Catechism Links [1]
CCC 547-550: Healing as a sign of messianic times
CCC 1502-1505: Christ the Healer
CCC 875, 1122: The urgency of preaching
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| “The Patient Job” by Gerard Seghers, c. 1620 |
Reading 1: Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Commentary on Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
Job is responding in the first of several exchanges between himself and his “friends,” lamenting the terrible situation that has befallen him. His friend Eliphaz has just commented in an optimistic way about Job’s possible future, having been surprised that Job felt that his life should just end instead of hoping for restored health and prosperity. To his friend's comments Job responds with both logic and poetry. This selection is part of his first soliloquy.
In this selection Job first compares life on earth to military service (drudgery being derived from that environment). He complains of the boredom, servitude and pain – without hope of respite; indeed, he concludes, with no hope whatsoever.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (cf. 3a) Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
Alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
This hymn of praise anticipates the coming of the Messiah who restores what is lost and gives hope to the poor. It is the poor upon whom he lavishes special blessings: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Commentary on 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
St. Paul continues to exhort the church at Corinth to follow his example. He begins this selection with a restatement of his own imperative call: to proclaim the Gospel is a “divine compulsion.” His reward for responding to that call is that he “too may have a share in it.” His clear message is that the Gospel he proclaims and the work he accomplishes should bring glory to Christ, not to himself.
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Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
Commentary on Mk 1:29-39
Jesus comes to the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew from Capernaum. He continues to heal the sick and to cast out demons. This episode is somewhat different in that it occurs in a private setting, attended by the three privileged disciples. Scholars speculate that this, like other such accounts (Mark 4:10, 34; 5:37-40; 6:31-32), is an eyewitness report of the Lord’s revelation in the privacy of a home setting.
It is noteworthy that Mark tells us that as Jesus cast out demons, he was “not permitting them to speak because they knew him.” Demons presumably had supernatural powers and were therefore able to recognize the nature of Jesus. Because of this, he silenced them. He did so, it is proposed, because he needed to show the people (and his disciples) that he was not the “Royal Messiah,” but something unexpected. [5]
The Gospel tells us that the Lord then went off to a deserted place to pray, and it was only when Simon and his companions came and found him that he continued his mission of proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
The Gospel tells us that the Lord then went off to a deserted place to pray, and it was only when Simon and his companions came and found him that he continued his mission of proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
CCC: Mk 1:35 2602
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Homily:
Don’t blame it on the Groundhog! There was a story in the news a while back about a groundhog in Wisconsin that bit the mayor of the town when it was asked if there would be an early spring. We are not sure if it bit the mayor because the question put the groundhog put in a “no-win” situation, or if it simply didn’t like politicians. In point of fact, winter in these temperate regions, with cloudy skies and short days, is reported to be one of the most depressing periods of time in the calendar year. It is a time when we need to hear a message of hope. Today, we find that message in God’s word, but we also must be aware there is another voice active in our world. We find traces of that message as well.
Let us begin, as scripture did, by looking at Job. In the first reading he is responding to a friend who has chastised him for being so pessimistic about his plight. Job had burdened his friends with a description of his situation so desperate that life was not worth continuing. Eliphaz in his turn had reminded Job of his goodness and piety, telling him that God would surely not destroy the just person.
Still, Job had lost all his extensive possessions; he had lost his sons and daughters and he had lost even his health, being afflicted by Satan with horrible boils to a point where his friends did not even recognize him. His hopelessness is summed up in the final statement: “Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again.”
Does Job sound familiar? Haven’t we all heard a person beg the question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The answer to that question is, in part, also provided in the Book of Job. For those who are not familiar with the story, Job was a wealthy man. He had extensive flocks and herds of animals and a large family with seven sons and three daughters. We are told he lived a devout life and followed God’s commandments without fail.
The Lord God, was pleased with Job but Satan challenged God saying that it was easy for Job to be faithful and devout: look at the blessings God had given him. To this God responded that Satan could take away all that Job had, he just could not touch Job himself. God was confident that Job would remain faithful. With that Satan proceeded to strip Job of all his possessions and even caused his children to die. In response, Job mourned all that happened but did not blaspheme against God.
Again God said how proud he was of his servant Job and again Satan said to God – of course he remains faithful, his own life is not at risk. To prove Satan wrong God told Satan that he could strike Job, he just could not kill him. That is when Job was afflicted with the boils and that is where we find him in the first reading. This factor alone does not fully explain why bad things happen to good people. Our loving God is not capricious; he does not sit around making wagers with the Evil One. The point made in Job is rather that Satan does exist as a force in the world
A major contributing factor in this question and in life is in the creation story itself. God created us, we are told “in our (his) image, after our likeness “(Genesis 1:26). In creating our race, he gave all of us, good and bad alike, the ability to make choices. These choices are the driving force that supplies the rest of the answer to that question: why bad things happen to good people. We live in a crowded world and, as the day of Job, Satan is in the world “…roaming the earth and patrolling it."
The balance of sacred scripture with which we are confronted today provides our response to the difficulties and setbacks we face in the world today. Job’s was a response that seemed to have no hope (at this point in the tale, but the story does have a good ending). Our response is founded in Christ, God’s Son, who came into the world so that we would know God’s love and consolation. It was through Christ, whom we see in St. Mark’s Gospel, that healing and forgiveness came into the world.
The author of the book of Job envisioned the battle between good and evil, between God and Satan. The story teaches perseverance in the face of tragedy and fidelity to God even when it seems that God has deserted us. Christ comes as an image of that love. He brings us the hope that lifts us up and the strength to help others similarly afflicted. This message of hope and love is one sorely needed in today’s climate.
We are called to proclaim Christ’s Gospel of salvation like St. Paul, who emphasized that duty to the Corinthians when he said “…an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” Woe to us if we give up hope and fall prey to the one who roams the earth, patrolling it. Despair is his tool, not hope. We dare not fall into that easy trap.
Today we see in Job the depths to which calamity can bring us. We see also the hope that comes through Christ who walks with us always and carries us in the worst of times. We must remember that great gift. It was with great sacrifice that he brought it to us.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
[2] The picture today is “The Patient Job” by Gerard Seghers, c. 1620
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp. 230
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