Exodus 15:1-19. The children of Israel sing the song of Moses—they extol the Lord as a man of war and rejoice in their deliverance from Egypt and the fact that the Lord promises to free Israel from the diseases of Egypt.
When he had drowned Pharaoh in the deep, Moses said, Let us
sing unto the Lord, for He is gloriously glorified."I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
The LORD is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.
"Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power-- your right hand, O LORD, shattered the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.'
You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
"Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
"In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
The peoples heard, they trembled; pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; trembling seized the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away.
Terror and dread fell upon them; by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone,
until your people, O LORD, passed by, until the people whom you acquired passed by.
You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O LORD, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O LORD, that your hands have established.
The LORD will reign forever and ever."
JOHN PAUL II: GENERAL
AUDIENCE: Wednesday 21 November 2001
Sing to the Lord for he is triumphant
Sing to the Lord for he is triumphant
1. This hymn of victory (cf. Ex 15,1-18), used at Lauds
(morning prayer) on Saturday of the first week, transports us to the key moment
in the history of salvation: the event of the Exodus, when God saved Israel
from a humanly desperate situation. The facts are well known: following the
long time of slavery in Egypt, the Hebrews were on their way to the Promised
Land when the army of Pharaoh overtook them and nothing would have saved them
from annihilation if the Lord had not intervened with his powerful hand. The
hymn delights in describing the arrogance of the plans of the armed enemy:
"I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoils" (Ex15:9).
What can the greatest army do against divine omnipotence?
God commands the sea to make a passage for the assailed people and then to
close the passage to the aggressors: "When your wind blew: the sea covered
them, they sank like lead in the mighty waters" (Ex 15:10).
These are vigorous images that attempt to describe the
greatness of God, while expressing the wonder of a people who can scarcely
believe their eyes, and break out with one voice in a glorious hymn of praise:
"The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This
is my God and I will praise him, the God of my father and I will exalt
him" (Ex 15:2).
2. The Canticle does not just sing of the liberation obtained; it also indicates the positive objective, none other than entry into the dwelling place of God to live in communion with him: "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you redeemed, you guided them by your strength to your holy abode" (Ex 15:13). So understood, the event was not only at the base of the covenant between God and his people, but became the "symbol" of the whole history of salvation. On many other occasions, Israel will survive similar situations, and the Exodus will be repeated regularly. In a special way that event prefigures the great redemption that Christ will bring about with his death and resurrection.
2. The Canticle does not just sing of the liberation obtained; it also indicates the positive objective, none other than entry into the dwelling place of God to live in communion with him: "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you redeemed, you guided them by your strength to your holy abode" (Ex 15:13). So understood, the event was not only at the base of the covenant between God and his people, but became the "symbol" of the whole history of salvation. On many other occasions, Israel will survive similar situations, and the Exodus will be repeated regularly. In a special way that event prefigures the great redemption that Christ will bring about with his death and resurrection.
For this reason our canticle resounds in a special way in
the liturgy of the Easter Vigil to demonstrate with its intense imagery what
has taken place in Christ. In Christ we have been saved not from a human
oppressor, but from the slavery to Satan and sin, that has weighed on human
destiny from the beginning. With Christ humanity takes up the road again on the
path that leads us to the house of the Father…. We can contemplate with
increased wonder what God has wrought for his people: "You will bring them
in, and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O Lord, which your hands
have established" (Ex 15:17). The hymn of victory sings the triumph of
God, not of man. It is a canticle, not of war, but of love. Allowing our days
to be permeated by the ancient Hebrews' thrill of praise, we will walk on the
roads of the world, full of threats, risk, and suffering, but with the
certainty of being encompassed by the merciful gaze of God. Nothing can resist
the power of his love.
No comments:
Post a Comment