Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - Sixteenth Tuesday in Ordinary Time
[Exodus 14:41 - 15:1 and Matthew 12:46-50]Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land. When the water was thus divided, the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
Eat your heart out, Cecil B. DeMille! Moses and the Lord did it first! I admit, though, that it was exciting to see DeMille's version if only because it gave my imagination something to work with! THE TEN COMMANDMENTS shaped a generation's understanding of some very important Old Testament narratives! Charlton Heston as Moses does stick around in the memory! But the biblical memory is far greater than the cinematic one. The Exodus event is commemorated every time we Christians celebrate Baptism or Eucharist or the Jews celebrate Passover! A lot of paper and ink have gone into various explanations of what the Exodus narrative is depicting in order to demonstrate that it was physically possible to accomplish what the story says was done. Its sheer drama and its purpose, however, are the framework for its meaning! The words of the reading say it all: Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that the Lord had shown against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord and believed in him and in his servant Moses. However it was physically accomplished, the meaning is clear: God saved the Chosen People from the Egyptians and the Chosen People believed in God and his servant Moses. Movie or no movie, the majesty, drama and grandeur of the event spring from the biblical page. It will not be the last time God will have to remind the people through dramatic signs of the divine power. But Jesus' death and resurrection are really the only example that outshines the Red Sea. Both are saving events for us. It is good to be reminded of this and to praise God for it. AMEN
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