Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - Tuesday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 14:21—15:1 and Matt 12:46-50]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. [Exodus]
Many of us can remember the amazing scene from Cecil B. DeMille's production, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, when he was able to depict the crossing of the Red [Reed?] Sea. Moses [played by Charlton Heston] made a convincing figure! But this story is a pivotal moment in the history of salvation both for Jews and Christians. It is celebrated not only at Passover but every Sabbath for Jews and every Eucharist for us Catholics.
However, the same folks who celebrated their deliverance from the Egyptians would turn on Moses when life in the desert got hard, and pine for the "leeks and onions" they ate in Egypt . There was no "happily ever after" on the far side of the sea. There was, rather, a continual, "What has God done for us lately" attitude which would culminate in the creation of the Golden Calf!
Life goes on even after miraculous events that have great impact. We discover that God is faithful but not always going to meet our human expectations! The story of the Children of Israel in the desert after the Exodus will remind us how fickle and ungrateful we can be. AMEN