Friday of Week 15 in Ordinary Time
Exo 11:10–12:14
Mt 12:1-8
…it is a passover in honour of the Lord.
Moses asked Pharoah to release the Israelites from slavery. Pharoah refused. God then inflicted Pharoah and Egypt with ten devastating plagues.
Most Christians know this biblical account from Exodus, especially non-believers who have watched the Disney movie ‘Prince of Egypt’. Since young, I have always wondered why were there ten plagues and why were some of these so strange? I finally learned the answer after taking the Bible Adventure course with Jeff Cavins.
Egyptians worshipped numerous Gods. Pharoah, in his arrogance, told Moses that he did not know or respect the God of Israel. He believed that the Egyptian Gods were all powerful. Yahweh subsequently sent the plagues to demonstrate his power and sovereignty over these ten most important ‘Gods’. Each plague was a direct challenge to show the might of the one true God over the imposters. For example, the first plague was against Hapi, God of the Nile. Moses turned the river into blood. The Nile represented life and when it turned to blood, all life in it died. It meant that Hapi also died.
Today’s first reading recounts the final plague that broke Pharoah. It was also the most devastating – the death of every first-born child and animal (Egyptians worshipped the first-born as a God). Before the Angel of Death swept through Egypt, God instructed Moses to get every household to procure an unblemished, male, one-year-old lamb. It was to be inspected for three days before it was sacrificed. The blood of the slain lamb was then applied to the door post of all Israelite houses. Subsequently, the Angel of Death passed over the marked households and spared them from death.
God then commanded that this Passover be a memorial which all generations shall celebrate to the Lord perpetually. To this day, the Jewish people commemorate this annually as one of its most important feasts. It is a celebration of their earthly freedom. The Passover memorial follows specific rules governing food type, reading of parts of the Book of Exodus and drinking four cups of wine. However, now a roasted shank bone replaces the whole lamb.
For Christians, this Passover is more than just an earthly celebration of human freedom. It is the symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to fulfil the prophecy of an unblemished sacrificial lamb, whose blood was needed to redeem mankind from death and judgment. As St Paul preached in 1 Corinthians, Christ our passover lamb has been sacrificed. He rose from the dead to give us everlasting life with God.
Let us remember and celebrate our ‘Christian’ Passover as the gift of eternal life and freedom from sin!
(Today’s OXYGEN by Andrew Sia)
Prayer: Jesus, let your grace be sufficient for me. Help me to remain faithful to the Catholic Church.
Thanksgiving: Thanks be to Jesus, who brings eternal hope for all sinners.
OXYGEN 
Leave a comment