Now the Sojourn of the Children of Israel Who Lived in Egypt was Four Hundred and Thirty Years: Exodus 12:29-42

Exodus 12:29-42: "29 And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. 30 So Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. 31 Then he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, 'Rise, go out from among my people, both you and the children of Israel. And go, serve the LORD as you have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and be gone; and bless me also.' 33 And the Egyptians urged the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste. For they said, 'We shall all be dead.' 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. 37 Then the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides children. 38 A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds--a great deal of livestock. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt; for it was not leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared provisions for themselves. 40 Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years--on that very same day--it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 42 It is a night of solemn observance to the LORD for bringing them out of the land of Egypt. This is that night of the LORD, a solemn observance for all the children of Israel throughout their generations."

The Israelites after 430 years of being in Egypt, finally start their journey back to their own land; The land of Canaan. This sojourn in Egypt was exactly 430 years, to the very day, we are told. The night of this Exodus from the sojourning in Egypt was to be held as a solemn observance to the Lord. It was kept as a vigil.

Today, when we speak about a solemn observance, we are referring to a specific way of celebration. For example a solemn Mass is a Divine Service that is sung in its entirety. This includes the readings, the creed, everything. The only exceptions being the sermon and the General Prayer, which are never sung. This solemnity may even be accompanied by the use of processionals, and the use of incense. All these solemnities are meant to increase the importance of the Service. So that everyone who participates in the celebration, may know that what is celebrated is important. Most of these solemnities center around the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

These solemnities often spill over into the prayer offices of the specific day, so that at Matins and Vespers, the entire office is sung, and again, there are special activities that are done on these days. These days typically for the New Testament Church, are the Sundays and Feast days.

In the Lutheran Church the days marked as days of special solemnity include first and foremost what are called the High Feast days. These are four in number: Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday (Pentecost), and Trinity. These High Feast days are celebrated for a whole eight days, so each of these High Feasts contain what is called an octave, that is, that the feast day is re-celebrated throughout eight days, and on the eighth day the feast is commemorated. This simply means that the Collect for this day is prayed in all services up to and including the services on the eighth day. The octaves also carry the same festive atmosphere as the Feast day themselves.

The octaves for these High Feast days are: The Circumcision of our Lord, Quasitmodo geniti, Trinity Sunday, and The First Sunday after Trinity (this is why this Sunday has white paraments instead of green), respectively. The only other day in the Church year that has an octave (besides the anniversary of the dedication of the Church which is a specific day of solemnity in a particular parish) is Epiphany. This is due to the fact that Epiphany was the original celebration of Christmas, that is, the incarnation. It's octave is the Baptism of the Lord on Jan. 13.

These High Feasts are technically the only days that should be called "Feast Days," for all the other celebrations in the Church Year, are technically called "Festivals." There are both Greater festivals and lessor festivals. These Greater, or Major festivals in the Lutheran Church are: The Sundays in Advent, The Circumcision, The Epiphany, Septuagesima, Sexagesima, Quinquagesima, Ash Wednesday, the Sundays in Lent, the Days of Holy Week, Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, the Sundays after Easter, The Ascension, the Sunday after Ascension, Whit-Monday, Whit-Tuesday, the Sunday after Trinity, Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, The Dedication or Anniversary of a Parish, The Feast of Title.

The lessor, or minor festivals include all Apostles, Evangelists, and Martyrs Days, The Presentation, the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Annunciation, The Transfiguration, St. Michael and all Angels Day, Thanksgiving, a Harvest festival, a Mission festival, and a Day of Humiliation and Prayer. These days may be marked by special solemnity, but the Greater festivals are always marked by special solemnity.

You will notice that certain Greater Festivals are within penitential times of the Church Year, the solemnity of these days is marked by the penitential character, and are celebrated with this in mind. This includes the exclusion of the Gloria in Excelsis, or the absence of the Alleluias, (like we are currently observing) or it may include cross and images of our Lord being covered by violet monks cloth, or the tryptychs being closed, or the absense of flowers, or the use of the organ only being used to support the choir and congregation.

