7th July. Tuesday in Week 14

Saint Maelruain, abbott.

Saint Máel Ruain, (c. 722-792) was founder and abbot-bishop of the monastery of Tallaght near Dublin, Ireland. He was a leading figure of the movement known as the Céli Dé, whose monastic rules were written by Mael Ruain and his principal disciple, Aengus.

1st Reading: Genesis 32:23-33

On returning from exile, Jacob finds himself wrestling with an angel of God, at Peniel.

He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.

Gospel: Matthew 9:32-38

Jesus cures the sick, teaches and proclaims the good news of the reign of God, for the harvest is ready.

After they had gone away, a demoniac who was dumb was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been dumb spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.”

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”

Shun not the struggle

What the gospel suggests briefly is treated at more length in today’s story from Genesis. Matthew has Jesus visiting all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and curing every sickness and disease. He does not detail the weary journeys, the mixed receptions, sometimes favourable and sometimes not, that Jesus met with during that ministry. Nor does he attempt to describe how people, once cured by Jesus, adapted to their new situations. Suddenly they were cured, and their entire life must be reshaped, both their activities and their internal thoughts.

In the Genesis story, Jacob wrestles all night long with the angel of God. But in the end Jacob found that he had been face to face with God in his wrestling. For this reason he named the place “Peniel,” in Hebrew, “face of God.” He ponders this strange fact, “I have seen God face to face yet my life has been spared,” in contrast to the established belief that no one can see the face of God and live (Exod 33:20). Jacob had this dramatic night-time struggle while returning from Haran (in modern Syria) to the promised land of Canaan/Palestine, eventually to be named “Israel” after him. He is told, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed.” To be given a new name is to be sent on a new vocation. His future life was markedly different from his past and more clearly under God’s guiding providence.

Jacob had a notable limp after his wrestling with the angel. Sometimes we too can no longer stand as tall as before. We may hear God’s call to us anew, asking us to make a new and different contribution to the life of others. In Jacob’s story we can find a new type of strength. For God chooses those whom the world considers foolish to shame the wise; he selects the weak to show new aspects of life to the strong. Our life finds its fullest realisation if we don’t shun the struggle entailed.

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Contrasting responses

There is a sharp contrast between the way ordinary people responded to Jesus’ healing ministry and the way the Pharisees responded. The people said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” The Pharisees said, “It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils.” The people saw God at work in what Jesus was doing; the Pharisees saw Satan at work in what Jesus was doing. It is hard to imagine a more contrasting response. It brings home to us that when people look at the same phenomenon, they can see it very differently. The people, in contrast to the Pharisees, were attuned to the presence and action of God in Jesus. The gospel reading invites us to ask ourselves, “To what extent am I alert to the presence of God all around me, especially in the good that other people may be doing?” We can be prone to seeing what is missing in some situation and to miss the good that is actually there. We can be better at naming what is wrong than what is right. We can be more attuned to noticing evil than good. While never being blind to evil and sin and failure, the gospel encourages us to be open to the ways that the Lord is at work in our lives and in the lives of others. The Lord himself was sensitive to the good in others, even when they failed to see it for themselves, and others failed to see it. We need something of the Lord’s generous way of seeing, especially in these times when the negative can be highlighted to the detriment of everything else.