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Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Ex 11:10-12:14; Ps 116:12-13,15,16-18; Mt 12:1-8

“Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones.”

 The eyes of the Lord gaze upon the suffering of his faithful ones in Egypt; he hears their cries for deliverance, and he saves them.  In the eyes of the Lord they are precious and the price of their faithfulness is too costly.  The only faithful one is Christ, the Lamb of God.  He is the only begotten and the eternal Word Made Flesh and dwelling among us.  The Father gazes upon his freely offered and passionately given sacrifice; it is too costly.  Yet, this is the only sacrifice that loosens our bonds.  When the blood of the year-old male lamb was applied to the doorposts and lintel of each slave’s home the wrath of the Lord passed over them.  Such mercy given in the Exodus is fulfilled for all who are enslaved by sin in the New Exodus.  The death, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ is the New Exodus available to all God’s people.  For this we long to make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for us.  For the gift of our liberation from slavery we can’t give praise enough.

Moses and Aaron have preformed many signs and wonders in the presence of Pharaoh and his people.  Still the Pharaoh will not let God’s People go into the desert to offer a sacrifice.  Still the Pharaoh will not let this free labor force out of his sight.  The bible says that “the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let the children of Israel leave his land.”  Does this mean that the God of freedom is not allowing Pharaoh any freedom?  Does the Lord Almighty deny the free will of this pagan king?  Not at all!  Rather the Lord makes known his will through the signs and wonders of his servants Moses and Aaron, and still the Pharaoh responds with the same obstinacy.  No matter how exciting or dangerous these signs and wonders; still, the Pharaoh’s heart is not moved.  However, the heart of the Lord God has been moved.  The Lord God instructs his people how to celebrate their coming liberation.  All of Egypt from Pharaoh to the least creature and even the gods of Egypt will receive the judgment of God’s destructive blow.  The Lord God will reveal his power to rescue Israel from slavery to Egypt and save Egypt from further self-destruction of being a slave master to Israel.  This day will never be forgotten; even today we, the New Israel remember, as our lips are made red by the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

All of the institutions of the People of God have been realized and fulfilled in the New Exodus.  We recognize the New David, the True King of Israel, Jesus Christ.  With him we are engaged in the Great War between good and evil.  Our King has led us to this day of victory.  We are here to celebrate the new Sabbath, in the new Temple, with the new King and High Priest, Jesus Christ.  Something greater than the temple is here!  However, just like David and his army we are on a daily campaign to battle the remnants of sin and evil in our hearts and in our community.  The only violence we inflict is the destruction of evil and sin in our world.  We, too, are hungry as we continue the struggle to overcome vice and grow in virtue.  The King we follow has won the victory, and now we claim that victory in this banquet of the Kingdom of God.  King David only had the bread of offering to nourish his companions.  King Jesus offers his own Body and Blood and we become in Him a living sacrifice of praise, the true bread of offering.