Holy Thursday

"This is how you are to eat it:
with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand,
you shall eat like those who are in flight.
It is the Passover of the LORD." - Exodus 11:11

The Israelites were already dressed for their journey out of Egypt when they ate the Passover lamb. They were strangers in a strange land - not just strangers, but slaves. The Egyptians had held them in bondage - but God would deliver them and bring them home.

Thinking about the flight from Egypt makes me wonder if we realize that we are also strangers in a strange land. This world is not our home, as Jesus reminds us so often in the Gospels. We are made to yearn for heaven. In the words of St. Augustine, "God, Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee."

How often do we think about our final destination, our heavenly home? Are we content to stay in Egypt, in the pleasant chains of bondage to this life? Or do we gird up our loins like the Israelites, and set out on our journey, eager to reach the Promised Land?