They had been slaves in Egypt, set free by the grace of God and the miracles worked on their behalf. They had been twelve tribes, but on that day, they became one people – the people of God. They were descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and on that day, they became heirs of the covenants God had made with them. They had seen wonders as the angel of death passed over their homes and as waters were torn in two and dry land appeared so that they could walk on in freedom. And now, the God who had done so much for them was entering into covenant with them.

This covenant, signed in the blood of the sacrificed oxen, united them to God in a special way. Once the blood of the covenant had been splashed on them, they were stained by the covenant that united them as the People of God. Having only recently been freed from slavery, they didn’t own a lot of clothing, and what they were wearing that day was now blood stained. They had no bleach or other things that might clean their clothing. the rest of their journey, they would see those stains on their own clothes and on the clothes of those with whom they were traveling. They would be reminded of the covenant over and over again.

We, too, have been stained with the blood of the covenant. Though we cannot see those stains on our clothing, we have been stained permanently in the waters of baptism. The water that was splashed upon us that day continues to mark us as the People of God. The waters with which we sign ourselves as we come and go from church, the waters that are splashed upon us whenever we celebrate the Rite of Sprinkling with Holy Water at Mass, stain us inside and out as people of a covenant with the God who saves us.