Hear, Limp and Do

The text from Deuteronomy 6 which is the central prayer of the Jews, "Hear O Israel theLord our God the Lord is One," is not part of the texts prescribed today in the Roman Catholic Lectionary but the episode of the life of Jacob through which he is renamed Israel as the “one who has seen God and lived” is the content of the passage today from Genesis. This example of a restlessness before God resonates with most believers. Friar Jude Winkler suggests that we all need to be more open to a struggle with God. Some rabbis have noted that the wrestling of Jacob with God is a reconciliation of Jacob with God wherein Jacob accepts the invitation of God to continue the promise of the Covenant according to the will of God. This acceptance is marked by the blessing requested by Jacob, his renaming as Israel and the “limp” which marks his struggle and the consequent change in his life. The psalmist expresses the position which we and Jacob might seek in relationship with God where we are the apple of His eye and we have the protection of being under His wings. This relationship is the desire of the palmist who also seems to express this struggle with God. The turmoil of determining how we address the petition of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew to provide more workers for His vineyard comes with the perhaps surprising revelation that God chooses to work through us. The Good Shepherd will care for His people, the descendants of the Promise in the Covenant with Israel, through the physical movement and action of people. The assurance of His Presence in Psalm 23 and the healing and compassion of the Gospel of Matthew will be delivered through real human beings. We welcome our wrestling to determine our task and we give thanks for the “limp” which will point to the conversion we live to be workers in His vineyard.