Memory of the Saints and the Prophets

Memorial of Saint Anthony (+1073) and Theodosius (+1074), founders of the Lavra caves of Kyiv. They are fathers of Russian and Ukrainian monasticism. Remembrance of Christians in Ukraine. Prayer for peace in Ukraine.

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Exodus 16,1-5.9-15

Setting out from Elim, the whole community of Israelites entered the desert of Sin, lying between Elim and Sinai -- on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. And the whole community of Israelites began complaining about Moses and Aaron in the desert and said to them, 'Why did we not die at Yahweh's hand in Egypt, where we used to sit round the flesh pots and could eat to our heart's content! As it is, you have led us into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death!' Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Look, I shall rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day the people must go out and collect their ration for the day; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they will follow my law or not. On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they have brought in, this must be twice as much as they collect on ordinary days.' Moses then said to Aaron, 'Say to the whole community of Israelites, "Approach Yahweh's presence, for he has heard your complaints." ' As Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israelites, they turned towards the desert, and there the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. Yahweh then spoke to Moses and said, 'I have heard the Israelites' complaints. Speak to them as follows, "At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have bread to your heart's content, and then you will know that I am Yahweh your God." ' That evening, quails flew in and covered the camp, and next morning there was a layer of dew all round the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was something fine and granular, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground. As soon as the Israelites saw this, they said to one another, 'What is that ?' not knowing what it was. 'That', Moses told them, 'is the food which Yahweh has given you to eat.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

In this chapter of Exodus, we find ourselves in a time immediately following the exit from Egypt, the result of the great work of liberation wrought by God for his people. The passage begins by describing an uneasy situation. Faced with the reality of the desert, Israel 'murmurs.' The use of this verb is significant. It is found in the Old Testament almost only in reference to Israel's reaction on the way to the promised land. The term indicates a complaint combined with a claim to something. Israel's attitude does not seem to be considered negatively in itself, but as a manifestation of a value judgement on the path taken: not a path towards life but towards death ('you have brought us out to die'). One loses sight of the place and the goal towards which one is heading. From being a land of passage, the desert is seen as a place of death. Hence the nostalgia for life in Egypt, the desire to go back, the comparison between the condition of slavery in Egypt and the fatigue of the journey. Concern for food and water, fear, weariness, make Israel forget what God has accomplished for them. In the desert, they feel alone with themselves, more enslaved than before, and seem to have become incapable of 'memory,' that 'memory' that in remembering the past helps one to live in the present and move towards the future. In its value judgment, Israel distorts the meaning of God's salvation, interpreting it as a path of death. How often are our laments and longings the result of a small and forgetful faith? How often do we thwart God's love for us because of fatigue, weariness, disappointment, worries, loneliness? But the Lord does not allow himself to be caged by Israel's recriminations and is always ready to intervene so that what has been built is not undone.