Genesis 32:23-33 / Matthew 9:32-38
Life has its ups and downs, its moments of excitement and monotony and drudgery.
As much as we would like life to be exciting and to get up and about, yet there is also the lethargy in us to just want to sit around and waste our time and our life away.
And then we complain that life is boring and meaningless and we may even end up looking for "excitement" in the wrong ways.
But just taking a casual look at the two readings, we can sense and feel that there is a lot of action and excitement.
In the gospel we hear of Jesus doing an exorcism, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness.
And in the 1st reading, we hear of Jacob wrestling for a blessing with a mysterious character and even getting a dislocated hip in the process.
But all this action and excitement would not mean anything to us if we are not going to get up and get involved.
Jesus said that the harvest is rich but the labourers are few. The labourers that Jesus is talking about is none other than we.
If we don't labour for the harvest, then evil will only multiply, the Good News will be silenced, and the suffering will not find relief or compassion.
To labour for the harvest would be like Jacob wrestling for a blessing. It calls for perseverance and at times it will be painful.
But it will be exciting and it will give meaning to our lives.