March 30, 2025

Dear Parishioners,

As I did last week, I want to focus on the very first line of this weekend’s first reading: “The LORD said to Joshua, ‘Today I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you’.”

A quick bit of context. Joshua was Moses’ successor, Moses’ apprentice. Joshua was the one who actually took the Israelites back into the promised land after forty years of being in the desert. Moses died before they were able to cross the border back home. When the Israelites made it at last to the finish line, the manna, which had been feeding the people in the desert, ceased, and God told the people they could now eat naturally from the harvest of the land. And God uttered the above line to Joshua–that the “reproach of Egypt” has been removed.

This is interesting. The group of Israelites entering back home weren’t really Egyptians, like the previous generations. They were born in the desert after the Passover night. The nation was forty years in the desert, and most of the Israelites who had the specific “reproach of Egypt” were dead. This new generation of Israelites weren’t “sinners” the way the previous generation was. The previous generation was the one who doubted, the one who wanted to return to Egypt when things were difficult in the desert, and the one responsible for the nation being stuck so long in the desert. The new generation is good, hence their ability to enter the promised land. So, what is the “reproach of Egypt” God is talking about to this new generation, why did he feel the need to mention it, and why would he make it the very first thing he said when they made it home?

It can almost be seen as an image of original sin. Even though these Israelites aren’t specifically responsible for the bad things of Egypt, they still have some mark of Egypt on them. And that mark is a source of shame for them, which is why God calls it “the reproach.” The Israelites were not proud of their past. They were hiding from their roots, searching for some purpose, some identity. Remember Moses when he encountered the burning bush. He was in exile in Midian, trying to bury his past.

What God is telling the people is that they no longer have to be ashamed of their past. God didn’t say “I am removing Egypt from you.” He just said the reproach of Egypt. That is, the thing that weighs heavy on them about their past. “Yes,” God was essentially saying to them, “you don’t have perfect ancestors and you still have your flaws, but that doesn’t have to be a burden for you. You don’t have to erase your history. I was with you all then and that was all part of my plan. Your past was heavy so that your future can be light.”

The prodigal son, like this new generation of Israelites returning home, heard that voice of God while he was in his own desert. He “came to his senses.” That is, he had the “reproach of Egypt” removed from him. While his childhood might have been difficult in his eyes, he was able to realize God was present to him and planned it specifically that way. He was able to see that his home was not a curse, but a blessing.

I like to imagine that the prodigal son, upon returning home, stayed home and eventually became like his father, a merciful loving man. So too will we become like the Father if we allow him to remove the reproach from Egypt from our hearts.

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We will have Stations of the Cross on Friday, April 4th at 7pm in the upper church. A reminder that our Lenten Taize Prayer service, led by your Sunday Mass choir, will be Tuesday, April 8th at 7:30pm. Thank you to the Mormans for the contemporary Lenten music service this past Thursday, March 27th at 7:00pm in the HFC.

Looking ahead to Holy Week, our schedule will be: Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s at 7pm, Good Friday Passion Service with Veneration of the Cross at 3pm, Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday at 7pm. Keep in mind there are no daily Masses in the morning on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We will, however, have Morning Prayer at 9am in the UC. On Good Friday, we will have Stations of the Cross in the UC at 12pm, confessions at 12pm, and another Stations of the Cross at 5:30pm in the HFC. On Holy Saturday there will be an Easter Basket Blessing in the UC at 11am.

Yours in Christ,

Fr. James Wallace