Prayer for the Day
"Thank You, dear Lord. Forgive my insensitivity and ingratitude. Help me to appreciate your unending and incredible love."
Reflection
The exodus of six hundred thousand men as well as their wives, children, and livestock--all in one night--from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Canaan--is truly beyond our imaginations (Exodus 12:37-42). 600,000 men! Even if only 25% of them had wives, that would be another 150,000 people. If each of the married couples had just one child between them, that would be another 150,000 people. That puts the total at 900,000 people! I checked the 2010 census figures for cities that fall between 600,000 and 900,000:
Imagine every man, woman and child living in one of these cities having to leave in one night without time to prepare food or pack properly for the journey. And yet, this is what happened to the Israelites without benefit of even the methods of mass communication and transportation we have today!
It was a stupendous work of a powerful God. No wonder that God wanted to be sure that Israel would never, never forget that night. It was to be celebrated with dramatic intensity each year, even to the present day.
It was this powerful God who also accomplished our redemption from sin to the freedom of adopted children through His Son Jesus. We, too, are commanded never to forget this action, but to celebrate it daily in liturgy of the Mass. Like the Israelites, we must be ever grateful for this event.
Unfortunately, we often take this great action for granted. Perhaps it would help if we ask ourselves the question, "What would life be like for me if Jesus had not loved me to the death, but rather had left me in slavery, alienated from God and from an eternal life of joy?" Think about that. You and I would have to helplessly accept the condition of alienation, emptiness, barred from love, forgiveness, and happiness.
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