And so, we can see what it means to observe a solemn occasion in the Church. The event of the Exodus was also observed in this fashion by the people of God. It was done this way, not simply because it was an important day to remember, like one remembers Independence Day, or Memorial Day, it was celebrated with solemnity because on that day, the Lord God showed His salvation for His people. For the New Testament Church, our days of solemnity are all about the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is His life and work which we celebrate, which we remember. For one cannot have salvation, if one does not know our Lord Jesus. And one cannot know our Lord Jesus, unless we are told about Him. And so, throughout the year we hear over and over again, what our Lord Jesus did for us, and continues to do for; In His birth, and ministry, and death and resurrection. We also get to hear of the wonderful faith and life of those who preached and proclaimed our Lord Jesus, and of His Blessed Virgin Mother, who bore Him for us. Therefore, as we hear over and over again the life story of our Lord Jesus, throughout our lives, we come to know Him, and trust in Him and love Him, so that we learn to hope in His promises.

This is no different for the Israelites. For as they yearly, and weekly, remembered the Pascha, they were always reminded of our Lord God's deliverance from slavery and oppression. May the Lord God, ever keep us in the one true faith by keeping our ears attuned to hearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who delivered us from the slavery and oppression of sin by His death.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

How Is It You Do Not Understand?: St. Mark 8:10-9:1

St. Mark 8:10-9:1: "8:10 [He] immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha. 11 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. 12 But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, 'Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.' 13 And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. 14 Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then He charged them, saying, 'Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.' 16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'It is because we have no bread.' 17 But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, 'Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? 18 Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?' They said to Him, 'Twelve.' 20 'Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?' And they said, 'Seven.' 21 So He said to them, 'How is it you do not understand?' 22 Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him. 23 So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. 24 And he looked up and said, 'I see men like trees, walking.' 25 Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. 26 Then He sent him away to his house, saying, 'Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town.' 27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, 'Who do men say that I am?' 28 So they answered, 'John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.' 29 He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' Peter answered and said to Him, 'You are the Christ.' 30 Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him. 31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke this word openly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, 'Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.' 34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, 'Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.'

9:1 And He said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.'"

This pericope comes immediately after (as the Evangelist St. Mark points out with his favorite word, "immediately") the feeding of the 4,000. What is interesting about this is that after performing this miracle, our Lord doesn't stick around to socialize. He "immediately" gets in a boat and departs for another region. There are two reasons for this, one, so that those who have been fed both spiritually and physically, do not have a cause to rush Him off and make Him a King. Second, our Lord rushes off to go to another area, so that His Word may be proclaimed to yet more people. So our Lord Jesus, and His disciples go to Dalmanutha.

 

And upon His arrival in this territory, He is confronted by the unbelievers, the Pharisees, which are the people who need to hear His Word the most. The Pharisees represent the assaults of the devil upon Jesus, and it seems whenever He goes to a new place the devil is there in the form of someone or something to create a roadblock to His spreading the Gospel. And so the Pharisees, to test Him, ask Him for a sign. This is particularly odd, since our Lord has just completed a sign, by feeding 4,000 men plus women and children. To the Jew, one could not help associate this feeding with the feeding that Moses provided to the Israelites in the wilderness through manna.

 

There is in this pericope and the preceding narrative of the feeding of the 4,000 a contrast. Those who believe the Word of our Lord Jesus, who run after Him and chase Him down to hear His holy Word, are given a sign. The Pharisees on the other hand, being unbelievers, and only wishing to test and temp our Lord, do not receive a sign. And our Lord Jesus tells them no sign will be given. Most significant about this sign of the feeding of the 4,000, and the not giving of a sign to the Pharisees, is our Lord Jesus' reaction in both cases. His reaction to the 4,000? He gives thanks. To the Pharisees? He "sighed deeply in His spirit," that is, He groans.

