GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 21ST JULY 2017
FRIDAY OF THE FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING: Exodus 11:10 – 12:14
PSALM: Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18
GOSPEL: Matthew 12:1-8
THEME: LET MY PEOPLE GO!
There are certain conditions (situations) in life that have the potency to hold a person in captivity. They may be moral, spiritual or even socio-economic in character and like the heart of Pharaoh (cf. Ex. 11:10), they are stubborn and difficult to deal with. A feeling of anguish in “bondage” is often expressed in statements like: “I have tried so hard to overcome this problem but the more I try the more things get out of hand.” The good news is that the Lord knows WHEN and HOW to deliver us from bondage. The “pharaohs” in our lives cannot hold us in captivity forever – “no condition is permanent.”
Moses and Aaron went up to Pharaoh and said: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go…” (Ex. 5:1). In reply, Pharaoh said: “… I will not let Israel go” (Ex. 5:2). Nine different plagues meted out against the land of Egypt were not enough to change Pharaoh’s decision. It took a tenth plague for Pharaoh’s resolution to be broken.
Today’s First Reading highlights the events preceding the tenth plague and the immediate preparation for the departure of the Israelites from captivity. God tells the captives who were soon to be delivered: “The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Ex. 12:13).
Perhaps you have done everything within your power to get out of an unwholesome situation but the “pharaoh-like” circumstances surrounding the situation have tied you down and are militating against you. Do not let your heart be troubled, God still delivers. As you lift up your voice to God in prayer and put the Word of God into practice you shall be delivered. Today, the Lord speaks to every “pharaoh” in our lives – “Let my people go!”
PRAYER: Eternal Father, your power to save is real. There is no challenge in my life that your grace and mercy cannot handle. Yes, in your Son Jesus Christ I have found strength to do all things. Trusting in your intervention, I declare victory even in ‘hot waters’ for I know you are with me through it all. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).