Genesis 17:1, 9-11, 15-22 / Matthew 8:1-4
Your wife will bear a son; Abraham responded with laughter
Occasionally a line in Scripture causes us to do a double take. Today's reading is a case in point. When God told Abraham that Sarah would bear him a son, what did Abraham do? Did he praise God for deciding to do such a marvelous thing? Did he thank God for deciding to bless him so splendidly? Did he rush off to share the news with Sarah? No! Abraham laughed and said mockingly to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?" God's reaction to Abraham's incredulity was just as provocative. He ignored it, as a loving father ignores the occasional foolishness of an immature son.
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How do we respond to the suggestion that God is ready to do great things for us? "Faith is dead to doubt, dumb to discouragement, and blind to impossibilities." The Defender
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God renews his promises to Abraham. In today’s readings it is the will of the Lord that is highlighted. The Lord tells Abram that he and Sarai will soon have a son, Isaac, even though their advanced age would seem to make that impossible. The child will be a living sign of the covenant between God and his father. The visible sign of the covenant will be the circumcision of every male child.
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The First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church
Nero became the emperor of Rome in 54. About 10 years later, he began to persecute the Christians. When a terrible fire broke out in the city, Nero accused the Christians of causing it. He increased his efforts to destroy them. Nero had Christians covered with pitch and set on fire to light the way for his night drive through the park. He had some Christians sewn into animal skins and left in the woods so that he and his guests could go hunting for them. In the two centuries after Nero, thousands of Christians were put to death. All these unnamed martyrs are honored on the day after the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.
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Immediately after the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew gives us a series of miracles of Jesus, the first of which is narrated in today’s Gospel, the cure of the leper. Jesus had spoken with power, now he acts with power; Jesus had spoken of the law of love, now he himself puts it into practice in an act of compassionate help to an outcast. Note that in the Bible, leprosy is closely linked to sin and like a physical sign of sin. Let us honour our Lord in his compassion and forgiveness.
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Acting outside of the legal boundaries, the leper in today’s Gospel approaches Jesus directly and asks for a cure. “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” Jesus responds in the affirmative. “I do choose. Be made clean.”
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To express our desires before the Lord conditionally is a sign of a mature faith. Is what I am asking truly in accord with God’s will? We have only partial vision; God sees the picture in its entirety. There was once a case of a child inflicted with a debilitating mental illness. Her family ardently prayed for a cure, which did not happen. But the family developed a new sense of compassion for those with mental illness and their families. This led them to sponsor treatment centers where such patients and their loved ones could have care and support. There are times when our prayers are redirected. Indeed, God does write straight with crooked lines!
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Prayer
Lord God, our Father, your Son, Jesus Christ, revealed to us your compassionate, healing love. Let his presence here in our midst fill us with his power of sharing in the miseries of our neighbour. Let our words be like balm on open wounds in their hearts and let our deeds bring healing to all those around us. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen
