Hello Friends -
The story of Exodus is about far more than the epic narrative it already is, it is about a paradigm of the way God works throughout the scriptures, and ultimately in the world. The story is about a God who hears the cries of those enslaved and acts on their behalf. It is a story about a God who rescues his people, without concern for their response. We see this story in Jesus' teaching in Luke 15. Here Jesus teaches 3 separate parables about, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons. Each story is about something lost, that will remain lost unless someone goes and finds it. The three stories culminate in the picture of father running toward his estranged son, embracing him, kissing him, and throwing him a party.
Rescue.
Redemption.
Liberation.
Re-Creation.
This is the story we see over and over throughout the scriptures, it is the story of a God who initiates love on our behalf. Maybe the best picture we have of this type of love is in the Eucharist. Jesus, sitting around a table of people who, in a few short hours, will betray and leave him, takes the celebration of passover and says, "this is my body broken for you...this is my blood poured out for you." It is this initiating love of God that draws our hearts to him, that liberates the marginalized and oppressed, and is restoring all things.
Cheers and happy Sunday!