SAINT MARIA GORETTI, VIRGIN AND MARTYR (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.

Have you ever wrestled with God?

In today’s first reading (Matthew 9:32-38), we read about how Jacob wrestled a man all night long, not knowing until the end that the “man” was really an angel of God. This wrestling match might seem like an endearing side story in Jacob’s life, but it actually came at a decisive moment in his life. He was about to meet his estranged brother, Esau, after years apart, and Jacob knew he had to face up to the way he had cheated his brother out of his birthright.

Just as Jacob experienced in today’s first reading (Matthew 9:32-38), we can have our own wrestling matches with God, especially when it comes to accepting his plan for us. There are probably many times when we have felt “moved with pity” for someone who is struggling in life (Matthew 9:36). But we feel a conflict between wanting to do more and fearing that it would be too demanding. Or we feel a conflict between reaching out and helping someone and staying at a safe, uninvolved distance. We don’t want to risk our comfort or our reputation or our status—or any number of things.

When you find yourself wrestling with God, try to remember that you are called only to try your best and to leave the rest to him. You won’t solve world hunger overnight, and you certainly won’t mend a decades-old feud with just one email. But you can do something. You can step forward in faith and make an attempt.

God has plans for you, just as he had plans for Jacob. Sometimes those plans include a wrestling match with him. Sometimes he lets you wrestle with his calling so that, when you’re finished, you are more convinced than before that this is truly his will for you. So go ahead and put up a bit of a fight if you want. Just know that in the end, God’s way is always the best way.

“Lord, sometimes your will for me is hard and I don’t want to do it. When that happens, help me to wrestle with you in faith and trust.”

Genesis 32:23-33
Psalm 17:1-3, 6-8, 15
Matthew 9:32-38

WORD AMONG US