The first reading is taken from the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 3, where the author
cites Psalm 95, today if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the day of the
rebellion.
Today if you hear the voice of the Lord, that is, the voice of God that calls us to faith
and salvation, God who calls us to conversion and sanctification, the voice of conscience
which speaks to us and warns us to do good and to avoid evil.
And we should realize, first of all, that it is possible to harden our hearts to the
voice of God, that it's possible for us, with our free will, to turn a deaf ear to the voice
of God who calls us to faith and salvation, to conversion and sanctification, that is,
we are capable of resisting God's grace.
And in fact, that's what the Israelites did in the desert.
Today if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the day of the rebellion, on
the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my
works for forty years.
The same people, the Israelites.
The Israelites who had passed through the Red Sea, saw the great miracles, who received
manna from heaven, who God provided with quail in the desert, and who caused water to gush
forth miraculously from the rock.
In other words, God who was providing for all of their needs in a miraculous way, saving
them from their enemies and providing for their sustenance.
On his way, leading them to the way of salvation.
On his way, leading them to the promised land, these same people did not cooperate
with God's grace, did not remember the great things that God had done for them, and instead
turned and lamented and became disgruntled in the desert.
And so for this reason, the psalm goes on to say, therefore I was provoked with that
generation and said, they always go astray in their hearts.
They have not known my ways.
As I swore in my wrath, they shall never enter my rest.
Now for the Israelites, that rest referred to entry into the promised land.
And if I'm not mistaking, there was also the punishment that none of those who came through
the Red Sea would enter into the promised land.
Not even Moses.
Because it.
Even he fell into temptation and fell into a lack of faith.
And instead of instead of striking the rock once, he struck it twice.
And so for this reason, he too only saw the promised land from afar.
Now, the author goes on to say that this is an example for us, an example not to be followed.
Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil.
rendition are made which may cause judgement upon humanity.
Jesus is willing to give his testimony to his followers, but faith is the only way to
� dall's teaching.
you should always remember that it's possible to fall away from God, to fall away from faith.
That at one point, if we have faith and we are in the state of grace, our salvation is
still not guaranteed.
We have to persevere to the end.
saved. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be
hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. That is, sin ultimately is the cause of one falling away
from God, the deceitfulness of sin, that false promise of happiness which sin offers to us.
For we share in Christ if only we hold our first confidence firm to the end.
That is, if we persevere in our faith and in doing good works. So today, let's resolve to be
docile to the voice of God, to always respond to the voice of conscience, exhorting us to do good
and to avoid evil and to persevere in this until the end. In the name of the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.