If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as at Meribah and Massah.
I’m sure you’ve heard that acclamation a hundred times, both at Mass and in the Liturgy of the Hours and repeated today in the letter to the Hebrews.
It’s originally from the Book of Exodus, after God has freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. They are wandering in the desert in search of the Promised Land, and they are thirsty. So, we are told they grumbled and quarreled with Moses, to the point where he was fearful for his life. Grumbling and quarreling are translated into Hebrew, by the way, as Meribah and Massah.
Not far from where all that grumbling took place, Saint Anthony, the Father of all monks, died in the fourth century. He was one of the first of all monks, having sold everything he had and given it to the poor. He slept on the ground, ate only bread and salt, and drank only water. His favorite pastime was praying through the night.
Saint Athanaius wrote of him, ”His was a perfectly purified soul. No pain could annoy him, no pleasure bind him…He was thoroughly immune to the vanities of the world, like a man unswervingly governed by reason, established in inner peace and harmony.”
So, we have two examples from nearby the Red Sea before us. One quarrelsome and one at peace.
