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Friday – Twelfth week – OT1
Readings: Gen 17:1, 9-10, 15-22; Mt 8:1-4.
1/ First Reading: RSV Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!” 19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. 20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” 22 When he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.
2/ Gospel: RSV Matthew 8:1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; 2 and behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.”
I. THEME: God can do everything.
There are many things which are impossible for people to do, but always possible to God, such as: to make the sun shine, to pour down rain, to help the elders to have a son when they exceed the age to give birth, to heal the sick whom doctors gave up, etc. The simple reason for all these is that nothing is impossible to God.
Today readings reported two miracles that showed God’s power. In the first reading, the author of Genesis reported what God did for the patriarch Abraham. He gives him a son when both he and his wife exceeded the age of having children, and He establishes a covenant with him and his descendants. In the Gospel, Jesus healed a leper when saw his strong faith in him.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: “Walk before me, and be blameless.”
1.1/ God made a covenant with the patriarch Abraham: When Abram was ninety-nine years old, The Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.”
(1) God’s covenant is made not only with Abram but also his descendants. God said to Abram, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.” Circumcision for every male of Abram’s descendants is only a sign; they must also keep what God said to Abraham, “Walk before me, and be blameless.”
(2) God changed their names: According to Jewish tradition, the one who names or changes the name of others has power over them. God exercised this power when He said to Abram, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.” Sarai means “the princess” and Sarah means “the mother of many nations.” Later, God changed Abram which means “the father is honored” to Abraham which means “the father of many nations.”
1.2/ God promises to give Abraham a son: God said to Abraham, “I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”
(1) Abraham misunderstood God’s promise: Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Abraham thought God wanted to mention Ismael, the son whom he had with Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant, so he said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!”
(2) God’s clearly explained His promise: God said to Abraham, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”
According to God’s explanation, He shall give Abraham a son next year, when Abraham is one hundred years old and Sarah is ninety years olds. They must name their child, Isaac which comes from the verb “shq” and means “to laugh.” Isaac means “he shall laugh.” God shall establish His “covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” God didn’t establish His covenant with Ismael, but shall greatly bless him. Ismael shall also have great descendants.
2/ Gospel: “I will; be clean.”
2.1/ The miracle:
(1) The leper knows how to ask: He came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” In one brief sentence, the leper shows us two important things:
– He is ready to obey God’s will: When he said “If you will,” he also knew the opposite thing which could be happened, that is: God doesn’t will; and he is ready to obey God’s will to endure his suffering. People don’t know what shall happen in the future; therefore, it is wise to add the phrase, “If you will” as the leper did in today passage. There are many things which people’s desire could lead them to more damages for both their body and soul. For example, winning lottery can lead people to suffer damage for their life or to lose their soul. Only God knows what is good for His children, He shall give the best for those who completely trust in His providence.
– He believes Jesus can do everything when he said, “You can make me clean.” The leper had no doubt in Jesus’ power. This is the condition to be healed as Jesus often demanded from the patients.
(2) Jesus’ reaction: When Jesus saw the expression of faith of the leper, he stretches his hand to touch him and said, “I will. Be clean.” Immediately, the leper is free from his sickness.
This is a courageous act of Jesus and it shows Jesus’ compassion because the Law prohibits any contact between the healthy and the leper. When Jesus touched the leper, he made himself to be unclean. The Law prohibits any unclean one to enter the temple; but Jesus’ compassion for the leper overcame all prohibitions of the Law. The prophet Isaiah well expressed Jesus’ compassion, “Surely he has borne our grieves and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isa 53:4a).
2.2/ Jesus’ prohibition: Jesus commanded the leper to do two things:
(1) “See that you say nothing to anyone.” Many people don’t understand why Jesus prohibited him to say nothing to anyone; rather he should let him to talk about Jesus’ power for people to believe in him. The reason why Jesus didn’t want him to say anything is because he doesn’t want people to believe only in a powerful Messiah as the tradition does, but also a Suffering Messiah who shall endure sufferings to save people.
(2) “Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.” The ancient society doesn’t have doctors as we have now; the priests have a duty to examine the lepers and to announce if they are clean or not. The leprosy is a serious sickness, not only because of its contamination but also more serious in offering sacrifices to receive forgiveness. The Law prohibits the lepers to enter the temple because of their unclean. Since they can’t enter the temple to offer their sacrifices, they have no way to receive forgiveness for their sins. When the priest announces the leper is clean, he must offer a thanksgiving sacrifice as the Law commands (Lev 14:4-5).
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– We need to have an unshakable faith in God in all situations of our life because all things are possible in His power.
– We should know that not all things we ask are good and pleasing to God; therefore, we should be ready to accept God’s providence and to obey His will for us.