Reflection for the 5th Sunday of Easter

Entrance Antiphon for the 5th Sunday of Easter

O sing a new song to the Lord, for he has worked wonders;
in the sight of the nations he has shown his deliverance, alleluia.

At the Easter Vigil, we heard the story of the Lord delivering the enslaved Israelites from cruel oppression in Egypt. Pharaoh’s reluctance to release the Israelites made the rescue more dramatic. God’s power was on full display. Did someone fail to notice the Nile turning blood red? The teeming frogs? Certainly, no Egyptian missed the death of a firstborn. Indeed, the Egyptians were glad to see the Israelites gone because it would mean the end of the plagues.

For the Israelites, the immediate reaction was one of gratitude: “Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord, ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.’” (Exodus 15:1) The Psalms are proof that even the memory of deliverance made later generations of Israelites sing.

Though the Exodus story is the most dramatic account of Israel’s deliverance from a hostile nation, the pattern repeats over and over again throughout the Old Testament. Christian tradition understands these Old Testament deliverance stories as types of the supreme deliverance worked in Jesus’ resurrection. Yet, there are important differences.

First, the effect on the nations is different. The Egyptians experience the Exodus as losers. In contrast, the deliverance worked in the resurrection is for the benefit of all the nations. Second, all of the Egyptians were eyewitnesses to the “wonders” the Lord worked. But, there were relatively few witnesses to the resurrection. Most learned about it through hearing the testimony of another. Third, the Old Testament pattern recurs precisely because Israel’s victories were not definitive. Christ’s resurrection is decisive. God continues to bless us with grace, but this is the effect of Christ’s passion and resurrection.

Jesus’ resurrection gives everyone a reason to rejoice but it falls to us to share our joy with others. In today’s introit psalmist urges his hearers to do just that. We testify to God’s power as witnesses and beneficiaries of His deliverance as we “sing a new song…in the sight of the nations.”