Word to the Wise
Monday, July 23, 2007 - Sixteenth Monday in Ordinary Time
[Exodus 14:5-18 and Matthew 12:38-42]Pharaoh was already near when the children of Israel looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the Lord. And they complained to Moses, "Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this in Egypt,when we said, 'Leave us alone.........'
Poor Moses! He's got Pharaoh and the army, a frightened and complaining mob of people, and the Lord to deal with all at the same time! Turns out that Pharaoh would be the least of his problems. The Chosen People tended to be a very ungrateful and petulant people at times. Their general attitude was often, "What has the Lord done for us lately?" At the moment they are berating Moses for initiating this whole process in the first place. Why did he do it? Because the Chosen People were complaining about the Egyptians! Go figure! God could be and would be just as exasperated with Moses AND the people and Moses could be exasperated with both! It's all part of the great way in which God worked in history as the Old Testament narratives provide it. We might ask ourselves about the old adage, "Be careful what you pray for. You may get it!" Well, the Chosen People prayed for deliverance. God sent Moses who confronted Pharaoh and got them on the way to deliverance. Then Pharaoh changes his mind! Hmmmmm. Fright can change minds quickly and its all about to come undone. But, we know the story! We also know the story of our own ingratitude for deliverance at times. Before we shake our heads at the Chosen People, we'd better use our heads to think about our own deliverances and how we wished God would do it the way we want. AMEN
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