THE EVOCATIVE VALUE OF HISTORY - C: 19th Sun in OrdTime

First Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9 (7 August 2022)

“The devout children of worthy men offered sacrifice in secret and this divine pact they struck with one accord: that the saints would share the same blessings and dangers alike; and forthwith they had begun to chant the hymns of the fathers” (Wis 18:9).

The large portion of the book of Wisdom (cf. 11:2−19:22) is dedicated to the strengthening of the argument that God rewards the just and punishes the evil. In particular, the Sage—the author of the sapiential book—cites what transpired historically in the course of the liberation of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. He recalls five concrete manifestations of God’s providential care of his chosen people. His first example is the instance when the water of the river Nile punished the Egyptians but favored the Israelites (cf. 11:6-14). The second is when animals castigated the former but protected the latter (cf. 11:15−16:15). The third is when manna rained for the sustenance of God’s people but harmed their enemies with plague of storms (cf. 11:16-29). The fourth is when darkness afflicted the Egyptians but provided light to the Israelites (cf. 17:1–18:4).

The fifth and last example is when God brought death to all Egyptian firstborns but spared those of the house of Israel from any affliction (cf. 18:5–19:22).

Today’s first reading is a part of the Sage’s ultimate analogy of God’s preferential preservation of the Israelites. The Sage recalls the defining event of their collective liberation, i.e., when the Egyptians freed the Israelites from their centuries of slavery and allowed them to return home. He describes, too, the divine pact that was established between God and his people (cf. 18:9), which is the institution of the Passover on the night before they were all finally liberated (cf. Exo 12:21-28). In the establishment of this great feast, Moses left everyone with an important instruction: “You will keep this practice forever as a statute for yourselves and your descendants. Thus, when you have entered the land which the Lord will give you as he promised, you must observe this rite” (Exo 12:24-25). Of special interest in Moses’s command is how he ends it: “When your children ask you, ‘What does this rite of yours mean?’ you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice for the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt; when he struck down the Egyptians, he delivered our houses.’” (vv. 26-27).

The main point of the Sage in recalling the Exodus event is to encourage those who suffer today that God favors the weak and virtuous but punishes the wicked. In justifying this message, he uses the historical piece of information in the time of Moses, when God rescued his chosen people from oppression.

Thus, the Sage stamps the historical value of their common past since it serves as a living reminder of God’s victory and their full submission to his will and plans.

In the Philippine society nowadays, the blatant attempt to distort important historical data looms. Every Filipino should bear in mind that what happened in the past still matters today. It is because history has an evocative value that cannot just be undermined by the next generations. Even if some of its details are unverified by solid proofs, its contribution to the unity and peace of the Filipinos at some point persists. While one can challenge its accuracy, nobody can contest its positive effect, not only to the Philippine nation, but to many colonial countries that were inspired by the Filipino spirit of communally fighting evil and corruption. We heed, then, the words of the Sage—almost a millennium after the first Passover—when he bids his audience:

“That night was known beforehand to our ancestors, so that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith, they might have courage” (Wis 18:6).

Rex Fortes, CM