13th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, July 5
Genesis
21:5, 8-20 / Matthew 8:28-34
Isaac is born to Sarah; "Isaac is your true heir.”
Paul used this analogy in dialoguing with the Jews of his time. Hagar was like the Old Covenant made through Moses on Mt. Sinai in Arabia. Her son, Ishmael, was like the Jews who became God's children under the covenant. Sarah, on the other hand, was like the New Covenant made through Jesus in Jerusalem at the Last Supper. Her son, Isaac, is like the Christians who are God's new children. They supplant the children of the Old Covenant. Paul's point is that descent from Abraham is not enough for salvation. Isaac is Abraham's only heir. He alone is heir to God's original promise to Abraham.
***
Do we live in such a way as to deserve to be
called God's children? "You are the people of God; he loved you and chose
you for his Colossians own."3:12
***
Saint Anthony Zaccaria
Anthony Zaccaria was born in Cremona, Italy, in 1502. He
studied medicine and became a doctor, but he kept wishing to be a priest. After
a few years, he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest. Anthony took
Saint Paul for his model and patron. His days were filled with preaching in
churches and on street corners. Because several men wanted to join him in his
work, Anthony founded a religious order. He called his group Barnabites in
honor of Barnabas, the companion of Paul.
At the time that Luther was dividing the Church in Germany,
Anthony and his followers were drawing halfhearted Catholics back to their
faith. Anthony encouraged frequent Holy Communion and had his priests conduct
parish missions.
Anthony lived only to age 36. He is usually pictured with a
symbol of the Eucharist, with a crucifix, or with Saint Paul.
Abraham loved both his boys. Ishmael, who was
about sixteen, would romp with Isaac, who was only about three. Sarah's
jealousy was stirred up once more. She sensed a danger. She had adopted Ishmael
and this wild boy might one day challenge the gentle Isaac and dispute his
right to inheritance. Galatians [4.22] gives us the real reason Ishmael was the
son of a slave-girl. A slave mentality would be his dominant inheritance. The
education in the house of free people cannot wipe this out. Abraham was sad. He
would have liked to keep the boy. Sarah put down her foot. The choice of who
will be the ancestor of the Messiah is God's. God decided. He intervened in
favour of the oppressed and let Abraham know "the slave-girl's son, he
will also make into a great nation" [Verse 13]. He was the ancestor of the
desert dwelling tribes. Arabs venerate Ishmael as their forefather and
according to Muslim tradition, he and Hagar are buried in the sacred Ka 'aba in
Mecca.
***
A child may not have a big lung capacity. But
its cries can make heads turn, especially in a restaurant or in a hall or even
in church. Somehow when a child wails and weeps, we just can't ignore it and we
will attend to it especially if it is our child. In the 1st reading, we heard
of Hagar being sent away with her young son into the wilderness with just some
bread and a skin of water. When the skin of water was finished, Hagar abandoned
the child under a bush and she went off at a distance because she couldn't bear
to see the child die, while the child wailed and wept. But God heard the cries
of the child and sent an angel to rescue mother and child from death. Indeed,
God hears the cries of His people, especially children, and will come to their
rescue.
***
God fulfilled at least a bit of his promise
to Abraham, that in him, the families of the earth would be blessed. Ishmael,
the son of the slave girl, would not inherit the promises made to Abraham, but
God took pity on this outcast and made him the ancestor of nomadic Bedouin
tribes.
***
The ears of modern man are allergic to hear
of demons. Even angels are not quite acceptable. The Bible has no such
hesitation. In the pyramid of creation, man is not highest. There are
immaterial yet powerful spirits Good and evil ones. The Bible mentions certain
of their qualities. They are many. There is a perverted hierarchy among them. They
have a head: Satan. They are the enemies of people. People are frightened. They
are able to take possession of someone, so that s/he is no more him/herself.
They govern humans and make them do what they do not want. They have knowledge,
inaccessible to ordinary humans. They know Jesus is the son of God. Jesus has power
over them. He commands. They have to obey. Astonishingly, the men of Gerasa ask
Jesus to leave when he had cast out the demons. Apparently, their pigs are more
important to them than the kingdom of God. They reject Jesus.
***
Jesus takes pity on people considered
possessed by the devil, outcasts of little value to their pagan fellow
citizens, who are more concerned about the loss of their pigs than over the
cure of these outcasts. This text is difficult to understand unless we pay
attention to the underlying theme of impurity. The outcasts from whom Jesus
will exorcise demons live in an impure place, a cemetery; the demons are driven
out into pigs, unclean animals for the Jews. The pagans of the region do not
yet recognize Jesus and this seems to indicate that the story is symbolic of
times still to come: evil is still rampant. But in any case, the power of Jesus
is already working.
***
Prayer
Lord our God, Your Son, Jesus Christ, took
pity on people rejected by their society and restored them as human beings. Never
allow us to judge anyone and to reject people from our communities. Make us
leave the judgment to you for you alone know what is going on in the hearts of
people. Make us mild and compassionate through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
