CCC Cross Reference:
Gn 32:25-31 2573
Mt 9:38 2611
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Reading 1
Gn 32:23-33
In the course of the night, Jacob arose, took his two wives,
with the two maidservants and his eleven children,
and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.
After he had taken them across the stream
and had brought over all his possessions,
Jacob was left there alone.
Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.
When the man saw that he could not prevail over him,
he struck Jacob’s hip at its socket,
so that the hip socket was wrenched as they wrestled.
The man then said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go until you bless me.”
The man asked, “What is your name?”
He answered, “Jacob.”
Then the man said,
“You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel,
because you have contended with divine and human beings
and have prevailed.”
Jacob then asked him, “Do tell me your name, please.”
He answered, “Why should you want to know my name?”
With that, he bade him farewell.
Jacob named the place Peniel,
“Because I have seen God face to face,” he said,
“yet my life has been spared.”
At sunrise, as he left Penuel,
Jacob limped along because of his hip.
That is why, to this day, the children of Israel do not eat
the sciatic muscle that is on the hip socket,
inasmuch as Jacob’s hip socket was struck at the sciatic muscle.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b and 15
R. (15a) In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
Hear, O Lord, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
From you let my judgment come;
your eyes behold what is right.
Though you test my heart, searching it in the night,
though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee from their foes.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
I in justice shall behold your face;
on waking, I shall be content in your presence.
R. In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.
Gospel
Mt 9:32-38
A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus,
and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke.
The crowds were amazed and said,
“Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
But the Pharisees said,
“He drives out demons by the prince of demons.”
Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.”
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Genesis 32:23 – 33
That same night Jacob rose, and taking his two wives and his two slave-girls and his eleven children he crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream and sent all his possessions over too. And Jacob was left alone.
And there was one that wrestled with him until daybreak who, seeing that he could not master him, struck him in the socket of his hip, and Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him. He said, ‘Let me go, for day is breaking’. But Jacob answered, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me’. He then asked, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob’, he replied. He said, ‘Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have been strong against God, you shall prevail against men’. Jacob then made this request, ‘I beg you, tell me your name’, but he replied, ‘Why do you ask my name?’ And he blessed him there.
Jacob named the place Peniel, ‘Because I have seen God face to face,’ he said ‘and I have survived’. The sun rose as he left Peniel, limping because of his hip. That is the reason why to this day the Israelites do not eat the sciatic nerve which is in the socket of the hip; because he had struck Jacob in the socket of the hip on the sciatic nerve.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 16(17):1-3,6-8
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Lord, hear a cause that is just,
pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer:
no deceit is on my lips.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
From you may my judgement come forth.
Your eyes discern the truth.
You search my heart, you visit me by night.
You test me and you find in me no wrong.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God.
Turn your ear to me; hear my words.
Display your great love, you whose right hand saves
your friends from those who rebel against them.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Guard me as the apple of your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
In my justice I shall see your face
and be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory.
Lord, in my justice I shall see your face.
Gospel Matthew 9:32 – 37
They had only just left when a man was brought to him, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed. ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel’ they said. But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he casts out devils’.
Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest’.
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Tuesday of the 14th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Genesis 32:23-33 (New American Bible)
Genesis 32:22-32 (Revised Standard Version)
Jacob Wrestles with the Angel of the Lord
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[22] The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. [23] He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. [24] And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. [25] When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob's thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. [26] Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said. "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." [27] And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." [28] Then he said, "Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." [29] Then Jacob asked him, "Tell me, I pray, your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. [30] So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel," saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." [31] The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his thigh. [32] Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh, because he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the sinew of the hip.
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Commentary:
32:22-29. In spite of the danger and even though he feels afraid, Jacob takes an important decision on his journey towards the land of Canaan--to cross the river, bringing his nearest and dearest with him. From the text we do not know which side of the river Jacob himself was on after that decision, but he was clearly alone when God mysteriously came out to meet him and transformed him. The account tells us that God revealed himself to Jacob and made him Israel and gave him a blessing which extended to all his people. The concept of God in this passage has clearly anthropomorphic features. Jacob's strength is highlighted: God fails to defeat him in this struggle and he dislocates his thigh. This fact and the fact that God wants to leave before daybreak allow Jacob to recognize God in the person he is wrestling; taking advantage of his strength and the time constraint, he asks for a blessing. First, however, Jacob has to identify himself; then God changes his name: now he is Israel.
In the context of the narrative the sacred writer explains what the name Israel means--"he who has striven with God". This shows one of the key features of the personality of the father of the chosen people--his struggle to hold on to God, trying to discover his name and obtain his blessing. This is also a defining feature of the religious nature of the people of God. We discover the significance of Jacob's attempt to discover the name of his "rival", and all that that implied as regards having some power over him. But God does not identify himself. He remains shrouded in mystery, yet he does give Jacob his blessing. This will also be a feature which should define Israel--the continuous search for the name of God, that is, for his innermost Being and his Mystery, yet realizing that God can never be encompassed within the meaning of any name.
