Waiting in joyful hope for His mercy endures forever

Ex 12:37-42
The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the little ones. A crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them, besides their livestock, very numerous flocks and herds. Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened, they baked it into unleavened loaves. They had rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the journey.

The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. At the end of four hundred and thirty years, all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this very date. This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out of the land of Egypt; so on this same night all the children of Israel must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations.

Ps 136:1 and 23-24, 10-12, 13-15
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who remembered us in our abjection,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever.

Who smote the Egyptians in their first-born,
for his mercy endures forever;
And brought out Israel from their midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
for his mercy endures forever.

Who split the Red Sea in twain,
for his mercy endures forever;
And led Israel through its midst,
for his mercy endures forever;
But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his mercy endures forever.

Mt 12:14-21
The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many people followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not contend or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the Gentiles will hope.


From the Order of the Mass: (After the Pater Noster)
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil, and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

To vigil . . . is to wait in hope; to wait in joyful hope if we can, or sorrowful hope, or terrified hope; but with hope nonetheless that clings to the confidence that God is in charge and it is God who will bring the newness of life.

The Israelites were compelled to Vigil through the night we call Passover, waiting for God to deliver them from their misery in Egypt. They did not know what the delivery would look like. What their new birth as God’s child would entail. They did not yet have an imagination of “Waiting for the Lord,” but they would very soon. And then in perpetuity they were to stir up that imagination and remember each year by spending a night waiting. As Christians, we too spend a night each spring waiting with the disciples for the Lord’s victory over death. They did not know precisely for what they waited, but for them too, it was both death and birth.

It’s over 100° today! Mid-summer, because it feels like I’m in the desert with the Israelites, is an interesting time to be reminded of the vigil that we live each day as we wait in joyful hope for the victory of God’s compassion in our broken world. Let today be a real vigil – an opportunity to remember what wonders God has done for us, and will do for us tomorrow.