Tuesday of 16th week in Ordinary Time, July 24, 2007

Scripture: Exodus 14:21-15:1. Exodus 15:8-12,17 (as Psalm/Song response).
Matthew 12:46-50. Lectionary # 396:

God's power and glory are shown in the Exodus narrative. Moses stretches
out his hand at God's command and the waters are separated so that the
Israelites have free passage to the other side. They will wander in the
desert for forty years. Again in the same time period, Moses stretches out
his hand and the waters of the Red or Reed Sea submerge the chariots,
horses, and warriors of the Egyptians who are left dead on the west side of
the waters. Reverential fear comes upon the Israelites and they put their
trust in God and Moses his servant. The liturgical response to this is the
Song of Moses or probably of Miriam his sister that lauds and glorifies God
for his wondrous actions and favors towards his people Israel. These
scriptures lead us to trust and reverence God for the many good things we
too have enjoyed from God's gifts to us and God's graces upon us as a
people. Today we need to realize that God can work mighty wonders--even
world peace if we all were united in reverent prayer and trust in God. We
should try this for nothing else is working! Like Moses we need to be
servants of God in bringing about the quest for peace among us who in
reality are brothers and sisters to one another created by the same God in
God's image and likeness as we know from the first chapter of the Torah's
"Bereshit" or Genesis 1:26-27.We need to listen to God's commands and
stretch out our arms and hands in prayer as Moses did over the waters. In
the Gospel narrative some 1200 years later we hear Jesus telling us to do
the will of God. The scene is more familial than military and we as
disciple learn that to be a brother and sister to Jesus, we need to do the
will of God. Of course, his mother Mary did this in an exemplary manner
and she sang God's praises as did her namesake Miriam. Perhaps, we could
pray the Song of Exodus or the Magnificat of Mary to remind us about doing
the will of God and about being brothers and sisters to one another. We
should try it. It too might work! Amen.