The features whereby the patriarch Jacob-Israel is described also apply to the people that bears his name. The prophet Hosea will apply this episode to the way Israel resists God over the course of its history (Hos 12:4-6). This aspect can also be seen in the patriarch's life: in spite of his resistance, God advances his salvific plans for his people through him and through his life. We can see this in what Hosea has to say about the people of Israel and about Jacob himself.
The mysterious nature of the one who wrestles with Jacob has been interpreted in many different ways in Christian tradition. Some Fathers, such as St Jerome and St Augustine, were of the view that he was a good angel, given that that was how God most often revealed himself in the Old Testament. Origen, however, thought that he was a bad angel, the demon. Others, such as St Justin and St Ambrose, suggested that he was the Son of God, the Word, who would later become man; or an angel who prefigured Christ.
The struggle depicted here can also be taken in a spiritual sense, as standing for the interior struggle and the efficacy of prayer, which overpowers even God (cf. Wis 10:12). "From this account, the spiritual tradition of the Church has retained the symbol of prayer as a battle of faith and as the triumph of perseverance (cf. Gen 32:25-31; Lk 18:1-8)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 2573).
Along these lines St Ambrose writes: "What does fighting with God mean if not engaging in the combat of virtue and aspiring to the highest, making oneself, above all, an imitator of God? And because his faith and his devotion could not be overpowered, the Lord revealed to him the secret mysteries" ("De Jacob et Vita Beata", 2,7, 30).
32:31. After the explanation of the meaning of the name of the place (Penuel) and the name of the person or people (Israel), we are now told about the origin of a dietary law. The hagiographer uses this tradition to confirm the truthfulness of the foregoing account, offering a proof taken from the customs of the people and also providing an explanation for that custom. Although this use of groundless folk explanation is a common device, it does not take from the point the writer is making: he wants to show that what he is teaching is true.
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From: Matthew 9:32-38
The Dumb Devil
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[32] As they were going away, behold, a dumb demoniac was brought to Him (Jesus). [33] And when the demon had been cast out, the dumb man spoke; and the crowds marvelled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." [34] But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."
The Need for Good Shepherds
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[35] And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. [36] When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [37] Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; [38] pray therefore the Lord of harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."
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Commentary:
35. The Second Vatican Council uses this passage when teaching about the message of Christian charity which the Church should always be spreading: "Christian charity is extended to all without distinction of race, social condition or religion, and seeks neither gain nor gratitude. Just as God loves us with a gratuitous love, so too the faithful, in their charity, should be concerned for mankind, loving it with that same love with which God sought man. As Christ went about all the towns and villages healing every sickness and infirmity, as a sign that the Kingdom of God had come, so the Church, through its children, joins itself with men of every condition, but especially with the poor and afflicted, and willingly spends herself for them" ("Ad Gentes", 12).
36. "He had compassion for them": the Greek verb is very expressive; it means "He was deeply moved". Jesus was moved when He saw the people, because their pastors, instead of guiding them and tending them, led them astray, behaving more like wolves than genuine shepherds of their flock. Jesus sees the prophecy of Ezekiel 34 as now being fulfilled; in that passage God, through the prophet, upbraids the false shepherds of Israel and promises to send them the Messiah to be their new leader.
"If we were consistent with our faith when we looked around us and contemplated the world and its history, we would be unable to avoid feeling in our own hearts the same sentiments that filled the heart of our Lord" (St. J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 133). Reflection on the spiritual needs of the world should lead us to be tirelessly apostolic.
37-38. After contemplating the crowds neglected by their shepherds, Jesus uses the image of the harvest to show us that that same crowd is ready to receive the effects of Redemption: "I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see now the fields are already white for harvest" (John 4:35). The field of the Jewish people cultivated by the prophets--most recently by John the Baptist--is full of ripe wheat. In farm work, the harvest is lost if the farmer does not reap at the right time; down the centuries the Church feels a similar need to be out harvesting because there is a big harvest ready to be won.
However, as in the time of Jesus, there is a shortage of laborers. Our Lord tells us how to deal with this: we should pray to God, the Lord of harvest, to send the necessary laborers. If a Christian prays hard, it is difficult to imagine his not feeling urged to play his part in this apostolate. In obeying this commandment to pray for laborers, we should pray especially for there to be no lack of shepherds, who will be able to equip others with the necessary means of sanctification needed to back up the apostolate.
In this connection [Pope] Paul VI reminds us: "the responsibility for spreading the Gospel that saves belongs to everyone--to all who have received it! The missionary duty concerns the whole body of the Church; in different ways and to different degrees, it is true, but we must all of us be united in carrying out this duty. Now let the conscience of every believer ask himself: Have I carried out my missionary duty? Prayer for the Missions is the first way of fulfilling this duty" ("Angelus Address", 23 October 1977).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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