me; I was a stranger and you welcomed me. " Christ is encountered in all the " least ones" we meet in our everyday life. There is no mistranslation here; out salvation will depend not on religious observances but on "seeing" Christ in those who suffer or are pushed to the fringes of ordinary life. The very people who are undesirable in so many neighborhoods in every city and suburb and town. The translation is clear, accurate and biting.

The horned Moses gave humanity the first Law; Jesus gives us the new Law: to love the undesirable. Clear, plain and simple. Our very salvation hangs on this most accurate of translations.

As I walked out of the church with a throng of people, Moses was gazing at us all. I'm sure he was wondering if we would notice the homeless man wrapped in blankets on the side of the street or the many people begging along the via Cavour or via Victor Emmanuelle. How am I to respond with gospel love to every suffering person I encounter? Will I see Christ in these human beings, the very same Christ who spoke so clearly, without ambiguity : whatever you do to any least one, you do to ME.

When we follow the Law of Love our faces have a glow about them, emitting rays of light. We don't grow horns looking a bit like the devil. No. We have a glow about us, making us look more like an angel or messenger of God.

One suggestion for Lent: pray slowly through Matthew 25. Where should you be placed...on the left side or the right side? Why not invite moses in on our Lenten journeys, the one who led the people for 40 years in the desert!!! At least he has only forty days with us! In union with our Jewish brothers and sisters, one of the greatest of all prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures , Moses, can lead us to better embrace Matthew 25. This is one gospel passage that can unite people of ALL religions. Buen camino. Padre