Tuesday of the
Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 14:21-15:1; Matthew 12:46-30)
Today’s first reading describes perhaps God’s mightiest
act in the Old Testament after creation.
He saved Israel from the Egyptian army as they crossed the Sea. A careful reading of the text reveals two
versions of what took place. In what
might be called the “natural version” of the event, God sends a dry wind over
the Se of Reeds. The shallow waters evaporate
enough to allow the people to cross the seabed on foot. But when Pharaoh’s army follows in pursuit, the
wheels of their chariots become clogged with mud.
The second “spectacular version” of the event shows Moses
parting the sea under God’s instruction.
When the Israelis reach the far side, Moses makes another gesture which
brings the waters together. Pharaoh’s
army then drowns in the middle of the sea.
The first version is obviously more plausible, but in either case God is
the principal actor. The narrative is
meant to show that God saves His people from their enemies.
We must never forget the lesson. God will bring about victory from defeat. Martin Luther King, Jr., famously said that “the
arc of the moral universe… bends toward justice.” It does so because God is the
author of history. As Moses does at the
end of the reading, we want to praise God for the justice He has established.
