Our first reading today from Exodus refers to ‘the meeting tent’ which Moses always set up outside the camp site as the Israelites travelled across the desert to the Promised Land. It wasn’t like anything you’d get at a camping store, so what exactly was this mobile ‘meeting tent’, and what did it mean? First, it’s important to know that its existence rested solely on the promise God made to the Israelites which was: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
This meeting tent, then, was a portable prayer space which housed the Ark of the Covenant, thus assuring God’s presence among the people. Moses pitched this tent as a sign that God was always with them, cared about them, and was guiding them to the Promised Land. It was a place where each person could go to consult the Lord in prayer. For people always on the move in the desert, this meeting tent was a portable place of peace, reconciliation and worship. Most importantly, in an astounding and intimate sentence we heard today, it was the place where: “the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face.” Exodus 33:11
This tent was a precursor to the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Savior who would come among us, always be with us, and who would be our eternal Savior. Our gospel story confirms that for us, when Jesus says to his dear friend, Martha, who is grieving the death of her brother, Lazarus, the most comforting words of our faith in the Lord:
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25
We don’t need a tent to converse with our God, our Lord, or the Holy Spirit. We have only to turn inward and share our soul with our Creator and Redeemer who dwells within and among us. Nourished by Love Incarnate, then, we are strengthened, like the Israelites, to continue our journey with God and each other.
“My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Exodus 33:14
