Reading for Thursday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial: St Bridget, Religious

From: Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b

The Israelites Arrive in Sinai (Continuation)
[1] On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. [2] And when they set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain.

[9] And the Lord said to Moses, "Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever."

Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

The Theophany on Sinai
[10] And the Lord said to Moses,"Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, [11] and be ready by the third day; for on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

[16] On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. [17] Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain; [18] And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. [19] And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. [20] And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain;
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Commentary:
19:1-25. This chapter is written as part of a magnificent liturgy is which the events of Sinai are re-enacted for the reader. The sacred author, then, does not seek to provide an exact, scholarly report on what happened there; what he is providing, rather, is a theological interpretation of the real contact which took place between God and his people.

As in other important sections of this book, it draws on the great traditions of Israel but combines them so skillfully that they have become inseparable; only now and then can one identify traces of particular traditions. The text as it now stands is all of a piece. In this chapter there is a prologue (v. 9), summing up what follows, and the theophany proper (vv. 10-25).

19:1-2. This method of calculating time (v. 1) is one of the traces of the Priestly tradition, always keen to give dates a symbolic meaning (cf. 16:1 and 17:1). Three months is a very brief stage in the prolonged sojourn in the Sinai: in this way time becomes a sign of the religious importance of the events.

19:10-25. This description of the theopany on Sinai contains features of a solemn liturgy in order to highlight the majesty and transcendence of God. Verses 10-15 cover as it were the preparation for the great event, and vv. 1620 the event itself.

The preparation is very detailed: ritual purification in the days previous, ablutions and everything possible done to ensure that the participants have the right dispositions, even a ban on sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 15:16ff) as a sign of exclusive concentration on God who is coming to visit. Also, the fact that the people have to keep within bounds is a tangible way of showing the transcendence of God. Once Jesus Christ, God made man, comes, no barrier will any longer to imposed.

The manifestation of God took place on the third day.; The smoke, the fire and the earthquake are external signs of the presence of God, who is the master of nature. The two trumpet blasts (vv. 16, 19), the people's march to the foot of the mountain and then standing to attention – all give a liturgical tone to their acknowledgment of the Lord as their only Sovereign. All these things and even the voice of God in the thunder convey the idea that this awesome storm was something unique, for what was happening this special presence of God on Sinai, could never happen again.

Israel will never forget this religious experience, as we can see from the Psalms (cf. Ps 18:8-9; 29:3-4; 77:17-18; 97:2ff). In the New Testament, extraordinary divine manifestations will carry echoes of this theophany (cf. Mt 27:45; 51; Acts 2:2-4).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.