19th Week in Ord. Time, Thursday – 17th August 2023 – Joshua 3,7-11.13-17; Mt 18,21-19,1
Saving Waters
The first reading from the book of Joshua presents the next phase in the history of Israel, the miraculous crossing of the Jordan into the long-awaited Promised Land. It is reminiscent of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds when the Israelites escaped from Egypt. There it was the command of Moses which drove back the Sea. Here it is the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant in which were the tablets of the Law, representing the presence and power of God, which stopped the river in its flow and allowed all the Israelites to cross in safety. However, these miraculous events had happened because of the approval and protection of Yahweh. It is the fulfilment of the solemn promise God made to free the Chosen People into slavery and to provide a home for wandering people.
There is a deliberate parallelism between the narratives of the crossing of the Jordan and entry into Canaan and the narrative of the Exodus from Egypt. The events at the beginning and the end of the Exodus departure are analogous to the crossing of the Jordan. Yahweh halts the Jordan just as he dried up the Sea of Reeds. The Ark of Yahweh leads the Israelites as did the pillar of cloud or of fire. Joshua plays the part that Moses played in the Exodus. The manna that served Israel in the desert ceases as soon as the Israelites enter Canaan and the Passover is celebrated in Gilgal after the second ‘crossing’ as it had been celebrated in Egypt before the first. In the liturgy, these water crossings are seen as anticipatory symbols of the saving waters of Baptism.
