When the Week Gets Away From Me, Exodus 32:1 - 14

The trouble with taking a few days off, inevitably, is returning to work. Tasks that seemed to have distant deadlines before the break suddenly become ASAP. The calendar fills up in a manner that is proportionate to the amount of work that one had hoped to get done, thus forestalling the completion of meaningful work, including sermon preparation. However, a real time correlation can be drawn between Moses' sojourn on the mountaintop and the behavior of those in waiting at the bottom of the mountain, and my return to campus after taking a few days off. While I was away, seeking refreshment on the mountain, co-workers and students, often inadvertently, were busy constructing several golden calves of their own and leaving them in the most unexpected places. Since my return, I have been stumbling upon them at every turn. I shall come back to this space next week, with a fuller treatment of the week's texts. For now, I am putting on my barn boots and preparing to walk through the pasture, where the calves have been grazing and are, I'm afraid, exceedingly well-fed.