Homily: July 5, 2025, Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.”

With that sentence, sealed the blessing Jacob received from his father Issac, through cheating. His mother Rebekah had planned the evil plot to steal the blessing for her precious son Jacob.

And poor Esau, who was supposedly the rightful beneficiary, was still out in the forest, trying to hunt for the best animal to bring to his father, unaware of the happenings at home.

Because of this, for a long time, I personally did not like Jacob. And Rebekah, I initially admired her virtues and character, until she married Isaac. Thereafter, she changed. She became cunning, dishonest and evil.

Salvation history began in Genesis 12, with the call of Abraham. By the time we reached chapter 27, we would have seen many troubles, grave injustices, sinful acts among God’s chosen people, starting with the first generation.

Sarah had insisted that Abraham have a child with Hagar, after which she grew jealous and ill-treated Hagar. After Isaac was born, Sarah mercilessly forced Abraham to send Hagar and her son Ishmael out into the wilderness, knowing they would not survive.

The self-serving evil schemes continued on to the next generations. Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and his brothers, the sin persisted causing many painful stories, sufferings and hardships.

So where is God in all of this? Why didn’t God intervene and prevent all the sinful events?

Their stories are our stories. These are the stories of humanity. The same trends are repeated in every generation, in every family, and even in our own hearts, in our time, in our society.

God doesn't hide the brokenness of His people, and He doesn’t interfere with actions of our free will. Instead, He enters and be part of it. He works through our wrongs and our pains. He accompanies us in our sufferings and transforms them into graces.

Look at Jacob’s life. Yes, he stole the blessing of Esau, but it came at a great cost. He had to live in fear of Esau. He became a servant in his uncle’s household. He was tricked by Laban, like how he once tricked his father and his life was full of struggles and restlessness – a consequence of his own sin.

And yet, God's hand never left him. The blessing he received was valid, but it had to be purified through suffering and humility.

God could have intervened, but He didn’t, he quietly worked through all our disgraceful acts, across the generations to bring us into the graced life He has prepared for us. He faithfully turned the curses of our own doing, into blessings flowing from His own sacrifice.

Let us pray:

“Lord God, you chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. You have a perfect plan for humanity to save us despite our own evil ambitions to destroy ourselves. May your will be done, not ours. Amen.”