“Our Help is in the Name of the Lord"

Today's Mass Readings

We begin our reflection in the second book of the Bible, the book of Exodus. Exodus literally means “departure.” Obviously, we are referring to the departure of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. However, the events preceding the “exodus” are the formative years of a people who develop a sense of identity, develop a relationship with God, come to know God as their redeemer, and learn to trust God in the same way that their fathers in faith, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had done. Today’s reading sets the background for the events that will follow. The arrival of a new king, a new leadership, and a new context finds the Israelites at the political receiving end. The threat that Pharaoh determined was related to the promise God had made – that the descendents would be numerous. As Ex 1:12 suggests, the Israelites multiplied as fiercely as the misery placed upon them. However we want to interpret the new developments as a preparation for events of greater significance – God will reveal himself as “I AM,” and God will make a Covenant (a relationship) with his people.

As we will discover in the days to come, a strong relationship with God (for that matter any relationship) is made stronger with adversity. Relationships are demanding. They demand our time, our resources, and most of all, our commitment. Our relationship with God is the most significant of our relationships and it demands all of our commitment.

That is what Jesus is trying to say in today’s gospel reading (Mt 10:34-11:1). He is not asking us to hate our parents, brothers and sisters (11:37-39), but rather, that we prioritise our relationships. One cannot love parents more than God, friends more that parents, spouse or children, animals more than people, and things more than people. However, we know that these priorities are mixed up all the time.

The people of Israel will learn this through the events that lead up to the exodus. Meanwhile Jesus is an example of someone who had his priorities right. Let us the make events the ordinary events of our daily lives an opportunity to develop our relationship with God and prioritise our relationships.

The Psalm response is appropriate for a concluding prayer:
Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Had not the LORD been with us–
let Israel say, had not the LORD been with us–
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.

Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept
the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.

We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers’ snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.