AD SENSE

13th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, June 30

 13th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, June 30

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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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