12th Week, Saturday, Jul 1
Genesis 18:1-15 / Matthew 8:5-17
Sarah laughs; "Is anything too marvellous for God?"
In 1842, members of the U.S. Congress laughed when Samuel Morse explained his ideas for sending messages through a wire. In 1878, British Parliament members laughed when Thomas Edison explained his ideas for creating light in a glass bulb. In 1908, a J. P. Morgan Co. spokesman laughed when Billy Durant said that "the time will come when half a million automobiles a year will be running on the roads of this country." When we hear something that exceeds the limits of human imagination, we are prone to laugh, as Sarah did.
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How open are our minds to matters of faith that go beyond what we normally consider to be possible? "God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong." 1 Cor 1:27
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Our first reading speaks of the wonderful visit of God to Abraham to confirm his promise. The monk Andrei Rublev used this scene for his famous icon of the Blessed Trinity. God invites himself in our lives. Do we recognize and receive him?
At a mere word of Jesus, the health of the centurion’s servant is restored in response to the marvellous faith of the pagan centurion. He is a model of faith to all of us. His faith makes him worthy to take his place at the table of the kingdom.
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Saint Junípero Serra
José Miguel Serra was born the son of a farmer in Spain in 1713. When he was 17, he joined the Franciscans and took the name Junípero. As a priest, he taught philosophy and theology. Then he requested to be a missionary.
In 1749, he sailed for Mexico. After landing in Mexico, Junípero and another friar walked 300 miles to Mexico City. On the way, Junípero was bitten on the leg by a poisonous insect. This leg caused him pain for the rest of his life. At the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Junípero dedicated his work to her.
In 1767, Junípero was made president of the 14 missions begun by Jesuits in Lower California. Then, when Spaniards took over Upper California in 1769, Junípero went with them. At age 56 and with his leg and foot swollen, he traveled the 900 miles on mule to San Diego, where he founded a mission. Junípero established 9 of the 21 Franciscan missions along the Pacific Coast and baptized a total of about six thousand Native Americans.
The missions were communities in which everything was held in common. The Native Americans were taught to grow crops and raise livestock. They learned to read, to sing, and to paint. They learned about the faith and asked to become Catholics.
Junípero once made the long trip back to Mexico City to meet with the military commander and establish rules to protect the Native Americans and the missions. Another time when an uprising left a Franciscan and several others dead, Junípero pleaded that the Native Americans held for the killings be released.
When Junípero was dying, he insisted on walking to the chapel for Holy Communion. He died on August 28, 1784. At his funeral, the weeping drowned out the singing. Junípero is called the father of California.
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One of the ideas that grew and made progress throughout the ancient world was that the guest has to be treated as we would treat God if he came to us. Hospitality is a sacred duty. Especially in a desert region that is sparsely populated, the Bedouin has to depend on goodwill towards him wherever he has to go. Even in Greece, we have stories that make hospitality a source of great blessing. Genesis gives us this story of God's visit to Abraham and Abraham's response. He receives God during the sacred hour of a siesta. The morsel of bread he offers is fresh cakes, curds and milk and the best veal, a royal repast: For God, only the best is good enough. Sarah listens. The reward for the hospitality concerns her. In a year she will bear Abraham a son. And she laughed. The idea of hospitality received its perfection when Jesus said: "What you have done to the least of my brethren you have done to me" (Mat. 25.)
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After the first miracle (yesterday's reading) it was officially registered in the temple' that he cured the leper. The priests registered the fact but did not draw the consequences. The official representatives of the whole nation did not believe that he was the Messiah. The news had spread everywhere. The centurion too heard of it and drew the right consequences. He had such respect for Jesus that he felt he was unworthy to receive him in his house. The pagan had the faith. His own people did not have it. This is for Jesus an important moment in the history of the world. God's people are rejected. Centuries of salvation history come to an end. "I tell you; many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven". That banquet, is the Messianic era. Whilst the children of God for whom the banquet was meant will be thrown into the darkness outside, Jesus said. Paul wrote two letters about it: Romans 9-11 and Galatians 3-4.
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Prayer
Lord, our God, you come and visit us often when we are not aware of your coming. Make us aware of your presence, that we may eagerly receive you and be enriched by your visit. Make us highly appreciate your hospitality when you set for us the table of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
