15th Week, Ordinary Time, Tuesday, July 18
Exodus 2:1-15 / Matthew 11:20-24
Birth and early life of Moses; Moses fled to Midian
The infancy of Moses bears a vivid resemblance to the infancy of Jesus. (Matthew 2:13) Moses, too, narrowly escaped a violent death, as did Jesus. The adulthood of Moses also bears a vivid resemblance to the adulthood of Jesus. (Luke 8:59, 10:39) Moses, too, had to flee for his life, as Jesus did. Finally, Moses, too, served as mediator of God's covenant with his people. Moses and Jesus were called upon to play similar roles in God’s dealings with his people.
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How dedicated are we to playing the role God gave us to play in our life? What is that role? "To be a Christian…is not simply to believe with one's mind, but also to become a doer of the word. …even if that leads to the path of persecution and the possibility of martyrdom." U.S. Bishops, The Challenge of Peace
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The command to throw all the male children into the Nile was too harsh for Amram and Jochebed from the tribe of Levi, the two parents of a little boy. When he was three months old, they put him into a basket made waterproof with tar and let him float. They were sure God would provide. God did. This basket is called by the same word in the Hebrew Bible as the ark of Noah. Both were the instruments of God's salvation. God's providence worked. Pharaoh 's daughter spotted the basket. It was more than just female curiosity. It was God's plan. She adopted the child they found in the basket. Moses, God's chosen leader, was raised in the royal household. "So, Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians and became a man with power in his speech and his actions" (Acts 7.22). His very name is Egyptian. Moses means 'born' or 'son' or 'child'. Some Pharaohs too had this name, e.g. Tut-Mose. But he remembered his roots. He killed an overseer who beat a Hebrew slave. Another Hebrew challenged him with the fact and perhaps even reported the fact. In any case Moses thought it would be wiser to flee. He went to the East and reached Midian.
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Moses had to be saved from the waters so that he could share the same experience as his people when they were to be saved by passing through the waters.
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Indifference is generally defined as a lack of interest or concern. But the degree of it depends on the situation and the circumstances. Indifference to the untidiness of our work station is not the same as indifference to an act of evil or wickedness. In the 1st reading, the mother of Moses could just be indifferent and lamented that God was not protecting His people by letting the Egyptians kill their baby boys. But she did something to protect her baby from the impending evil. Similarly, the adult Moses did not look away neither was he indifferent to the violence an Egyptian inflicted on his countryman. In the gospel, Jesus made a pointed reproach on the indifference of the towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida and Capernaum. Indifference is a sign of internal decay and as such the three cities mentioned in the gospel are now in ruins. Indifference is also a sign that our faith is decaying and that we are not sensitive to the promptings of God in our hearts. May our hearts be softened by God's love and may we be aware of the needs of others around us. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing about it." (Edmund Burke)
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Some think that Jesus had a special liking for pagans. He loved or at least admired them more than the lost sheep of Israel to gather whom he had been sent. Tyre and Sidon had been sea ports in the Eastern Mediterranean, what is today Lebanon. Big numbers from Tyre and Sidon had come to Jesus (Mark 3.8) and he had gone there (Matthew 15.21). Both Isaiah and Ezekiel have several chapters each on these towns They describe their magnificence, predict their fall, but also lament it. Many missionaries and teachers in Christian schools have the same predilection. They find that many non-Christians are better; let's say it openly although it may pain us to say it. They are better than many Christians. Even Vatican I/ has a lot of good to say about them. Jesus says they will be better off on Judgement day.
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The poor and the oppressed are often more open to salvation than the self-satisfied, sophisticated city dwellers; the latter are often in the Bible the image of rationalistic and corrupt people, also among the Jews. As they are more individualistic, they do not easily form a community of salvation. In the noise and bustle of a busy life, they do not see the signs of God’s presence.
Opening Prayer:
Lord our God, we are often blind and insensitive to the wonderful things you do among us and to the love people show us. Open our minds and hearts to see the signs of your presence in the good people do to one another and to us. Make us also see the presence of our crucified Lord in people who suffer. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen
