Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Exodus 1:8-14.22; Matthew 10:34-11:1
People have difficulty appreciating today’s first
reading. They often do not realize how
oppressed are the Israelites in Egypt.
The “chosen people” have lived among the Egyptians for hundreds of years. Working as laborers, they have not had
leisure time to develop their culture. Very
likely, they have assimilated Egyptian customs to the extent of losing touch
with the God of Abraham. They see
Pharaoh as a kind of God. Like primitive peoples they will attribute divine attributes
to the sun.
But God has not forgotten the Israelites. He is about to act so that they may attain a
degree of holiness. It will provide
formation for His Son to become humanity’s liberator from sin and death. Now God will call a preliminary leader for
the Israelites, free them from slavery, and form them into a people “peculiarly
His own.” The road ahead is long and torturous. But followed intentionally, it will lead the
Israelites to partial freedom.
We are aware that slavery exists today. Millions cannot escape their sexual
overseers. Many more have analogously enslaved
themselves to pornography. It is largely
men who look at the rot. But women now
are allowing themselves to enter the industry which severely compromises their whole
lives. We must ask God’s help in
overcoming this very real threat to human freedom.
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