Those Who Are in Flight

Those Who Are in Flight

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD.”  Exodus 12:11

“I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”  Matthew 12:8

Piety

Dayeinu (It Would Have Been Enough)

This is a traditional reading that follows the telling of the exodus story at Passover (Pesach).  Some use Psalms 105 and 106 to tell the Passover story before the Dayeinu (pronounced Die-YEAH-nu) which means "it would have been enough."

Leader: God has shown us so many acts of kindness and grace. For each one, we say dayeinu. If only the Lord God had taken us out of Egypt.

People Respond:  Dayeinu!

If only the Lord God had taken us out of Egypt and not passed judgment on the Egyptians.   Dayeinu!

If only the Lord God had passed judgment on the Egyptians and not parted the sea for us.   Dayeinu!

If only the Lord God had parted the sea for us and not taken care of us and fed us manna in the desert for 40 years.  Dayeinu!

If only the Lord God had taken care of us and fed us manna in the desert for 40 years and not given us the Sabbath rest. Dayeinu!

If only the Lord God had given us the Sabbath rest and not brought us to Mount Sinai and given us the Torah. Dayeinu!

If only the Lord God had brought us to Mount Sinai and given us the Torah and not brought us into the land of Israel. Dayeinu!

For all these, alone and together, we say. Dayeinu!

Study

So much for a quiet summer in the Scriptures.  July 19 is the 200th sleepy day of the calendar year. On this seemingly ordinary Friday, we encounter the ritual instructions for the First Passover.  This episode in the Hebrew Bible is central to every prophecy that comes to pass with the birth, ministry, execution, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.

The focal point of Passover is a communal meal, called the Seder, just as the Eucharist is the New Seder, which is the focal point of Daily and Sunday Mass.

Procure a lamb.  Before it is the Lamb of God, it is the lamb of your household.  If your family is too small, build an intentional community with a nearby house.  That way, you can share the (cost) burden of getting the lamb.  Then, you also will share the protection that the sign of its blood provides, and the nourishment that its flesh offers.

Keep the lamb for three days. Are these instructions accidentally or intentionally a way to mirror the three days that Jesus was in the tomb?

Eat the Passover meal while wearing your traveling clothes. These are a people in exile and people on the move to the Promised Land. They are just like the Lord is on the move in the Gospel. The Passover feast becomes central to our Sabbath liturgy.  Plus, the disciples went on the move with Christ.  They went on the move into hiding after the trial. And then they went on the move preaching the Good News to all countries.  

We find Jesus once again at odds with the Pharisees in a battle of wits regarding eating and preparing food (working) on the Sabbath.

In the Christian “Passover” service (Mass), the unleavened bread is used to represent Jesus’ body, and wine represents his blood of the New Covenant (Luke 22:19-20). These are a symbolic substitute for Jesus as the new sacrificial Passover “Lamb of God” (John 1:29).

Action

If only the Lord God had brought us into the land of Israel and not declared unto Mary that she would conceive a child.  Dayeinu!

If only Mary conceived a child and not also responded to this miracle with the words humble and obedient words, “May it be done to me according to thy Word.  Dayeinu!

If only Mary’s humility and obedience had not led to the Word made flesh and dwelt among us.  Dayeinu!

If only the Word was made flesh and Jesus did not also give us the Eucharist.  Dayeinu!

If only Jesus gave us the Eucharist and not dying for our sin on the Roman cross.  Dayeinu!

If only Jesus died for our sins and did not arise from the dead on the third day. Dayeinu!

If only Jesus rose from the dead and did not send the Holy Spirit to be with us after his Ascension back into heaven. Dayeinu!

If only Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and did not prepare a place for us in his Father’s house.  Dayeinu!

For all these, alone and together, we say.  Dayeinu! Amen!