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| illustrators of the 1728 Figures de la Bible, Gerard Hoet (1648–1733) and others, published by P. de Hondt in The Hague in 1728 [Public domain]. |
“Gloriously
Triumphant” by Melanie Rigney (@melanierigney)
When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and
beheld the great power that the LORD had shown against the Egyptians, they
feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and
the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for
he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea. (Exodus
4:30-31, 15:1)
Let us sing to the Lord; he has
covered himself in glory. (Exodus 15:1b)
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." (Matthew 12:49-50)
Piety
Lord, I offer
unendingly gratitude for Your removal of those who would keep me from You.
Study
You might
contend that God was on the side of Moses and the Israelites, the way He
facilitated the parting of the Red Sea and gave them manna and brought all the
plagues on the Egyptians. But I’m not so sure.
God, I think,
is on the side of all those who seek to love Him and serve Him. Yes, we know He
hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that the army would pursue Moses and his band. But God
specifically says that that way, the Egyptians would know He is Lord. It sounds
like to me that He was also on the Egyptians’ side, trying and trying to get
them to understand.
I think of the people the Lord has removed
from my life. I’m not talking about beloved relatives and friends who died,
although there have been many of them already this year. I’m thinking of the
man I loved but with whom I was unevenly yoked, the friends who thought they
were being helpful by sitting me down to say that my clothes weren’t nice
enough and I didn’t wear enough makeup. And I think of the friend who dropped
me because I shared one of her deepest secrets after saying I wouldn’t.
It wasn’t
that God hated anyone on either side of these ruptures. He loves us all to
distraction. But there are just times that people’s presence in our life gets
us all wrapped up in them and ourselves rather than focusing on Him and His
plans for us. Let’s try to find the lesson in that, rather than declare
ourselves favored daughters and sons.
Action
Offer a
rosary for the Egyptian soldier equivalents that were removed from your life,
that you might know He is Lord.
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