20210706 WRESTLING WITH OUR DEMONS AND WITH GOD
06 July, 2021, Tuesday, 14th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Genesis 32:23-33 © |
Jacob wrestles with God
Jacob rose, and taking his two wives and his two slave-girls and his eleven children he crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream and sent all his possessions over too. And Jacob was left alone.
And there was one that wrestled with him until daybreak who, seeing that he could not master him, struck him in the socket of his hip, and Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him. He said, ‘Let me go, for day is breaking.’ But Jacob answered, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ He then asked, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob’, he replied. He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have been strong against God, you shall prevail against men.’ Jacob then made this request, ‘I beg you, tell me your name’, but he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there.
Jacob named the place Peniel, ‘Because I have seen God face to face,’ he said ‘and I have survived.’ The sun rose as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. That is the reason why to this day the Israelites do not eat the sciatic nerve which is in the socket of the hip; because he had struck Jacob in the socket of the hip on the sciatic nerve.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 16(17):1-3,6-8 © |
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Lord, hear a cause that is just,
pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer:
no deceit is on my lips.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
From you may my judgement come forth.
Your eyes discern the truth.
You search my heart, you visit me by night.
You test me and you find in me no wrong.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God.
Turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Display your great love, you whose right hand saves
your friends from those who rebel against them.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Guard me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
In my justice I shall see your face
and be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ep1:17,18 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our mind,
so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn10:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord;
I know my own sheep and my own know me.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 9:32-37 © |
The harvest is rich but the labourers are few
A man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.’
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.’
WRESTLING WITH OUR DEMONS AND WITH GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Gn 32:23-33; Ps 17:1-3,6-8; Mt 9:32-38]
In the gospel, “a man was brought to Jesus, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed.” Demons are not necessarily evil spirits that possess us but these can take the form of a guilty conscience. Some of us are edgy, irritable, angry, and vindictive because these are but manifestations and symptoms of a person who is not at peace with himself. Many of us live with the demons of our past. They continue to haunt us. They cripple us and like the demoniac, unable to speak charitably.
This was certainly the case of Jacob. He was wrestling with his brother over the birthright. Jacob was a swindler. He was dishonest and scheming. He deceived his father, Isaac, into believing that he was his brother, Esau. He also cheated Esau of his birthright. He was ambitious and chose to have things his own way. As a result, he had to bear the consequences of his sins. He was sent to live with his uncle, his mother’s brother, Laban, in Haran so that he could be protected from his brother who wanted to kill him when he discovered how Jacob stole his birthright.
From wrestling with his brother, he had to wrestle with his uncle, his future father-in-law. His uncle was equally avaricious and dishonest. Life is indeed strange. Evil attracts evil. In his uncle, Jacob met his real competitor in dishonesty. Laban cheated him by giving his daughter Leah to Jacob when he asked for Rachel. As a consequence, he had to work for 14 years for Laban to marry Rachel. (Gn 29:15-30) Jacob also had to wrestle with Laban over his remuneration. Laban had become rich at Jacob’s expense. Rather than being paid a salary for his work, and knowing the trick of his father-in-law, he bargained for animals that were speckled and spotted as his wages. Eventually, his relationship with his father-in-law turned sour and with the support of his wives, Leah and Rachel, he decided to separate from Laban and go back to his family in Canaan after working twenty years for his mean uncle.
