Monday 05 July

FOURTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

OUR GOD OF THE LIVING

 

Introduction

      Today’s first reading about the ladder of Jacob tells us about the continuous presence of God to those he loves. God himself is there, stooping down to people and messengers of God coming down and going up. This means that his continuous solicitude surrounds us. God is here, with us; we live in his love as long as we want to.

      God has made us for life. In Jesus he shows us that he wants us to be healed, that is, wholly and fully alive and raised from the dead, for by his resurrection Jesus defeats death in its roots. In this eucharist we ask Jesus to raise us up, from the death of sin and ultimately from physical death.

 

Opening Prayer

God of all that breathes and lives,
your Son Jesus touched people
and they were healed and they lived.
Let him take us by the hand
and raise us up from sin and discouragement.
Let him touch us with his body and blood
and make us fresh and new again
to live his life and to go his way to you.
Let him touch us with the warmth of his love
that our love may revive others,
especially the poor and those who suffer.
All this we ask through Christ our Lord.

 

Reading 1: Gen 28:10-22a

Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God’s messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
“I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.”

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
“Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!”
In solemn wonder he cried out: “How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!”
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone
that he had put under his head,
set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.
He called the site Bethel,
whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.

Jacob then made this vow: “If God remains with me,
to protect me on this journey I am making
and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
and I come back safe to my father’s house, the LORD shall be my God.
This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God’s abode.”

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15ab

(see 2b) In you, my God, I place my trust.
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler,
from the destroying pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you,
and under his wings you shall take refuge.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.

 

Alleluia: 2 Tm 1:10

Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel: Mt 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter!  Your faith has saved you.”
And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”

And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.

 

Intercessions

–   That the Church may continue with compassion Jesus’ healing ministry, that the sick may be comforted, the downtrodden set free, and the poor and the weak protected, we pray:

–   That doctors and nurses and all who care for the sick and the handicapped may have a great respect for life and be inspired in their task by the love of Christ, we pray:

–   That the faith and the hope of the sick and the dying may be firmly anchored in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life; that with him they may accept their pains with patience and when the time comes also accept death as the gateway to full life, we pray:

 

Prayer over the Gifts

God our Father,
this is your dwelling place
to which you have invited us.
We offer you here all our love and trust
through him who had placed himself
into your hands
and kept trusting in you even in death,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Prayer after Communion

God our Father,
our life and death are in your hands.
We are certain of you
because we know your love is irrevocable
and you have given us your Son in this eucharist.
May we learn from you and him
to be present to one another
and to be reliable messengers to each other
of your care and your gratuitous love.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

 

Blessing

God wants us to live to the full. That is why he lets his Son Jesus Christ heal and strengthen us with the food and drink of everlasting life. May almighty God bless and keep you: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Commentary

Bethel was one of Israel’s most sacred worship sites. Today’s reading is an account of the site’s discovery by Jacob. The place was formerly known as Luz, but, now in light of Jacob’s vision there, it becomes Bethel, the house of God. It was a place of strong divine-human exchange, illustrated by the heavenly messengers ascending and descending. There Jacob is assured a future kingdom and a far-reaching domain.

Both individuals in today’s Gospel are aware that Jesus is in some way the walking presence of God among them. The daugh­ter of the official has died and he asks that she be restored to life. The anonymous woman has suffered with a hemorrhage for years without an effective cure. Because of their great faith, both of them receive the desired healing.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that they will see the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. It is not without reason that people pray for particular benefits. And when people claim that a blessing has been received, why do we not rejoice with them rather than be incredulous? We do believe in the power and greatness of God—but perhaps our faith can run a little thin in practice.

 

Points to Ponder

The church as God’s dwelling

Human fate: shades of darkness

Turning to Christ in faith.