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Numbers 36:5 "And Moses commanded the people of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying, 'The tribe of the sons of Joseph is right.'"

 

Moses is settling a dispute that arose among the tribes of Israel regarding whether women from one tribe could marry into another, thus bringing their inheritance into the other tribe. I blogged about this dispute in The Only Unity God Wants is Unity in Him, but today's short verse points out that even among good people, believers who are trying to do God's will, disagreements and disputes will arise and must be decided by an authority figure. Just because we are all trying to do God's will does not mean we are all always right. Sometimes situations arise where it is not possible that both parties are right, even though they both are acting in good faith. When Moses decided the tribe of Joseph was right, and protecting the tribal inheritances was more important than allowing inter-tribal marriage, the other tribes accepted his judgment. Even the women who wanted to marry outside their tribe acquiesced, "The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses." (Numbers 36:10)

 

This shows why we need a strong Church and an obedient flock. God knows that these good faith disagreements will arise, and He gave us the Church to tell us what is right, just as he gave the Israelites Moses. Unfortunately, lately the Church has seemed hesitant to decide or speak on matters of dispute among the flock. This has led to great confusion and a proliferation of questionable interpretations of God's law. On our part, many of the flock have hardened their hearts to hearing other points of view. If the Church were to decide, like Moses, that those with whom they disagree are right, I don't think we would see the kind of humble obedience that we see from the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers. In fact, we have an example of this in the question of women being ordained. Multiple popes have spoken on this issue, most recently Pope Francis, affirming that it is not part of God's plan for women to be priests. Rather than humbly accepting our (tremendously important!) role in the Church, however, many women have hardened their hearts against this truth and refuse to accept it, constantly advocating and protesting instead.

 

Moses was a stand-in for God to the Israelites, as the Church is for us. God's law is not up for a vote, and is not susceptible to political advocacy. Once the Church has definitively spoken on an issue, even one we feel strongly about, the matter should be dropped and we should rejoice in God's goodness in giving us the truth through His Church. If we feel the need to advocate, we should use it instead to ask the Church to do more of this, to speak more firmly on the difficult issues of our times.