Saturday of Holy Week, 19 April 2025
NEW PASSOVER
A Reading from the Book of Exodus 14: 15 – 15:1
“Then the Lord said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to set out. And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it in two, that the Israelites may pass through the sea on dry land. But I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord, when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.
The angel of God, who had been leading Israel’s army, now moved and went around behind them. And the column of cloud, moving from in front of them, took up its place behind them, so that it came between the Egyptian army and that of Israel. And when it became dark, the cloud illumined the night; and so the rival camps did not come any closer together all night long. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord drove back the sea with a strong east wind all night long and turned the sea into dry ground. The waters were split, so that the Israelites entered into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left.
The Egyptians followed in pursuit after them—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen—into the midst of the sea. But during the watch just before dawn, the Lord looked down from a column of fiery cloud upon the Egyptian army and threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could drive only with difficulty. With that the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
Then the Lord spoke to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their horsemen. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal flow. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward it when the Lord cast the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the horsemen. Of all Pharaoh’s army which had followed the Israelites into the sea, not even one escaped. But the Israelites had walked on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water as a wall to their right and to their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of Egypt. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and saw the great power that the Lord had shown against Egypt, the people feared the Lord. They believed in the Lord and in Moses his servant.
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:
Exodus 15: 1-18 – The Canticle of Moses:
I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted;
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
The Lord is a warrior;
The Lord is His name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
He has thrown into the sea;
And the choicest of his officers are
drowned in the Red Sea.
The waters cover them;
They went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, Lord, is majestic in power;
Your right hand, Lord, destroys the enemy.
And in the greatness of Your excellence
You overthrow those who rise up against You;
You send out Your burning anger,
and it consumes them like chaff.
At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up.
The flowing waters stood up like a heap;
The depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoils;
I shall be satisfied against them;
I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’
You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them;
They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like You among the gods, Lord?
Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
Awesome in praises, working wonders?
You reached out with Your right hand,
The earth swallowed them.
In Your faithfulness You have led the people
whom You have redeemed;
In Your strength You have guided them
to Your holy habitation.
The peoples have heard, they tremble;
Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia.
Then the chiefs of Edom were terrified;
The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them;
All the inhabitants of Canaan have despaired.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
By the greatness of Your arm
they are motionless as stone,
Until Your people pass over, Lord,
Until the people pass over whom
You have purchased.
You will bring them and plant them
in the mountain of Your inheritance,
The place, Lord, which You have
made as Your dwelling,
The sanctuary, Lord, which
Your hands have established.
The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
————
At the Easter Vigil tonight, there will be 9 readings of which 7 comes from the Old Testament and 2 from the New Testament. If necessary, the number of readings may be reduced, but this reading from the Book of Exodus should not be removed. For the Jews, this moment in their lives as a chosen people is very important and is called the PASSOVER, or Pesach in Hebrew, the Jewish festival of freedom that marks the exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Their celebration of the Passover would start at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
The death of Jesus is the NEW PASSOVER – FREEDOM FROM THE SLAVERY OF SIN.
Let us ponder on the past events in our lives. . . We may find that we also have our own PASSOVERS to celebrate – times when God spared us from the slavery of sin.
Jesus, Lord Almighty, thank you for saving us, unworthy people that we are!
