The first of three meditations I have written for the Center for Biblical Studies
The famous story of Israelite exodus, via miraculous escape from pursuing Egyptian armies through a parted Red Sea, culminates in the Song of Moses. Anglicans may know this as a canticle for morning prayer: a hymn to the LORD’s power and might, his faithfulness to the people he redeemed (Ex. 15:13).
It’s worth reflecting on the liturgical fact that as Christians sing this song, like when we pray the psalms, we add at the end a trinitarian coda: “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.” This frame of Christian prayer underlines the consistency of God’s character in all of Scripture, across time and space. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Thus, God is ever interested in saving and perpetuating a people, across many generations, who may learn to say of their own life: I also came up out of Egypt (13:8). Or, as in Jesus’ wedding banquet parable: I was one whom God found on the street and rescued, and am now, by grace, clothed in life and light (Mt. 22:9-14).
In this way, we become scriptural people: a people who, by knowing the scriptures, know the power of God, as Jesus repeatedly demonstrates to the baffled Pharisees and Sadducees.
Prayer
Lord, shine the light of your Word on my life. Help me to understand and live by your teaching. Make me your humble child, glad with the joy of your presence. Amen.
Christopher Wells, PhD is Director of Unity, Faith and Order for the Anglican Communion. He oversees the Communion’s ecumenical relations and serves as secretary of the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order (IASCUFO). From 2009 to 2022, Dr. Wells was executive director and publisher of the Living Church Foundation.