Reading 1
Ex 11:10—12:14
Although Moses and Aaron performed various wonders
in Pharaoh’s presence,
the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate,
and he would not let the children of Israel leave his land.
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
“This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first month of the year.
Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month
every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb,
one apiece for each household.
If a family is too small for a whole lamb,
it shall join the nearest household in procuring one
and shall share in the lamb
in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.
You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then,
with the whole assembly of Israel present,
it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.
They shall take some of its blood
and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they partake of the lamb.
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole,
with its head and shanks and inner organs.
None of it must be kept beyond the next morning;
whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up.
“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;
thus, 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.”
116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18
Responsorial PsalmR. (13)
I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Gospel
Mt 12:1-8
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”
He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
Meditation: Exodus 11:10–12:14
“This month shall stand at the head of your calendar.” (Exodus 12:2)
Imagine how important the Passover must have been (and still is) to the Jewish people. It is so central that they built the event into their calendar, making the anniversary of their delivery from Egypt one of the highest celebrations of their year. God had punished their enemies, freed them from slavery, and led them through the Red Sea. Now everything was different. Now they understood God—and themselves— in a whole new way.
In their annual celebration of the Passover, the Jewish people are careful to keep the events surrounding their deliverance current. They know that God didn’t simply act in the past. He is still acting in their midst, still protecting them, still delivering them. Centuries upon centuries later, each Jew retells the tale as if he himself was present in Egypt, at the edge of the sea, and in the desert. Far from being a dim memory, Passover remains an ongoing, grace-filled event for the children of Abraham.
By giving Passover such a prominent spot in their calendar, the people also see this event as marking a new beginning. Every new year, God calls them farther into the future with him—a future that he has mapped out for them. For example, Jeremiah once promised: “They shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt’; but rather, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north’” (Jeremiah 23:7-8). The people’s deliverance from exile would be like a new Passover for them—another new beginning, another step forward into God’s goodness and love.
Just as the Jewish people treasure their traditions and history, so should we. God wants us to remember and retell what he has done for us in the past—especially what he did for us through his Son. He knows that as we recall our salvation, we will experience it more deeply. And that experience will strengthen us as we move forward into the future he has called us to.
“Jesus, you are my Savior. Thank you for all you have already done for me. Help me to place my hand in yours and walk with you into this brand-new day.”
No comments:
Post a Comment