Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 46:1-7.28-20;
Matthew 10:16-23)
Jacob is
resolved to see his son, Joseph, in Egypt before he dies. But it is a long journey for an old man. Perhaps he fears that he will die along the
way. Or it may be the danger of
traveling the lonely roads in a small party.
Nevertheless, God tells him not to be afraid. Jacob may not have another danger in mind,
but God certainly does. Egypt is the most
advanced culture on earth. In moving
there, Jacob’s clan might assimilate the culture so that it loses its
identity. His descendants may forget the
God of his fathers as they hear of the mighty Pharoah and the Egyptian gods of
nature. Yet God tells Jacob to go. Pleased with Jacob’s sacrifice, God will
bring Jacob people’s back to their land.
We must
take care that our children and grandchildren do not lose themselves in contemporary
culture. Many aspects of today’s society
jar the sensitive soul. Cancel culture is
certainly one. Intelligent people are
dismissing the rich legacy of the past because the people who forged it were
not perfect. The watering down and dissolution
of religion is another. Will the Church
be visible at all in fifty years?
We likewise
need to heed God’s message not to fear.
Certainly, as well, we should offer Him sacrifices of praise and good
works. As Jesus predicts in today’s
gospel there are trials ahead. But like God in his advice to Jacob, Jesus is
telling us that he will be with us to overcome them.
