Tuesday 23rd July, 2019.
Bible Study: Exodus 14:21-15:1, Exodus 15 and Matthew 12:46-50)_
_*“Then the LORD
said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may
come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their
horsemen." So Moses stretched forth
his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its wonted flow when the morning
appeared; and the Egyptians fled into it, and the LORD routed the Egyptians in
the midst of the sea. The waters
returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the host of Pharaoh
that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained. (Exodus
14:26-28)*_
Dear
friends, rather than ask Pharaoh why he refused to let go of the Israelites, I
need to ask myself why I often refuse to let go of the past hurts and faults of
others. And rather than feel sorry for Pharaoh and his cohorts for drowning in
the sea, I better warn myself that continuous pursuit of my so-called enemies
for vengeance could only lead to drowning in the middle of the sea.
Yes, the
Egyptians felt offended. Moses tricked Pharoah saying they were only going to
offer sacrifice to God in the desert but days went by and they were nowhere to
be found. But was there any need going after them?
Like
Pharaoh, we all have been cheated, deceived, insulted by at least one person in
our lifetime. But unlike Pharaoh, we cannot afford to spend the rest of our
lives pursuing people. We must let go and move on regardless of what others
have done or will still do to us.
Unforgiveness
is deadly! Every act of revenge always backfires. Pharaoh and his cohorts got
drowned in the sea. There is a story of a woman who poisoned her five children
mistakenly all in a bid to revenge her neighbour simply for insulting her.
In the
Gospel passage, Jesus was preaching when he was told his mother and relatives
wanted to see him. He deliberately decides not to give them any preferential
treatment. He would not stop what he was doing to attend to them instead he
turns to the crowd and says: “whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is
my brother, and sister, and mother.”
One way we
do the will of God is forgiving and letting go. In Pidgin English, we say:
“Pickin must resemble him papa.” We resemble God only to the extent that we are
people of mercy. One who cannot forgive does not know God.
After
twenty-seven solid years behind bars, Nelson Mandela said: When I was about to
walk of the prison into a life of freedom, I knew that if I refuse to forgive
those who hurt me, I would still be in chains.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, save me from fear. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of
the 16th week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Exodus 14:21-15:1,
Exodus 15 and Matthew 12:46-50).
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