Word to the Wise
Monday, July 15, 2013 - Monday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 1:8-14, 22 and Matt 10:34—11:1]The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel and reduced them to cruel slavery, making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick and all kinds of field work - the whole cruel fate of slaves.
JULY 15 ST. BONAVENTURE, ofm - bishop and doctor of the church
After taking us through the saga of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob [with the "mini-saga" of Joseph, as well], the lectionary now introduces the saga of the Exodus. A once free nomadic people living in Egypt is reduced to slavery and through divine intervention and under the leadership of Moses is freed and given a new covenant, summarized in the Ten commandments. My summary, of course, does not even begin to do justice to this great narrative. Its power and spirit have inspired enslaved peoples around the world to rise up against their oppressors. Certainly this was true of the Civil Rights movement in the United States under the leadership of Rev Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960's.
As we begin the journey through Exodus, we learn how Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites and the stage is set for the birth of Moses. All of this is set against the backdrop of the story of the Patriarchs in Genesis because God's promise to Abraham remains part of the story of faith. Again and again the early Christian community returned to these stories of faith and saw in them the foundation for Jesus' life and mission. In the covenant at Sinai, we find the fundamental basis of our moral life - the Ten Commandments. The Old Testament is not some quaint collection of ancient myths. It is the word of God and the story of our faith. Get ready for Moses! AMEN