Feast of St Mary Magdalene

The Responsorial Psalm declares, “Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory” (Exodus 15). How did killing the Egyptians glorify God? 

In Exodus 14:21 to 15:1, when the Israelites sang to God, “for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea,” we should not see God as the stereotype of some misguided (and fictional) military nut who seeks “glory” by killing people. On the contrary, the rabbis tell that when the Egyptian army was destroyed, the angels broke out in praise. Then they looked over and saw God weeping. Asked why, God replied, “The Egyptians are my children too!” 

The point of the Exodus story is that God saves: “The Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians.” God showed his power in opening a passage through the sea for his people. When the Egyptians tried to ride on God’s saving miracle to overtake and kill the Jews, God turned off the power, and they died. We should never presume on God’s power to help us – or anyone — kill any of his children. 

In Matthew 12: 46-50 Jesus tells us who God’s children are: “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is brother and sister and mother to me.” Jesus ignores divisions of race, nationality, religious affiliation, and even “righteousness” judged by external behavior. Jesus accepts as family all those who, in their hearts at least, are trying to “do the will of the Father.” And who would dare judge another, even a terrorist suicide bomber or an American “special ops” assassin, on the deepest level of the heart? So, like God weeping for the Egyptians, we weep over damage done to any of God’s children, not presuming to exclude anyone from the family. “Let us sing to the Lord”: it is through healing love, not violence, that “he has covered himself in glory.” 

If God’s “glory” is the truth of God’s own being made evident, what reveals God’s glory more than the revelation of Jesus’ all-embracing love? And we, as his ministers, are called to continue this revelation. Through the ministry of expression — letting the divine gifts of faith, hope, and love find visible expression in our bodily words and actions — we let the divine life, and above all the divine love, of Jesus continue to appear visibly on earth. 

But for this we have to “let the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus, who… did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave…” (Philippians 2: 5-11). We need to renounce power, prestige, and prejudice, and surrender to “be Christ” to all. 

Initiative: Be a priest. Let Jesus live and act with you, in you, through you.  

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #603, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.