Tuesday of the
Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 2:1-15a; Matthew 11:20-24)
Other than Abraham Lincoln, no American president is
better known for his moral character than George Washington. The first president was courageous and
restrained. He sacrificed his comfort in
order to serve his country. He also arranged
for the release of his slaves. He might
be compared with Moses in today’s first reading.
The incidents described in the reading portray Moses as a
man of justice. He slays the Egyptian to
protect the defenseless from unjust aggression.
He admonishes the Hebrew who picked a fight with another to indicate the
need for solidarity among the oppressed.
His sterling character makes him an excellent choice to lead his nation from
slavery to freedom.
Moral excellence is even more attributable to Jesus. The gospels portray him as literally
flawless. In today’s passage he cries
out to the towns of Galilee exhorting them to heed his call to repentance. Virtue will eventually impel Jesus to confront
the dual powers of religion and state in Jerusalem so that the people would
finally heed his message. “’The Kingdom
is at hand!’” he continually says. So
let us give up our vices in order to fully experience it.
