14th Week, Tuesday, July 11: St. Benedict
Genesis 32:23-33 / Matthew 32-38
Jacob gets a new name; "You shall be called Israel.”
Names were important in biblical times. Often, they did more than identify a person. They said something special about the person. A change in a person's name indicated a change in the person. For example, when God called Abram and Sarai to be the seed of a great nation, he changed their names. Abram became Abraham; Sarai became Sarah.
In a similar way, God now changes Jacob's name to Israel. God's promise to give Abraham many descendants takes a big leap forward as a result of Jacob's encounter with God. Jacob, now Israel, will father 12 sons, the forerunners of the 12 tribes of Israel.
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Do we ever use the name of God irreverently? "At the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth." Philippians 2:10
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After twenty years of exile Jacob leaves his uncle Laban, who has exploited and cheated him secretly. He was sure Laban would follow him and force him to come back. Jacob carne home uninvited. But what was uppermost in his mind was - will Esau kill him? As a token of goodwill, he had sent generous presents ahead. But now Esau was coming with 400 men. For a whole night he wrestled with God in his prayer. Only God can save him. He reminds God of the promise, that he would be with him, that he would give him the land, and numerous descendants. God changed his name: from now he would not be Jacob but Israel. A change in name is change of nature. Israel means: he who strives with God. The name Jacob was derived from the Hebrew word for 'heel’. He held the heel of Esau at birth; from there the meaning to hold the heel is to 'supplant', 'to cheat'. Esau was reconciled with his brother by God who alone can change a human heart.
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The mysterious wrestling of Jacob with God is typical of the wrestling of the Christians of today with themselves and with God – with God seen in the light and the obscurity of faith. Faith is indeed often a wrestling in the night with realities that surpass us, with a God so great and yet so lovable that he appears unbelievable, so different from us, at times like absent, and yet so near. In these struggles, it is often not clear with whom we are wrestling. But we must hold on; we may not allow ourselves to be beaten, until something beautiful is born, a blessing. Also, Christ had to wrestle until the dawn of the resurrection and of life.
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We hear the word "blessing" often. Just what is a blessing? A blessing is primarily God's favour and protection over His people. It can also be a prayer asking for divine favour and protection as is usually done by a priest. It can also be like the grace said before and after a meal. The source of blessing is from God and a person, whether a priest or a lay person, can be the instrument to invoke the blessing from God.
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The rude remark of the Pharisees, that it is through the prince of devils that Jesus casts out devils, is just Ignored. This is a lesson we would well learn. Here we have to become tough. In other matters we have to learn to become more sensitive. We see so much misery around us that we lose our sense of compassion with it. We often lose the desire to help. Yet these are eminently Christ-like qualities. They make us not only Christ-like but Christians. It is often mentioned of Jesus that he had compassion and it is always added that he thought immediately of what he could do. So also, here. He thinks that he needs many and he asks us to pray for workers. Many labourers he needs. How can we help him to get them? For a vocation one needs apart from the actual call:
1. A great love for Jesus. A love that makes us willing to share in his cross.
2 Compassion for the people and a conviction that we are needed.
3. The readiness to give all. This shows itself in the readiness to make a sacrifice. Teach these three in the home and school and then his prayer for more labourers is answered.
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Jesus was spreading his message of good news in word and deed. Today he asks us that there may be among us many who hear his invitation to continue his work and to bring his liberating compassion to the people of our day. At least all of us should pray for such messengers, for the need is urgent.
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Prayer
Lord, mighty God, often we interrogate ourselves and life; we have to come to grips with you, with ourselves with the realities of life, so that our faith my survive and grow. Help us to hold on until dawn, that victory may be ours and that you may bless us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
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Saint Benedict
Feast day July 11
Benedict’s name means “blessed.” His most famous monastery, Monte Cassino, has been destroyed and rebuilt three times. His monks follow the motto Ora et labora, which means “Pray and work.”
Benedict was born in Nursia, Italy, about 480. His parents were wealthy, so they sent him to Rome to be educated. When he was about 17, he decided to become a hermit. He was disgusted with the wild life of the students. With the help of an old monk, Benedict found a cave on Mount Subiaco about 50 miles south of Rome. He lived there for three years. Men recognized his holiness and joined him.
Sometime around 529, Benedict led a group of monks farther south, where they built Monte Cassino. He wrote his Rule based on Scripture. The monks’ first duty was liturgical prayer. The Benedictine monasteries that spread over Europe became centers of learning, agriculture, hospitality, and medicine. Benedict’s monks created illuminated manuscripts. They helped repair the damage caused by the barbarian invaders. Benedict probably died in 547. In art, he is usually shown with his Rule. In 1964, Pope Paul VI named him patron of Europe.
