Thursday of the
Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 16:1-12.15-16; Matthew 7:21-19)
Often enough great people prove themselves foolish in
simple aspects of character. Thomas
Jefferson was certainly an accomplished statesman. His erudition enabled him to
write the noble words of the Declaration of Independence. His affability allowed him to negotiate effectively
as America’s ambassador to France. Yet he smudged his record by evidently keeping a slave, Sally Hemings, as his
mistress. The story told of Abram in
today’s first reading contains a similar breach of character.
Abram listens to the plan of his calculating wife Sarai. Whether he has relations with her servant Hagar
out of lust or out desperation, he is acting foolishly. He needs to trust God’s plan in creation that
marriage is a faithful covenant. Instead
he attempts to “build a house on sand” as Jesus warns against in the
gospel. The result could have been
predicted. No one is satisfied. Sarai comes to feel slighted. Hagar is eventually
abandoned. And the offspring Ismael will
be raised without his father.
Jesus maps the way to greatness in the Sermon on the Mount. We hear its last instalment in today’s gospel
reading. The Sermon exhorts self-control
but, even more, self-deliverance to God’s Providence. God will provide us what is necessary for a
worthy life. Even more importantly, He
will bring us to our home in Paradise.
