Word to the Wise
Tuesday, July 20, 2021 - Tuesday in the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 14:21—15:1 and Matt 12:46-50]But the children of Israel had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. 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]
When the Easter Vigil is celebrated, with its emphasis on baptism, there are many readings from scripture. The celebrant has the discretion to omit some of them, but NOT the one about the Exodus event! The association of baptism with the Exodus event occurred early in the Christian community. [1 Corinthians 10:1-4]. Jewish purification bathing took on the character of baptism but with the idea of deliverance from sin. St. Augustine would later add the idea of "original sin" to the understanding, but the Exodus idea of deliverance and a new identity in Christ was clearly on St. Paul's mind, and he wrote within 15-20 years of Jesus' death and resurrection Thus, the Exodus event is a pivotal reality in Jewish and Christian faith. At the Seder meal on Passover, a Jewish child asks the question about why the celebration is taking place. The response is the story of the Exodus.
As we will see on tomorrow (Wed.), the significance of the event seems to have been somewhat temporary on the participants. As soon as the children of Israel saw that they were out in the desert and had a long journey ahead, they began to complain about a lack of food. God's response would be manna, which in turn took on eucharistic significance for the early Christian community.
I mention all of this because the broad significance of God's plan of salvation is present at every celebration of the Eucharist. A community of the baptized gathers to celebrate "manna from heaven." When something becomes routine, its deeper meaning is easily lost. At Mass, we stand on the shores of the Red Sea with manna in our hands (or at least on our tongues.) Christ, the new Moses, leads us on our journey. Will we be among the complainers or contribute later on to the golden calf? AMEN