In the past weeks we have retraced so many image rich stories, which are core for our religious memory.
The Exodus event gave birth to a nation which understood itself to be the People of God. It is this story which provided the backdrop for what became the second exodus where Jesus the Christ opens the way to a freedom for all of us, giving us our particular identity as the People of God who anticipate the new promised land of the Kingdom of God.
Let’s summarise the themes – the realisation:
- that God sides with oppressed peoples in slavery
- that God raises up leaders who have the faith and courage to confront the Pharaohs of this world
- that God is not just a tribal deity but the very ground of all Being
- that God’s redemptive acts are “historical”
- that decisive moments happen such as passing through the waters of freedom
- that pilgrimage depends on trusting the grace of God
- that living in covenant is based on gratitude and obligation but this requires the spelling out of boundaries
- that God’s commands are grounded in the love of God and neighbour
- that the promised land is intended to reflect a choice for life
- that Israel’s true purpose was to make known that the whole earth is God’s.
What a story! No wonder this saga has continued to inspire peoples down through the centuries!
Jonathan Barker