Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Our first reading today again coming from Genesis is downright strange. What can we get out of this story in which Jacob (once he has managed to get his wives, his flocks, and all his possessions across the fording place) stays behind and has a wrestling match all night long with a stranger, namely, God. Maybe it’s not so strange if you gather all that the people of that time understood about Jacob, his character, and the culture of the time, and his relationship with God and then incorporate it in a symbolic story. Jacob was used to having everything his way. Now he had met his match when God had wounded him. Overpowered he was forced to state his name, a sign of submission. But he would not let go of God without a blessing. This blessing turned out to be a new name, Israel, and a great number of descendants. Again, Jacob manages to win. We would see this as a kind of Old Testament bargaining with God.
There is no wrestling for an advantage in the Gospel. God has intervened in human history in a new way. Jesus is the fullness of God’s merciful love taking his place in our human condition in order to redeem us even though we were and are sinners. The work of Jesus namely, healing the sick, overpowering demons, calling people to justice, and genuine love for the poor and one another is basically a work of love. It is inviting people to change, turn from sin, and follow him as best they can through redemptive suffering which reaches its highest expression on the cross. The only winning and lasting motivation for choosing the sacrificial love of Jesus in this life is believing in complete union with God through his Resurrection. We win by turning everything and everyone in our lives over to the Lord. It’s a win-win situation.
Reflection: If the Lord wants to love us with an unconditional and total love, why would we place obstacles in the way? Can we name them?
Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections