[Salvation]

 

August 2010
Year C - Weekdays II

Holy Father's Intentions
The Unemployed and the Homeless
General:  That those who are without work or homes or who are otherwise in serious need may find understanding and welcome, as well as concrete help in overcoming their difficulties.

Victims of Discrimination, Hunger and Forced Emigration
Missionary: That the Church may be a “home” for all people, ready to open its doors to any who are suffering from racial or religious discrimination, hunger, or wars forcing them to emigrate to other countries.

[Salvation]

From: Wisdom 18:6-9

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[6] That night was made known beforehand to our fathers, so that they might re-
joice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted.
[7] The deliverance of the righteous and the destruction of their enemies were
expected by thy people.
[8] For by the same means by which thou didst punish our enemies thou didst
call us to thyself and glorify us.
[9] For in secret the holy children of good men offered sacrifices, and with one
accord agreed to the divine law, that the saints would share alike the same
things, both blessings and dangers; and already they were singing the praises
of the fathers.

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Commentary:

18:5-19:21. The book of Wisdom closes with a section devoted to the night of the
Passover, the culminating moment of God’s actions in the salvation history of his
people. In the light of that situation the sacred writer reviews the wondrous events
that took place during the Exodus.

19:5-9. Once again a contrast is drawn between the severe way God dealt with
the Egyptians and his kindness towards the Israelites; there now takes place an
exceptionally important event – the Passover. The Egyptians had decreed that
all the first-born Hebrew males should be put to death (cf. Ex 1:15-22). To es-
cape this fate, Moses, a newborn child, is left out (v. 5) on the waters of the Nile
in a basket and rescued by the pharaoh’s daughter (Ex 2:1-10). With the law of
retaliation as a background, the crime committed by the Egyptians must be pun-
ished by the death of their own first-born, “at midnight” (Ex 2:29) and by the later
destruction in the Red Sea of those sent to pursue the Israelites (Ex 14:26-29).

On the Passover night, two contrasting things happen: the first-born of the Egyp-
tians are smitten, which forces the pharaoh to let the Hebrews leave forthwith,
thereby obtaining the deliverance promised to their forebears (cf. Gen 15:13-14)
and to Moses (Ex 11:4-7). But on the very same night, the Hebrews, “the holy
children of good men” (v. 9) celebrate the Passover meal in their houses, as a
festive sacrifice, all of them committing themselves to share both “blessings
and dangers”; in this way they act as a people consecrated to the Lord and
sing “the praises of the fathers” (v. 9). In due course, these original hymns came
to form the Hallel, a group of psalms that were recited on Passover night and on
the great feast-days (cf. Ps 113-118) – hymns that Jesus will recite with his di-
sciples at the Last Supper (cf. Mt 26:30; Mk 14:26).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.