Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 21, 2015 - Tuesday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 14:21—15:1 and Matt 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. [Exodus]
My generation can recall the sense of awe created in Cecil B. DeMille's THE TEN COMMANDMENTS when Moses (played by Charleton Heston) stretched out his hand and the Red Sea divided with walls of water on the right and the left! Given the special effects that even the smallest child capable of operating a remote wand can expect now, DeMille's efforts probably would seem rather amateurish by comparison. But back then it was an amazing sight on screen. It made a pivotal moment of faith come alive.
At the Easter Vigil each year, this account of the deliverance of the Children of Israel is read as the third scripture (and it is required to be read). The baptismal significance of the deliverance through water and God's Spirit was not lost on the early Christian community and its meaning is continued to this very day.
There would be more to come, however. The Children of Israel left what remained of Pharaoh and his charioteers on the shores of the Red Sea but that was just the beginning of a forty year wandering. Strangely, they seemed to forget from time to time how wonderful their deliverance was and pined for the good ol' days in Egypt! The importance of telling this story over and over again is to remind us of God's providence, painted on a canvas far larger than we can see in one glance, that continues to deliver us, especially in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which took place in the land and history of Israel. Our roots stretch to the shores of the Red Sea! AMEN
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