Friday, July 15, 2005
SATURDAY 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
JULY 16, 2005
SATURDAY 15TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR I
EXODUS 12:37-42
The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six
hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones. A crowd of
mixed ancestry also went up with them, besides their livestock, very
numerous flocks and herds. Since the dough they had brought out of
Egypt was not leavened, they baked it into unleavened loaves. They had
rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the
journey. The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egypt was four
hundred and thirty years. At the end of four hundred and
thirty years, all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this
very date. This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out
of the land of Egypt; so on this same night all the children of Israel
must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations.
MATTHEW 12:14-21
The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to
death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many
people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to
make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah
the prophet: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom
I delight; I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim
justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will
anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice
to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.
REFLECTION
God's people left Egypt about 430 years after they first arrived there.
They probably spent more than two hundred years living the life of
oppressed slaves. Now they would march as a people to Canaan, the land
Yahweh once promised to Abraham.
Exodus says the marchers were six hundred thousand, not including women
and children. This would mean that the entire group would number about
three million persons. Scholars don't consider this to be an accurate
number. They see it rather as a gross exaggeration, a common
phenomenon in Semitic documents of those days. Most believe the whole
people numbered about five to six thousand. Included in this number
would be quite a few aliens. Exodus says "a crowd of mixed ancestry
also went up with them," that is, with the main group
of marchers, who were Jews.
The reading says, "This was a night of vigil for the Lord, as he led
them out of the land of Egypt." This was the Lord's doing, the Lord's
work. Israel was active in it, yes, but the Lord was prodding them,
leading them, liberating them from slavery.
This is God's work in the modern world too: the work of liberation.
Whether it is of a mass of people from oppression of any sort
whatsoever, or of an individual being liberated from sin that has kept
him captive, the Exodus achievement, which will be accomplished by the
Lord, is the way of our own liberation. We will be active in it, but
it is the Lord who will accomplish it.
PRAYER
"Lord, strengthen me in your love and hope. Make me an instrument of
your hope that I may encourage those who have no hope."
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray ...
- for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
- for the speedy recovery of Ernesto Hernandez.
- for the personal intentions of Cresencia.
- for the special intentions of Cha.
- for the speedy recovery of Nikki L. Pasague.
- for the special intentions of Evangelyn.
- for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Charlene Blanche Yu
- Wedding Anniversary: Sheryl & Peter Lim III
- In Memoriam: Lim Giok Chat (1906-1987)
- for world peace and reconciliation.
Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our
prayers and for those who need our prayers the most.
Have a good day!
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