HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED GOD?

 Tuesday, July 11, 2023


ST BENEDICT, Abb. (Mem)


Office: Memorial, Psalter Week 2


First  Reading. Genesis 32: 23-33

Psalm. 17: 1-2, 6-8 and 15 (R. 15a)

Gospel. Matthew 9: 32-38


TOPIC FOR REFLECTION


HAVE YOU ENCOUNTERED GOD LIKE JACOB?



Jacob unknown to him wrestled with God, and when he realised it was God, he said, I will never let you go unless you bless me.


Can we recall how many times we have encountered God in one form or another, did we ever seek the blessings of this God whom we encountered in the human form? 


My dear, if we truly want to see God, we need to encounter Him in our fellow human persons. We should allow people to encounter God in us and we in God.


On the contrary, some of us had encountered God in various ways but never knew. In our society today, the only encounter with God which many do give testimonies about is when worldly material things were received.

As such, most never see they have encountered God once it does not involve material gifts of money, etc.


However, we should be aware that each one of us can never encounter God in the same way, and we should not attach material wealth to be the only way of saying we have encountered God, rather it should be primarily that we encounter God, especially in people who put a smile on our faces, people who give us joy which serves as strength to move on in life and never to give up.


Jacob encountered God, and his name was changed to Israel; so, in our individual lives, as it pleases God, any time we meet a person and our situations changed from bad to good,  better to best, pain to joy, troubled mind to relaxed mind, from ill health to good health, etc. Kindly know that God has been encountered which changed our situation from ugly situations to beautiful situations, just as he changed Jacob's name to Israel.


In every situation, God is always wanting to test our patience and endurance. God saw the endurance of Jacob during the wrestling, and that is the same with us during our situations. 


 Similarly, in today's Gospel, the mute demoniac man that was brought to Jesus received a great transformation, his situation changed from being mute to start talking. This happened when he encountered Jesus.


Still, Jesus made himself available for us to have free access to Him, more reason He taught in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. Hence, all who encountered Jesus never remained the same.


This is more reason He felt concerned when He saw the crowd who want to encounter Him, and He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest,”


My dear, if I may ask you, have you ever encountered God without you knowing in the past?

Is your life good for people to encounter God through?

As you want your situation to change when Christ is encountered in others, can you make other people encounter God through you? 


Peace ✌️ be with you


Rev. Fr. Segun Oladeji, CRS.

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