July 11 - Friday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I

(Gn.46:1-7,28-30;   Ps.37:3-4,18-19,27-28,39-40;   Mt.10:16-23)

 

“Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt,

for there I will make you a great nation.”

 

We are as exiles in this world.  Indeed, the Lord sends us forth “like sheep among wolves.”  In Egypt must we dwell for a time, until we are prepared for the coming of Christ.

But here He meets us.  Here He weeps over us and so enables us to face the death which is upon us, which indeed surrounds us in this foreign land.  Even in our trials, in all our persecutions, He is there: He suffers with us, and we with Him.  And His Spirit is very present to lead us; it burns in our hearts to guide us, giving us the words we must speak, assuring us that Jesus is with us in all we do.

As Israel sets forth for Egypt, he is fearful.  But he calls upon the Lord in his sacrifices, and in vision once again God comes to him, providing His assurance, His continued blessing.  David’s psalm speaks so well of the protection and blessing which is ours in this land of exile: “The Lord watches over the lives of the wholehearted; their inheritance lasts forever.  The salvation of the just is from the Lord; He is their refuge in time of distress.”  Yes, He is our refuge in this land where we walk as exiles, in this world which would persecute the Word of God, pursuing it to kill it, to destroy it.  But it is even in Egypt that a great nation shall be made of Israel; here, even under slavery, the people of God shall multiply and prosper.  And so it is with us who follow Jesus: here in this world of persec