Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 - Tuesday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 2:1-15a and Matt 11:20-24,1014]When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, "I drew him out of the water."
The life of Moses will occupy the first scripture for a few days. It's an amazing story about an amazing personality. Simply reading the gospels should make us curious about this Old Testament figure who appears often in Jesus' encounter with the religious authorities of his day. The Law of Moses governs the lives of all our Jewish brothers and sisters and the epic delivery of the Chosen People, led by Moses, shapes our own Holy Week celebration. The structure of the Gospel of Matthew is strongly influenced by the figure of Moses (Jesus is presented as the "new" Moses.) and the Torah (or Pentateuch). The "infancy narrative" in Matthew also shows the influence of Moses' life in that Moses was spared from a general order to kill children, just as Jesus was spared from Herod's order. Furthermore, Jesus went to Egypt and came back. The parallels in the gospel are very likely intentional.
We Catholics should be more aware of the influence that the great figures of the Old Testament exercise in the theological heritage that we profess. Moses stands as a giant in the story of salvation. Some of the stories about him are helpful in dealing with leadership issues anywhere at anytime! I find the story of his encounter with God in the Burning Bush very helpful in understanding my own discernment to enter religious life. The next few days will lead us into his life and how God works through human persons to save us all. AMEN