On Saturday of the Second Week of Lent our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (20:1-17) entitled "The Law is given on Mount Sanai". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise on Flight from the World by Saint Ambrose, bishop.
Saint Ambrose was born of a Roman family at Trier about the year 340. He studied at Rome and served in the imperial government at Sirmium. In 374, while, living in Milan, he was elected bishop of the city by popular acclaim and ordained on December 7. He devotedly carried out his duties and especially distinguished himself by his service to the poor, and as an effective pastor and teacher of the faithful. He strenuously guarded the laws of the church and defended orthodox teaching by writings and actions against the Arians. He died on Holy Saturday, April 4, 397. Saint Ambrose is a Doctor of the Church.
Saint Ambrose's concept of "Flight from the World" isn't a call for monasticism or a complete withdrawal from society, but rather a spiritual detachment from worldly concerns and attachments. The core message is to find solace and strength in God, to "take refuge" in Him, and to live in a way that is pleasing to Him. Ambrose emphasizes the importance of holding fast to God with one's soul, heart, and strength, allowing oneself to be guided by faith and not outward show. The goal is to experience God's light, glory, and supernatural joy, which are found in Him.
The second book of the Pentateuch is called Exodus, from the Greek word for "departure," because its central event was understood by the Septuagint's translators to be the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. Its Hebrew title, Shemoth ("Names"), is from the book's opening phrase, "These are the names…." Continuing the history of Israel from the point where the Book of Genesis leaves off, Exodus recounts the Egyptian oppression of Jacob's ever-increasing descendants and their miraculous deliverance by God through Moses, who led them across the Red Sea to Mount Sinai where they entered a covenant with the Lord. Covenantal laws and detailed prescriptions for the tabernacle (a portable sanctuary foreshadowing the Jerusalem Temple) and its service are followed by a dramatic episode of rebellion, repentance, and divine mercy. After the broken covenant is renewed, the tabernacle is constructed, and the cloud signifying God's glorious presence descends to cover it.
These events made Israel a nation and confirmed their unique relationship with God. The "law" (Hebrew torah) given by God through Moses to the Israelites at Mount Sinai constitutes the moral, civil, and ritual legislation by which they were to become a holy people. Many elements of it were fundamental to the teaching of Jesus as well as to New Testament and Christian moral teaching.
