Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 32:23-33; Matthew 9:32-38)
Mike did so well in high school that he won a scholarship
to a fine eastern university. In college
he began to drink and then to use drugs.
To cover up his addictions Mike lied and deceived family and
friends. It was not long before he lost
his scholarship and then failed out of school.
He left for the west coast to start over but never left his bad habits. One day he tried riding his bicycle on the
beach. Soon his tire got stuck in the
sand, and Mike fell over. His situation –immobilized
without the possibility of getting started again – reflected what was happening
in Mike’s life. He knew that he had to take
a radically different course if he was to fulfill his destiny. We see Jacob in an analogous situation today.
Jacob struggles with the man of God. The incident may be interpreted as a metaphor
for Jacob’s troubled conscience, the voice of God. He knows that he swindled his brother Esau and
now cannot sleep because of guilt. He
also sinned by marrying two women and by having children outside of
marriage. Jacob survives the encounter and
even manages to extract a blessing from his opponent. But he knows that he will have to somehow
reconcile with Esau. The blessing
consists in his no longer being defined by his twin brother. At birth he was given the name Jacob meaning heel
catcher. It was an apt name because he
was born lurching after Esau who came out of their mother’s womb first. From now on, however, he will be called Israel
after God Himself. The name means you
have struggled with God.
We too know what it is like to struggle with God. We don’t like to admit sins against charity and
much less against chastity. As God does
not destroy Jacob, he will not abandon us because of our sins. Rather, He lets us know that we are His sons
and daughters whom He is ready to forgive.
He also blesses us when we take account of our sins and make amends for them.
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