Daily Retreat 07/16/07
2007 Jul 16 Mon/ Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Ex 1:8-14. 22/ Ps 123(124):1b-3. 4-6. 7-8/ Mt 10:34 – 11:1
From today’s readings:“There arose in Egypt a new king, who knew not Joseph.... Our help is in the name of the Lord.... Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
Exodus - the Way Out!
Genesis closes with the death of Joseph, so after a genealogical recap, the next book, Exodus, begins with the well-known ominous verse, “There arose in Egypt a new king, who knew not Joseph.” This “new king,” historically probably identified as Ramses II, is of course, the Pharaoh who started to oppress God’s chosen people and forced them into slavery until the time of their miraculous liberation by God through His servant Moses. That deliverance out of the slavery of Egypt gave the book its name, since the Greek word “Exodus” means “Exit” or “Way Out,” and in fact, in Greece, emergency exit doors are even today posted with that same word!
Now, for our older brothers and sisters in the faith of the One True God, for the Jewish people, Exodus is the most important book of the Bible. It’s like their Declaration of Independence, their Constitution, and the decisions of the Supreme Court all rolled into one indispensable document for the Chosen people of God. For Exodus explains how the Hebrews achieved their Independence, how they became a people, how they broke away from Egypt. And the book of Exodus includes the Ten Commandments and the other constitutional parts of the Jewish law that define what it means to be a Jewish person. Finally, Exodus also promulgates the juridical decisions that Moses made, and for the purpose of building tradition, those decisions were passed on to the next generation and were held as binding by the leaders who succeeded Moses.
But Exodus is not just a fundamental book of the Bible for the Jewish people - we Christians as well need to recognize its prominence! No wonder that, in his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul (followed later by numerous early Church Fathers) saw that book of Exodus as prefiguring the way that Christ liberates us: just as Moses once liberated the people of God, Christ liberates us from the slavery of sin. As Moses lead the Israelites through the Red Sea on their “WAY OUT” of Egypt, Christ leads us through the waters of baptism, the definitive “WAY OUT” of sin. Likewise, as the Israelites were then led through the harsh wilderness, so Christ leads His people through the bleak and often frightening desert of trial and tribulation, which is also a part of our life, for even though Christ is with us through it all, that doesn’t mean we always have an easy go of it. And ultimately, Christ leads us to the Promised Land of Heaven. All echoes of Exodus!
Ex 1:8-14. 22/ Ps 123(124):1b-3. 4-6. 7-8/ Mt 10:34 – 11:1
From today’s readings:“There arose in Egypt a new king, who knew not Joseph.... Our help is in the name of the Lord.... Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
Exodus - the Way Out!
Genesis closes with the death of Joseph, so after a genealogical recap, the next book, Exodus, begins with the well-known ominous verse, “There arose in Egypt a new king, who knew not Joseph.” This “new king,” historically probably identified as Ramses II, is of course, the Pharaoh who started to oppress God’s chosen people and forced them into slavery until the time of their miraculous liberation by God through His servant Moses. That deliverance out of the slavery of Egypt gave the book its name, since the Greek word “Exodus” means “Exit” or “Way Out,” and in fact, in Greece, emergency exit doors are even today posted with that same word!
Now, for our older brothers and sisters in the faith of the One True God, for the Jewish people, Exodus is the most important book of the Bible. It’s like their Declaration of Independence, their Constitution, and the decisions of the Supreme Court all rolled into one indispensable document for the Chosen people of God. For Exodus explains how the Hebrews achieved their Independence, how they became a people, how they broke away from Egypt. And the book of Exodus includes the Ten Commandments and the other constitutional parts of the Jewish law that define what it means to be a Jewish person. Finally, Exodus also promulgates the juridical decisions that Moses made, and for the purpose of building tradition, those decisions were passed on to the next generation and were held as binding by the leaders who succeeded Moses.
But Exodus is not just a fundamental book of the Bible for the Jewish people - we Christians as well need to recognize its prominence! No wonder that, in his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul (followed later by numerous early Church Fathers) saw that book of Exodus as prefiguring the way that Christ liberates us: just as Moses once liberated the people of God, Christ liberates us from the slavery of sin. As Moses lead the Israelites through the Red Sea on their “WAY OUT” of Egypt, Christ leads us through the waters of baptism, the definitive “WAY OUT” of sin. Likewise, as the Israelites were then led through the harsh wilderness, so Christ leads His people through the bleak and often frightening desert of trial and tribulation, which is also a part of our life, for even though Christ is with us through it all, that doesn’t mean we always have an easy go of it. And ultimately, Christ leads us to the Promised Land of Heaven. All echoes of Exodus!
posted by FrPitstick | 7/14/2007
<< Home