Monday of the
Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 28:10-22a; Matthew 9:18-26)
Ask a child what they will do when they grow up, and
often enough they have an answer. One girl
of approximately twelve years said that she will be a pediatrician. She will have to work hard to fulfill her plan,
but it is not an impossible dream. We
meet Jacob in the first reading today in a comparable situation.
Jacob has left his house as a young man to pursue his
destiny. The reading shows him in
communion with God who promises to make him the father of a nation that will
bless the entire earth. Jacob accepts
the revelation by making a shrine to the Lord on the spot where he received
it. It is a long, long story, but
eventually the promise is fulfilled in Jesus, Jacob’s descendent. The whole world recognizes him as the model
of righteousness.
As we become older, our dreams often become humbler. We may no longer think of changing the world
but hope to change our own hearts. We
want to lose our preoccupation with self so that we might love others as Jesus
has shown us. It is helpful to remember
that the same God who promised to accompany Jacob wherever he went is also at
our side.
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