TUESDAY,
FIRST WEEK OF LENT, YEAR II
A READING
FROM THE BOOK OF EXODUS
The
first plague of Egypt: Exodus 6:29 – 7:25
The LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh King
of Egypt all that I say to you.” But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, I am of
uncircumcised lips; how then shall Pharaoh listen to me?”
Tuesday of the First Week in Lent Year II
A Reading from The Life of Moses
by St Gregory of Nyssa
St Gregory of
Nyssa, The Life of Moses, 2.31-36
(SC 1bis:40-41); Word in Season
II, 1st ed.
The Life of Moses was written sometime between 390 and 392. This
reading stresses the need for faith, which is represented by Aaron’s staff.
Gregory’s interpretation of Exodus 7 is combined with Saint John’s typological
interpretation of Numbers 21,9.
Those who love Christ should not be troubled
at our taking the transformation of the staff into a serpent as a reference to
the incarnation. The serpent may seem an incongruous symbol for this mystery
and yet it is an image Truth himself does not repudiate, since he says in the Gospel:
As Moses lifted up the serpent in
the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And the meaning is
clear. Holy Scripture calls the father of sin a serpent, so what is born of him
must be a serpent too; sin must have the same name as its father. Now since the
Apostle asserts that the Lord was made sin for our sake by clothing himself in our
sinful nature, it cannot be inappropriate to apply this symbol to him. If sin
is a serpent and the Lord became sin, it must be obvious to all that in
becoming sin he became a serpent, which is simply another name for sin.
He became a serpent for our sake, so
that he could consume and destroy the serpents of Egypt brought to life by the
sorcerers. Once he had done this he was changed into a staff again, and by this
staff sinners are chastised and those who are climbing the difficult ascent of
virtue are supported. With good hope they lean upon the staff of faith, since faith
is the assurance of things hoped for.
Those who attain an understanding of
these mysteries become gods in comparison with people who resist the truth, who
are seduced by the deceitfulness of the material and contingent, and disdain as
useless listening to Him Who Is. They value nothing but material benefits
satisfying to their irrational instincts.
On the other hand, those who receive
strength from the Light and great power and authority over their enemies are
like well-trained athletes, stripping to confront their opponents with courage
and confidence. They hold in their hands the staff which is the teaching of
faith, and by that staff they will conquer the serpents of Egypt.
St Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses, 2.31-36
(SC 1bis:40-41); Word in Season II, 1st ed.
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