First Reading - Genesis 32:23-33
Gospel - Matthew 9:32-37
The first reading presents a well known episode of the Bible to us; the wrestling of Jacob with God. The main punch of the writer is to show two things by this scene. Firstly, to show the origin of name of the place where Jacob encountered so-called god, because that is based on the legend which he employed for Jacob. Secondly, to show the origin of name 'Israel' which means 'may God show His strength'. The change of the name from Jacob to Israel shows change of his role or life as the patriarch of a great nation, Israel; a trickster turns to be a changed person.
Jesus, in the gospel, shows a great miracle of healing a demoniac; this shows his mission of healing. He was also involved in the teaching and preaching of the Kingdom of God. However, the teaching, healing and preaching ministries of Jesus met with opposition and mere amazement of people but no real change of heart. Jesus tells his disciples to pray for the labourers for the sheep. Why? It's because the leaders who were supposed to take care of the sheep got deviated to observe only petty laws and forgot to take care of the people. Thus, the prayer to God may bring some transformed leaders who would take care of them.
Dear friends, we need to pray for labourers for the harvest who are open to God for the blessing and faith like Jacob, who requested for the blessings from whom he wrestled, so that the sheep of God may not be lost.
We also need to be ready to become his labourers to work in His harvest, so that His name may spread far and wide with our ministries, for we are the hands, legs and mouths of Jesus as St. Catherine says.
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