"Whoever Does the Will of My Heavenly Father is My Brother, and Sister, and Mother.”


Today's Mass Readings

The passage from the book of Exodus that we have as our first reading is one not only one of the most decisive moments in Israel’s struggle for freedom, it is also a passage that has implications for Christian living. On the one hand, this passage describes the final destruction of the Egyptian military power. On the other hand, this passage is read at every Easter vigil because of the waters of the Red Sea is a symbol of the “new life” that every Christian every experiences at Baptism. Water holds deep symbolic meaning in the scriptures, sometimes described as destructive and sometimes salvfic. In the book of Genesis, the Universe is describes as being covered with water. Then, it was the floods that destroyed all of creation during the time of Noah. In the book of Exodus it saved the Israelites from the Egyptians while it become a grave for the Egyptians themselves. However, water is also considered to have the power of purification and that is how it is associated with Baptism.

Every baptism is a symbol of what Christ has achieved for us – freedom from death and destruction and the free gift of eternal life. Just as the Egyptians went into the Red Sea and emerged from it harmless, the immersion into the waters of baptism reminds us of death and emerging from the waters symbolizes our rising to new life with Jesus. Thus, we can say that each one of us has crossed our personal Red Sea at baptism.
Baptism, however, is not a one time event. It calls for a day to day living of the “new life” given to us in Baptism. That is the only way that we are related to Jesus. “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

When the Israelites were saved by God the only commandment God gave them was to be obedient to the will of God. As the readings of the coming days will tell us, that is precisely where the Israelites failed. Where they failed, let us strive to succeed. May Jesus point out to us just as he pointed toward his disciples and say, “Here are my mother, my sisters, and my brothers.”