Aaron, Hur, and Me

Some days at Mass, my mind wanders.  Some days, I'm truly present and can hear and comprehend absolutely every word.  Yesterday, was a mix of both.

The first reading, from Exodus I was truly present for.  Then, I was gone.  I spent the rest of the Mass thinking about that reading.  See, Moses was fighting a battle (aren't we all fighting some kind of battle every day?).  As long as he had his arms raised.  As long as he did this, they were winning.  When his arms grew tired and he put them down, they weren't winning so much as losing.  So, his brother Aaron and a friend named Hur found  a rock for Moses to sit on and hold his hands up.  Then, when Aaron's arms got too heavy, Aaron and Hur held his arms up.  Each on one side.  Spoiler alert, they win the battle.

Here's what struck me.  Just because your family doesn't mean you're going to help each other out.  Heck a lot of families don't even talk to each other (see my entire life up to this point if you don't believe me).  Then, there's the friend Hur.  To me, he represents the friends that become family.  Who else, but someone who loves you would take on such a task?  Okay, okay, so you're sitting there thinking "all they did was hold up his arms.  Moses had the hard part".  Well, let's look at this shall we?

Moses was sitting on a rock.  And with his arms raised, they had to be as high as Aaron and Hur's chest, if not higher.  Have you ever been to a prayer group where you hold hands in a circle?  Some people in chairs, some on the floor?  You're hands are all different heights.  You're supporting each other.  You look for ways to lean your arm on your leg.  And, sometimes you ask God to hold your arms up because they're just too heavy (instead of rushing the prayer along.  Never, ever, rush the prayer along.  It's a truly beautiful moment!).  I imagine that's what Aaron and Hur felt like.  Holding someone up is never easy.  It's not suppose to be.  Look at my favorite parable about the guy on the mat who gets lowered down from the roof.  His friends carried him on his mat.  Then lowered him.  This was a full grown man!  I'm sure he weighed more than a sac of potatoes.  So, I spent most of yesterday pondering on Aaron and Hur.  Did they hold up Moses' arms because he told them too?  Because they were his friends and family?  Because it was expected of them?  I think it's mostly all of them.  I think it has to do with their love for God and for Moses.

Change is never easy.  Unless it is happening to someone else.  Sometimes, it's very easy to support my friends and the choices that they make.  It's easy to say "it'll be okay!" when unwanted change happens to them.  It's when unwanted change happens to me that I get snippy.  Sometimes, however, there comes a situation where I cannot help my friends or my family.  I cannot lift up their hands.  I cannot lower them down from the roof.  I am helpless.  I hate the feeling of helplessness.  I can't fix it.  So, I love.  I lavish them with more love.  I hold their hand, hug them and sometimes just sit and be with them and pray.   How cool is it that Moses had Aaron and Hur to hold him up during this battle?

I have a small, close knit group of friends who hold each other up in much the same way as Moses was held up.  And, like I mentioned last post, being one of low self-esteem, it is wonderful to know that I have my small circle of friends to count on.

Until next time,
Give your friend a hug.

Love,
Me