＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

When Abram was ninety-nine  years old,

Yahweh appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk in my presence and be without blame!   God said to Abraham, “For your part, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after generation.  

This is my covenant with you, that you will keep, you and your descendants after you: Every male among you shall be cir­cumcised;   God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai, your wife, no longer are you to call her Sarai, but Sarah.  I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. I will bless her and from her will come nations; kings and peoples shall come from her.”

 Then Abraham fell face down, and he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? And can Sarah who is ninety have a child?”   And Abraham said to God, “If only you would accept Ishmael as yours!”   But God said, “Not at all! It is Sarah, your wife, who will give birth to your son and you will name him Isaac.

I will establish my covenant with him and his descendants after him forever.   As for Ishmael, I heard you. I will bless him and make him fruitful, and I will multiply his race. He shall be the father of twelve princes and I will make of him a great nation.   But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, the child Sarah will have this time next year.”   When he had finished speaking with Abra­ham, God went away from him.

 

Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

Matthew 8:1-4

 When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him.  Then a leper came forward. He knelt before him and said, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”  Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I want to, be clean again.” At that very moment the man was cleansed from his leprosy.   Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not tell anyone, but go to the priest, have yourself declared clean, and of­fer the gift that Moses commanded as evidence for them.”

   

Gospel Reflection：

Crossing boundaries can be a terrifying thing. You do not know what reception you will get on the other side. But the leper in today’s gospel dared to cross the boundary between the healthy and him who is unclean. He must be desperate to risk such behavior.

But Jesus welcomes his audacity and waits for his reason to do so. It is beg healing. And Jesus does not hesitate but stretches out His hand and touches Him. It is not only the leper who violated the boundary set by human conventions. Jesus also does the same thing. This produces the miracle of healing it is indeed a blessed day.