June 26, 2020 Friday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time-A
2 Kings 25:1-12
Psalm 137
Matthew 8:1-4
By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept…Ps 137:1
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him Mt. 8:3
Lord, it’s hard to imagine the despair of the Jewish people who were taken from their beloved Jerusalem and carried off to exile in far away Babylon. It’s also hard to imagine the hurt and pain of the man with leprosy who was in a social exile. He was cut off from his home and family and forced to live a life of pain until death. Either condition must have severely tested the faith of the people and the leper. Babylonian exile lasted for generations. There is exile and physical suffering today that can try our belief in you. Lord, I know you are always aware of my ups and downs. It’s easy to have faith in you when everything is going good. It’s when I don’t see your hand in my life that it gets really tough. Lord, if you wish you can heal me from physical or spiritual illness. We have a pandemic causing so much suffering and death. We also witness our beloved nation being rocked by violence and injustice. Lord, I beg you to heal the sick and bring our land into unity once again. I trust in your healing power. Show me how you are working in me and my land today. Amen.