Saturday, December 18, 2004 Fish, Wine, & Oil
Martyrs Sebastian and Zoe of Rome
Kellia: Exodus 6:16, 18-20, 23-7:6 Epistle: Galatians 3:8-12 Gospel: St. Luke 13:18-29
Exodus 6:16, 18-20, 23-7:6, especially vs. 27: "It was they who spoke to
Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron." Following the
reading from St. Luke's Gospel at the Third Royal Hour of the Nativity, an exclamation is offered to God: "Blessed is the
Lord God, blessed is the Lord day by day; the God of our salvation. Our God is the God of salvation" (from Psalm
67:20,21 LXX). What are the two greatest acts of our saving God? They are the Exodus, His bringing out of His People
from slavery in Egypt when Moses and Aaron were His spokesmen, and the Incarnation of God the Son, when God brought
mankind out from bondage to sin, Satan, and death. At His birth, "a multitude of the heavenly host" praised God for His
wonderful mystery: "Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will" (Lk. 2:13,14). Although God
"brought out" men by these two saving events, can these two acts be compared? In the first of His acts, God brought out
only Israel, His chosen People, while in the latter, the whole of benighted mankind received salvation so "that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Jn. 3:16). In the first, the Lord raised up human spokesmen,
Moses and Aaron, but at the Incarnation of God an angelic host announced the news. Still, we may learn much of God's
grace and mystery by comparing these two salvific events.. In both of God's mighty acts, He drew upon the tribe of Levi.
The opening of today's Exodus reading details the genealogy of Moses and Aaron from Levi (Ex. 6:16-20). The lineage of
the Most Pure Theotokos, the Mother of the Word of God in the flesh, was from both the tribe of Judah and the tribe of
Levi. St. Demetrius of Rostov reports that Joachim, the father of the Virgin Mary, was from Judah, while "her mother, the
holy righteous Anna, was the daughter of Matthan the priest, who was of the line of Aaron. Thus, the most pure Virgin was
by her father of royal descent, and by her mother, of high-priestly lineage," that is from the tribe of Levi.
God raised up spokesmen in both instances to address a reigning tyrant and declare freedom for His People. "The Lord
said to Moses, 'I Am the Lord; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you'" (vs. 29). Christ our God Himself spoke
directly to our greatest enemy, the one who sought to tempt Him away from His mission of salvation (Mt. 4:1-11).
The Lord made His spokesmen "as God" to both tyrants (see Ex. 6:29), and the Lord told the Disciples, "I saw Satan fall
like lightning from heaven" (Lk. 10:18).
In both cases, the goodness of God only hardened the heart of the tyrant. "I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I
multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you" (Ex. 7:3,4). Though Satan left the Lord
Jesus after he tempted Him, he returned with more sinister intent: "then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot" (Lk.
22:3). Neither tyrant would listen to the word of the Lord. Pharaoh did not, and Judas, one of the Twelve, after receiving
bread from Life Himself, still gave his heart to Satan (Jn. 13:27).
God leveled great Judgment against the tyrants when He acted for His Beloved. The Egyptians learned Who is the Lord,
when God stretched forth His hand upon Egypt (Ex. 7:5). The Lord's defeat of death by death was judgment, "because the
ruler of this world [was] judged" (Jn. 16:11).
What God did in Egypt for His People was a type of the great Salvation which He worked once and for all for His People in
the coming of Christ Who brought us from death to life.
Thy Christ, becoming a citizen of this world and giving commandments of salvation, released us from delusion and brought
us into knowledge of Thee, our true God and Father.