Wrestling with Good and Evil

In today's first reading, Gen. 32: 23-33, Jacob, in the course of the night, takes his family across "the ford of the Jabbok." Once across, his family leaves him 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 named the place Peniel, 'Because I have seen God face to face,' he said, 'yet my life has been spared.'" 

In today's Gospel, Mt 9: 32-38, Jesus Himself also "contended with divine and human beings"; in fact, He contended with evil spirits and overpowered them. Amazed people proclaimed: "Nothing like this has never been seen n Israel."

We, too, wrestle with God and with demons, who prowl the earth seeking someone to devour, St. Paul tells us in  one of his letters.  We struggle/wrestle with good and evil, with that which is ugly and that which is beautiful. With God, with Jesus, we shall prevail.  Grace will triumph in our lives, as it did in the life of Jacob (Israel), as long as we keep our focus on Jesus, walk and talk with Jesus, relying on Jesus, on our guardian angels and our patrons saints to protect us, to help us, to guide and direct us in all of our ways.

  

God's Identity: Who Is God for you?

As I reflect upon today's first reading from Job 9: 1-12, 14-16, the question arises in me: Who is God and who am I? Job wrestles with the same questions.

Who is God for Job?  God:

•  Is wise in heart and mighty in strength
•  Removes the mountains before they know it
• Overturns them in his anger
• Shakes the earth out of its place...
• Commands the sun, and it rises not
• Seals up the stars
• Stretches out the heavens and treads the crests of the sea.....
•  Does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning
• Comes near me, I see him not…..

Who is God for me? 

  

• God is wise in heart and mighty in strength in me and in you!
• God removes the mountains of pride and shame and hurt and fear in me, sometimes before         I know it. He does the same for you.
• In His anger, God overturns sin in me, in the world: in the structures of our society, our             church, our families, our workplaces, our legal systems;  yes, in all systems.
• God shakes all that is not of God out of its place in me, in you and in the world.
• God seals up the stars and leads me into the darkness that awakens me to the Son and He does so for everyone!
• God stretches out the things of heaven to penetrate the things of earth, to penetrate the              hardness of my heart and yours.
• God does great things in my life without me knowing His presence, His power, His mercy and love doing these things. He does the same for you.
• God comes near without me, or you,  seeing Him.

Who is God for you?