 

Our Lord Jesus is not alone in His reaction, for this is the common response of those who preach the Word of God. When met with great faith, and desire to hear God's Word, there is much giving of thanks. However, when met with unbelief and resistance to the things of God, there is much groaning. And our Lord Jesus shows us what to do when met with much unbelief and testing of God, He leaves. And this is quite right and proper, for where there is hope of correction, one should stay, and seek that correction, but where people show themselves incorrigible, we should depart, for the evil will remain with these people.

 

Therefore, He gets into a boat, and goes to the other side. But even in the boat, our Lord does not get any rest, for after warning His disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herod, meaning their evilness and unbelief, which is masked by good works and a religious life, they start thinking amonst themselves that He is chastizing them for not bringing bread. We see in this the unbelief of the Pharisees rubbing off onto the disciples.

 

This also is odd, as our Lord Jesus points out, because they had not only just been witness to the feeding of the 4,000, but earlier had seen the feeding of the 5,000. And in both of these cases, as our Lord points out, there were basketfuls left over. So that their bellies need not wonder about how it is going to get its next meal, for our Lord Jesus will supply it.

 

All this unbelief and doubt from the Pharisees and disciples, or to say it another way, their spiritual blindness, is met by an actual blind man. This man is physically blind, but spiritually he sees that our Lord is the Messiah. He has faith and trust, and can see who the Lord is, even though he cannot see the Lord. There is yet a whole other level to this miracle that is to be understood mystically.

 

For Bethsaida, the place where the Lord Jesus went to, and from where the blind man was from, means "house of the valley." This calls to mind the 23rd Psalm, where we pray, "yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." Bethsaida, represents the world, or the place where sin, death, and the devil rule, and the blind man represents all those who are spiritually blind within this world. Therefore, our Lord Jesus brings the man out of Bethsaida, that is, He takes Him out of the world of sin, death, and the devil, so that He might give Him eyes to see. Mystically speaking the Lord brings Him into the Church, where He preaches to Him His holy Word, represented by the spittle, which comes from His holy mouth. The touching with His hand represents the means of grace, whereby the Holy Ghost, creates and sustains faith and life.

 

Therefore, in this healing, we see how we are healed of our own faithlessness and doubt, that is, our own spiritual blindness. We are healed by the preaching of the Word and the Sacraments, where the Holy Ghost imparts to us faith and life by these means, so that we see the good gifts of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Upon this healing, the Lord Jesus heads toward Caesarea Philippi, and along the way He inquires of His disciples of whom people say Him to be. Here we have the bold confession of St. Peter, who rightly calls our Lord Jesus, the Son of God. We are told that this was revealed to St. Peter. He did not come to this revelation by himself, but it was given to him by the Heavenly Father. Here it is then that our Lord after hearing the confession and belief of the disciples that He was believed to be the Son of God, He now reveals to them what the Son of God must do, and that is, that He must suffer many things, be crucified, buried, and arise on the third day.

 

The Evangelist St. Mark, seems to be just throwing a bunch of narratives together haphazardly, but there is a rhyme and reason to the order of these events. For after the sign of the feeding of the 4,000, and the unbelief of both the Pharisees and disciples, we are given the enlightenment of a blind man. It is here that the disciples reveal their own ability to see whom our Lord Jesus is, He is the Messiah. They know this through the revelation that has been given to them through the preaching and miracles of our Lord. But having confessed to know Who our Lord Jesus is, He tells them exactly what that means. It means a cross and death. To this St. Peter objects. Perhaps he believes he is speaking on behalf of all the disciples. Our Lord even turns to look at the disciples to suggest this may be the case. But the objection to our Lord's crucifixion and death, comes from only one individual, and that is Satan, the Accuser.

 

For without the cross, the Accuser, can go on accusing people of their sin. But with the cross, this accusation is rendered useless. So to stop our Lord from fulfilling the work for which He was born into our flesh, is to be in league with Satan, for only he desires this to be.