All this while, God was preparing him for his return to Canaan. When God appeared to him at Bethel twenty years ago, He assured him that He would bless him and that he would be the one to inherit the promises of the covenant with Abraham. Since then, the Lord had not spoken with him, yet God in His goodness and mercy was providentially working out His promise. For twenty years Jacob had to work hard and wait for God’s promise to be fulfilled. He continued to hold on to the promise even when his life was ordinary and unfulfilling. So the time came for God to return him to Canaan to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham. God made it possible for Jacob to leave Laban amicably, after both of them made a covenant agreeing to bring their hostility to an end. (Gn 31:43-55)
But there was one more thing that Jacob needed to be purified and pruned off before he could be named one of the Patriarchs of Israel. He had to wrestle with his guilty conscience for cheating the birthright from his brother. All these years he bore the guilt in his heart, afraid of Esau’s revenge on him and his family on one hand, and on the other, alienation from him. His heart was still not at rest in spite of the many years since the incident had separated him, not just from Esau but his own family in Canaan. Hence, he decided to settle his guilty conscience once and for all, “Jacob rose, and taking his two wives and his two slave-girls and his eleven children he crossed the ford Jabbok.” He had earlier sent his messengers before him to give gifts to Esau to appease him so that he would not be so angry when they met. (Gn 32:3-21) It showed that Jacob was truly repentant and wanted very much to be reconciled with his brother.
However, before he could find the courage to meet his brother, he must first deal with his inner demons. He had to deal with his sins, fears, and pride. He needed time to be alone to grapple with the demons in him. To be able to surrender completely the demons, he sent his family “across the stream and sent all his possessions over too. And Jacob was left alone.” He had to part with his loved ones and possessions so that he could focus on being alone with God and with himself. Since he was the one who caused the break-up, he had to be the one to patch it up. But how does one confront one’s demons unless with God’s grace?
When we are sincerely repentant, God will reveal Himself to us and give us the courage to move on in life. God wants to heal us, provided we are ready to seek forgiveness. That was what Jacob did. His wrestling with God was firstly his battle with his guilty conscience. It is significant that in wrestling with God, the Lord asked him, “‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he replied. He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; because you have been strong against God, you shall prevail against men.'” In other words, his old name was Jacob, the one who deceived and cheated others. To begin a new life, God gave him a new name, Israel. He must now leave his past behind and take up a new chapter in his life by being the patriarch of the future kingdom to come. God blessed Jacob, now called Israel. With this confirmation of God’s blessings and a new role which he was now ready to undertake, he was set free, for his fears and demons had been overcome. He found peace and courage knowing that God had forgiven him and that He would be with him all the way. With that conversion experience, he was ready to meet Esau face to face.
In truth, God had never left him but God was gracious to allow him to repair the damage he had done. God gave him many years to reflect on his dishonesty and selfishness. Jacob had learnt what Abraham learnt long before him when he was asked to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, Jacob’s father. His grandfather had also earlier tried to do things his way, but he learnt from his mistakes that God expects us to trust Him totally and He would in His own time, unfold His plans for us. We must be patient and learn how to wait and cooperate with Him. Jacob had over the years learnt what it meant to wait for God’s promise of blessings to his grandfather would be fulfilled.
Today, the Lord is also inviting us not just to get rid of our demons but to help others as well to be freed from their demons and their fears. We are called to share in Christ’s mission of liberation from all kinds of sicknesses and, most of all, from oppression of every sort. “Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.” Like Jacob, we must make ourselves available for God to make His love present in our lives. Through our teaching and preaching, we are called to give people hope and, most of all, assurance of God’s forgiveness. Through our works of mercy and charity, we help the sick, the poor and abandoned to encounter God’s healing love.
The call to mission like Jacob presupposes that we get in touch with ourselves, not just with the demons but also the Spirit of God prompting us to do good. In the gospel, we read that when Jesus “saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few.'” Our self-awareness of our pains and needs will help us to identify with the pain and suffering of others. Many of us lack compassion because we have numbed ourselves to our inner fears and hurts. But when we are moved by compassion and love, we will be inspired to take up the invitation of our Lord to be shepherds over His wounded, neglected and lost sheep. And what better way to feel with our Lord for these people if not in prayer. This accounts for Jesus’ insistence that we must “ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest.” Only in prayer, can the Holy Spirit touch our hearts, enlighten our minds, and give us the conviction to reach out to others in selfless service and love.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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