Word to the Wise
Friday, July 18, 2025 - Friday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 11:10—12:14 and Matt 12:1-8]"This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the Lord. For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt - I, the Lord! But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; when, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the Lord, as a perpetual institution." [Exodus]
The great moments of the Old Testament continue to unfold for us in the first scriptures for daily Mass at this time. We've heard the story of Moses' birth and escape from Pharaoh's murderous decree, the story of the revelation of God and the call of Moses in the burning bush, and now the story of the first Passover - the final plague - a story repeated each year when Jews gather to celebrate Passover in accordance with the decree of the Lord. Jesus celebrated this event with the disciples on the night he was arrested. We commemorate this Passover event in each celebration of the Eucharist, but especially on Holy Thursday and at the Easter Vigil.
There is more to come in the escape through the sea, the wandering in the desert, the golden calf, the manna and the creation of the covenant in the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. This whole story is not just the story of the Jewish faith but of OUR faith as well. It is not just inspired ancient biblical history. It is a daily reality in the continued life of Christianity and the Body of Christ, who, we should never forget, was a Jew. AMEN