Eastertide
April 29, 2014

Read Scripture: Psalm 114

When Israel went out from Egypt,
   the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
   Israel his dominion. – Psalm 114:1-2

At first blush one wonders why the Israelites would consider Egypt’s language as strange since Jacob’s descendants had lived in Egypt for around 400 years at the time of the Exodus. They surely knew the language well enough to survive. Language in this instance may be a metaphor for the entire Egyptian experience. The Israelites apparently had held on to their own language and customs and most importantly their faith. Perhaps the “strangeness of the language” was the byproduct of being held and worked against their will. Perhaps the Israelites could never assimilate into a culture where they would never be accepted as equal because of their ethnicity.

In John 17:20-22 Jesus prays, I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, 

Does the church speak “strange language” in its attempt to meet the command of Jesus to be one? Oneness will never exist without justice. Our words mean nothing without actions that reveal our actual intent. Our words mean everything when they spew forth venom and call it love.

The saddest thing about this Psalm is that its time setting is already in the divided kingdom. Judah and Israel are separated.  Jesus said it best: …if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. (Mark 3:25)

Prayer: Lord, bless us with the gift of shared language as you did on the day of Pentecost. Make us one. Amen

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.