 

Our Lord then, after calling the crowds and the disciples to Himself, tells everybody to take up their cross and follow Him. Their cross, is His cross. This is just another way to say, "Do not be ashamed of the cross of Christ, for it is our life and salvation. It is the power of salvation for those who believe." This is the reality of the Christian life. Our life is one lived under the cross of our Lord. And that may include persecution and trial from the Pharisees and unbelievers of our day. But more than that it is the means by which our forgiveness, life and salvation has been won for us. To live under the cross, for us Christians, is no different than living in one's Holy Baptism, for in it we daily drown the Old Adam, or to say it another way, we crucify our sins and evil desires once again through the remembrance of our Lord's death and burial. And as He rose from the dead, we too, rise to new life every time we drown the Old Adam, and live as redeemed children of the Lord.

 

Therefore, let us cast off the leaven of the Pharisees, and rejoice that our eyes have been opened up to see that our Lord Jesus is the Son of God come into the world to suffer and die for our salvation. And let us take up this cross of His, and follow Him, by hearing His holy Word, and enjoying His Blessed Sacraments.

 

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

It Is The Lord's Passover: Exodus 12:1-28

Exodus 12:1-28: "1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 'This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: "On the tenth day of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of the persons; according to each man's need you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. 8 Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire--its head with its legs and its entrails. 10 You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire. 11 And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. 12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. 14 So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15 Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat--that only may be prepared by you. 17 So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance. 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. 19 For seven days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a native of the land. 20 You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread."' 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the LORD will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, "What do you mean by this service?" 27 that you shall say, "It is the Passover sacrifice of the LORD, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households."' So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did."

Today's reading shows us a picture of the atonement. For we get to see the Passover of our Lord. In this Passover, we also see the image of the Supper that would come out of this Passover meal, which we Christians celebrate every Sunday and Feast day, that is, the Lord's Supper.

The similarities between the Passover and the Lord's Supper are striking. Obviously, they are both meals. They both offer bread and flesh (of the Lamb, representing the blood of the Blessed Sacrament). There is a particular rite that is to be followed for the meal to be valid. It is to be eaten only by the Israelites, that is, the people of God, and what was to be served was to be consumed completely by those in the family. What is leftover is to be disposed of properly. Both meals serve as a remembrance of the work of God's salvation from slavery and oppression.

And rightly these meals should be connected, and serve as a remembrance of what our Lord God has done for us, for they both picture the atonement, that is, the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. A lamb without blemish, without broken bones, which is a male lamb, is sacrificed and its blood is poured out as a sacrifice, to bring deliverance from death. Our Lord Jesus is also the Spotless Lamb, whose bones were not broken, who was male, and his Blood was shed to redeem us from sin, death, and the devil.

The blood that was put upon the lintel and doorposts, served as a mark that those who dwelt within that house, were covered with the blood of the Lamb. It was not placed upon the threshold, so that it would not be trampled upon. More interesting, is that in Early Christian symbolism, the symbol of this blood upon the threshold was symbolized by what is called a "tau" cross, that is, a cross in the form of a "T." And if one considers the lintel being the top of the "T" and the doorposts are joined close together, one can see how this can be. The point, however, is that the Early Christians, recognized the atonement, that is, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Passover. They recognized this event as the means by which the Israelites were claimed as the people of God.

For that is really what is taking place here in the Passover, our Lord God, is declaring, by the blood of the lamb, that the people of Israel were now His people. He separates them from the Egyptians, by not harming them, but only harming the Egyptians. They would now be His people, and He would teach them His commands, and how He desired to be worshipped by Him.

We too, are the people of God, we are placed into God's family through Holy Baptism, for it is in Holy Baptism that the Blood of the Lamb of God is placed upon us, symbolically through the holy water of Holy Baptism. In Holy Baptism, we are washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb, and are made the people of God, and on account of this cleansing, this Blood, our sins are passed over, and we are considered pure and holy in God's sight.

And just like the people of Israel, who in the night of the Pascha, ate the meal which both served as a sacrifice of atonement and a meal of remembrance of what took place in Egypt. We too eat the meal which is a remembrance of the one eternal sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. We eat His Body and drink His Blood, in bread and wine, and remember that His sacrifice of death on the cross, won for us salvation, and in this Blessed Sacrament, we are given forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas