CCC Cross Reference:
Ex 15:1 2810
Mt 12:49 764, 2233
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Reading 1
Ex 14:21—15:1
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and the Lord swept the sea
with a strong east wind throughout the night
and so turned it into dry land.
When the water was thus divided,
the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them
right into the midst of the sea.
In the night watch just before dawn
the Lord cast through the column of the fiery cloud
upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
and he so clogged their chariot wheels
that they could hardly drive.
With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,
because the Lord was fighting for them against the Egyptians.
Then the Lord told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea,
that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots and their charioteers.”
So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,
when the Lord hurled them into its midst.
As the water flowed back,
it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole army
that had followed the children of Israel into the sea.
Not a single one of them escaped.
But the children of Israel had marched on dry land
through the midst of the sea,
with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day
from the power of the Egyptians.
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Exodus 15:8-9, 10 and 12, 17
R. (1b) Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
At the breath of your anger the waters piled up,
the flowing waters stood like a mound,
the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea.
The enemy boasted, “I will pursue and overtake them;
I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them;
I will draw my sword; my hand shall despoil them!”
R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
When your wind blew, the sea covered them;
like lead they sank in the mighty waters.
When you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!
R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place where you made your seat, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands established.
R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
Gospel
Mt 12:46-50
While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
his mother and his brothers appeared outside,
wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,
asking to speak with you.”
But he said in reply to the one who told him,
“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
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.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Exodus 14:21 - 15:1
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove back the sea with a strong easterly wind all night, and he made dry land of the sea. The waters parted and the sons of Israel went on dry ground right into the sea, walls of water to right and to left of them. The Egyptians gave chase: after them they went, right into the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. In the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and of cloud, and threw the army into confusion. He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could scarcely make headway. ‘Let us flee from the Israelites,’ the Egyptians cried ‘the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians!’ ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea,’ the Lord said to Moses ‘that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians and their chariots and their horsemen.’ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea and, as day broke, the sea returned to its bed. The fleeing Egyptians marched right into it, and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the very middle of the sea. The returning waters overwhelmed the chariots and the horsemen of Pharaoh’s whole army, which had followed the Israelites into the sea; not a single one of them was left. But the sons of Israel had marched through the sea on dry ground, walls of water to right and to left of them. That day, the Lord rescued Israel from the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. Israel witnessed the great act that the Lord had performed against the Egyptians, and the people venerated the Lord; they put their faith in the Lord and in Moses, his servant.
Responsorial Psalm: Exodus 15:8 – 17
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
At the breath of your anger the waters piled high;
the moving waters stood up like a dam.
The deeps turned solid in the midst of the sea.
The enemy said: ‘I will pursue and overtake them,
I will divide my plunder, I shall have my will.
I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
You blew with your breath, the sea closed over them.
They went down like lead into the mighty waters.
You stretched forth your hand, the earth engulfed them.
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
You will lead your people and plant them on your mountain,
the place, O Lord, where you have made your home.
the sanctuary, Lord, which your hands have made.
I will sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!
Gospel Matthew 12:46 – 50
Jesus was still speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Tuesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Exodus 14:21-15:1
Crossing the Red Sea
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[21] Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. [22] And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. [23] The Egyptians pursued, and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. [24] And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down upon the host of the Egyptians, and discomfited the host of the Egyptians, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from before Israel; for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians."
[26] 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." [27] 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. [28] The waters return and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the hosts of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not so much as one of them remained. [29] But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
[30] Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore. [31] And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did against the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord; and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.
Song of Victory
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[1] Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song the Lord, saying, "I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."
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Commentary:
14:19-22. At the wonderful moment of the crossing of the sea, God, man and the forces of nature play the leading role. In the person of the angel of the Lord, God the person of the angel of the Lord, becomes more visible; he directs operations; he plays a direct part. Moses' part consists in doing as the Lord commands; he is his vicar. The sons of Israel have no active part; they benefit from what happens. Even the forces of nature come into play: the pillar of cloud which marked the route by day now blocks the Egyptians' way; night, the symbol of evil become, as in the Passover, the time God's visitation; the warm west wind, always feared for its harmful effects, now proves a great help; and the waters of the sea, so often the symbol of the abyss and of evil, allow the victorious passage of the sons of Israel.
The prophets see this event as an instance of the creative power of God (cf. Is 43:1-3), and Christian writers comment along the same lines. Thus, Origen will say: "See the goodness of God the Creator: if you submit to his will and follow his Law, he will see to it that created things cooperate with you, against their own nature if necessary" ("Homiliae In Exodum", 5,5).
The book of Wisdom turns the account of the crossing of the sea into a hymn of praise to the Lord who delivered Israel (cf. Wis 19:6-9), and St Paul sees the waters as a figure of baptismal water: "All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea" (1 Cor 10:2).
14:31. The main effect the miraculous crossing of the sea had on the Israelites was the faith it gave them in the power of God and in the authority of Moses. This section of the account of the escape from Egypt ends as it began--that is, showing that the people's faith (4:31) is now strengthened. So, too, Christian faith is strengthened when we do what God desires.: "Following Jesus on his way. You have understood what our Lord was asking from you and you have decided to accompany him on his way. You trying to walk in his footsteps, to clothe yourself in Christ's clothing, to be Christ himself: well, your faith, your faith in the light our Lord is giving you, must both operative and full of sacrifice" (St. J. Escrivá, "Friends of God", 198).
15:1-21. This victory anthem, along with that of Deborah (Judg 5), is one the oldest hymns of Israel. It probably goes as far back as the 13th century BC, long before the redactor of this be decided to include it as a colophon to Exodus account. It is called the "Song of Miriam" (v. 21) because, as we know from Ugarit poems of the period (13th-9th centuries BC) it was the practice to put at the end (not the start) the reason why the poem was written, the author's name and the poem's title (vv. 18-21). It is very likely that this canticle was recited in the liturgy and that the entire people said the response (vv, 1, 21) after each stanza was said or sung by the choir.
It is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving which the three stages of the deliverance of Israel are remembered--the prodigies of the Red Sea (vv. 4-10), the triumphal pilgrimage in the desert (vv. 4-16) and the taking possession of the land of Canaan (vv. 17-18).
In this poetic re-creation of these events the divine attributes are extolled one by one (might, military power, redemption, etc); they reflect the theological implications of exodus, wilderness and land: it is God who has done all these wondrous things; he has done them because he has chosen the people to be his very own; he himself requires that they respond by acknowledging him to be God, Lord of all, the only deliverer.
15:1-3. Victory over the Egyptians has revealed the glory arid might of God. Strength, power, salvation can be taken as meaning the same thing, for the sacred author does not regard the divine attributes as abstract qualities but as particular actions: only God could truly save the people.
"The Lord is a man of war": this daring description indicates that this is a very ancient poem. Some translations, possibly because they thought it might be misunderstood, toned it down a little: the Samaritan Pentateuch has "powerful in combat" and the Septuagint "he who breaks through battles". We in our Spanish version coincide with the RSV and the New Vulgate, retaining the blunt military imagery, which is very descriptive of the almighty power of God: "He is the Lord of the Universe [...]. He is master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping with his will" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 269).
"The Lord is his name": literally, "his name is Yah", using an abbreviation of Yahweh which may have been customary in more ancient times. It may well be that there is an echo of this name in the "Alleluia" of the Psalms.
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From: Matthew 12:46-50
The True Kinsmen of Jesus
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[46] While He (Jesus) was still speaking to the people, behold, His mother and His brethren stood outside, asking to speak to Him.* [48] But He replied to the man who told Him, "Who is My mother, and who are My brethren?" [49] And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Here are My mother and My brethren! [50] For whoever does the will of My Father in Heaven is My brother, and sister and mother."
(*Other ancient authorities insert verse 47, "Some one told Him, 'Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to You.'")
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Commentary:
46-47. "Brethren": ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and other languages had no special words for different degrees of relationship, such as are found in more modern languages. In general, all those belonging to the same family, clan and even tribe were "brethren".
In the particular case we have here, we should bear in mind that Jesus had different kinds of relatives, in two groups--some on His mother's side, others on St. Joseph's. Matthew 13:55-56 mentions, as living in Nazareth, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas ("His brethren") and elsewhere there is reference to Jesus' "sisters" (cf. Matthew 6:3). But in Matthew 27:56 we are told that James and Joseph were sons of a Mary distinct from the Blessed Virgin, and that Simon and Judas were not brothers of James and Joseph, but seemingly children of a brother of St. Joseph.
Jesus, on the other hand, was known to everyone as "the son of Mary" (Mark 6: 3) or "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55).
The Church has always maintained as absolutely certain that Jesus had no brothers or sisters in the full meaning of the term: it is a dogma that Mary was ever-Virgin (cf. note on Matthew 1:25).
48-50. Jesus obviously loved His Mother and St. Joseph. He uses this episode to teach us that in His Kingdom human ties do not take precedence. In Luke 8: 19 the same teaching is to be found. Jesus regards the person who does the will of His Heavenly Father as a member of His own family. Therefore, even though it means going against natural family feelings, a person should do just that when needs be in order to perform the mission the Father has entrusted to him (cf. Luke 2:49).
We can say that Jesus loved Mary more because of the bonds between them created by grace than because He was her son by natural generation: Mary's divine motherhood is the source of all our Lady's other prerogatives; but this very motherhood is, in its turn, the first and greatest of the graces with which Mary was endowed.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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