One aspect of human nature which is, at the same time, very frustrating and a motivator for our insatiable curiosity is what psychologists call cognitive dissonance. The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today cause a disruption of harmony in our thoughts about the Divine. What about the chariots and chariot drivers of Pharaoh’s army? It appears that they have not fared as well as the Israelites who are being saved by the outstretched arm and mighty hand of the Lord. Is this a consequence of the oppression to which they have been party? We are sometimes consoled by the cliché that those who live by the sword will die by the sword, unless it applies to us! The Gospel of Matthew at first seems disconnected from Exodus but it may be a real concern, in the light of the chariot drivers, about who are the “family” of Jesus. The answer presented by Matthew, which is also an example of Jesus method to use every opportunity to teach about the Kingdom, points to those who do the will of the Father as the members Jesus family. The chariot drivers perhaps were acting on the will of the Father?
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