Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time  

The Responsorial Psalm gives us the source of all boldness in ministry: “In you, my God, I place my trust” (Psalm 91).  

In Genesis 28: 10-22 God renews with Jacob his promise to Abraham: “The land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants… In you and your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.” And Jacob cries out, “How awesome is this place! This is the house of God.” 

We know that God is everywhere, not restricted to any one place: “The Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands; as the prophet says, ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool’” (Acts 7:48). But there are two ways a place can become a special dwelling place of God. The first is by being “set aside from secular use to be dedicated to the godhead.” (see “sacred” and “holy” in Leon-Dufour, Dictionary of the New Testament). This is why we call a church the “house of God.” 

A second way is for God to make his presence evident in a certain place by clearly acting there. That is why Jacob set up a memorial stone to be a shrine which he named “Beth–el” (God’s house).’”  

Through our baptismal consecration as priests, we are the special presence of God in both of these ways: Baptism “consecrated” us, “set us aside” for God’s work. And God works in and through us as his body. That is why the living members of the Church are the real temple and house of God on earth today. “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood….”(1Peter 2:5; and see John 6:56; 15:5). 

Matthew 9: 18-26 shows us that where Jesus is, life is. And those whom he touches in ministry come to life, whether physically or spiritually. But we have to approach him with faith and trust, even when we think it is impossible for us to be healed or restored to life. As ministers of Christ, we never say any situation is impossible or any person beyond help. Jesus said, “I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5: 25-26). 

What calls us to life is the voice of the living Jesus. We must not stop short, focused only on the words of teaching and preaching, rites and ceremonies, but listen to Jesus’ voice coming live from the lips of his ministers. He is present in them. “In you, my God, I place my trust.” 

Initiative: Be a priest. Recognize God’s presence in yourself and others. 

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #383, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.