Psalm Reflection: The Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” - Psalm 95

The story of Moses is so commonly referenced and dramatized in film that, even if you were not Catholic or Christian, you would still probably know it to some degree.

Moses’ story always appealed to me as a kid. What boy doesn’t enjoy an underdog story with battles, plagues and supernatural miracles? I still love it, except for one haunting, pesky detail that is repeated over and over again in the beginning chapters of Exodus:

“the Lord hardened Pharoah’s heart…” - Exodus 9:12, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10

In fact God even tells Moses before bringing any of the plagues:

“I will make Pharaoh so headstrong that, despite the many signs and wonders that I work in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Therefore I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring my armies, my people the Israelites, out of the land of Egypt.” - Exodus 7:3-4

It seems that God is planning the destruction of Egypt and not even giving them a choice! 

Are they just innocent victims of a cruel and vengeful God?

Of course not. It is not in God’s nature to do harm or cause evil. He does not bring or will death, destruction or suffering upon anyone (Wisdom 1:13-2:24, Romans 8:28).

These things exist because of us. Our sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2) and the perfect lives of love and abundance God created us for (Jeremiah 29:11, John 10:10). As a result, we do things in our brokenness that lead to suffering and death for ourselves and the body of Christ (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26).

That is why, if we read earlier in Exodus, we see that it is Pharaoh, not God, who hardens his heart through his stubbornness and pride: 

“Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Let my people go, that they may hold a feast for me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh answered, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD,* and I will not let Israel go.” - Exodus 5:1-2

God will not go where He is not invited. Pharaoh was so caught up in his own power and pride, his heart was hardened against God from the start and continues to be through his own stubbornness and obstinacy (Exodus 7:14, 8:11, 8:15, 8;28, 9:7, 9:35).

From there, God simply allows Pharaoh to remain hardened and uses it for His own plans and purpose to free the Hebrews from slavery. When we read the whole story in context, we see that God did not actively harden Pharaoh’s heart, He simply allowed Pharaoh’s already hardened heart to remain that way.

So, when we pray this week’s Psalm and ask God not to harden our own hearts, what we are really asking is that He would reveal to us the ways our hearts have been hardened through our own sin and pride.

What hardens our hearts against God?

I think there are three things: sin (chiefly pride), noise and idolatry.

Sin separates us from God: it creates a barrier to His grace. If we continue to persist in our sin or find ourselves in habitual or serious sin, it can prevent us from having any sense of where God is or what He is saying to us. Our sins essentially tell God to stay away. Until we rectify them in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we can get caught in a cycle of selfishness and pride, the same things that led to the Original Sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1-6).

Noise hardens our hearts because it mutes or dulls the softening power of hearing God’s voice in prayer. Our hearts are like dough, they need to rest in order to rise. If we are overworked or overwhelmed, we become hardened and stiff.

Lastly, idolatry occurs in our lives when we take good things and place them above God. We do this with our vocation, relationships, jobs, money, popularity, experiences, etc. We can find ourselves using language like: “Once this happens, then…” or “Everything will be better when…” and so on. If we place our hopes for fulfillment and satisfaction in any earthly person or thing, or act as though it will complete or save us, we will always be disappointed. Only God can hold that place in our hearts. When we dethrone Him for lesser pursuits, we can become hardened when we continue to be disappointed by the things and people that do not measure up to what only God can do for us.

So, how do you soften a hardened heart?

We can combat sin with Reconciliation, fasting and discipline.

We can counteract noise with silence and prayer.

We can dethrone idols by practicing almsgiving and trusting in God as our loving Father.

This week, reflect upon what most often hardens your heart, or ask the Lord to reveal it to you clearly. Begin the process of softening your heart using the suggestions above and pay attention to how much the fruits of peace and joy increase in your life.

God is not out to get you, test you, or tempt you to turn away from Him. He wants everyone to be with Him in Heaven and is constantly fighting and working to get us all there (1 Timothy 2:3-4). But, He will not go where He is not invited and He will always respect our free will. He will allow our hearts to remain hardened if that is what we choose.

Choose to be soft, and let the Lord into your life more deeply and intentionally this week.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt