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 |
Readings for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary: [4]
Reading 1: Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Job spoke, saying:
Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?
Are not his days those of hirelings?
He is a slave who longs for the shade,
a hireling who waits for his wages.
So I have been assigned months of misery,
and troubled nights have been allotted to me.
If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?"
then the night drags on;
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;
I shall not see happiness again.
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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.
Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
Alleluia.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
Alleluia.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
Alleluia.
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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
Brothers and sisters:
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach,
I offer the gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Although I am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.
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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.
The Church teaches that proclaiming the Gospel is a universal duty of Christians. "There is nothing colder than a Christian who is not concerned about the salvation of others [...]. Do not say, I cannot help others: for, if you are truly a Christian it is impossible not to. Natural objects have properties that cannot be denied; the same is true of what I have just said, because it is the nature of a Christian to act in that way. Do not offend God by deception. If you said that the sun cannot shine, you would be committing an offense against God and making a liar of him. It is easier for the sinner to shine or give warmth than for a Christian to cease to give light: it is easier for that to happen than for light to become darkness. Do not say that that is impossible: what is impossible is the contrary [...]. If we behave in the correct way, everything else will follow as a natural consequence. The light of Christians cannot be hidden, a lamp shining so brightly cannot be hidden" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on Acts", 20).
CCC: 1 Cor 9:5-18 2122; 1 Cor 9:19 876; 1 Cor 9:22 24
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Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.
When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.
Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.
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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.
CCC: Mk 1:35 2602
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Reflection:
There is a wonderful adage handed down to us by our forebears in Christianity. Some attribute it to St. Ignatius of Loyola (I suspect it’s the Jesuits who originally made the claim) and others to my favorite Church Father, St. Augustine of Hippo. When we are confronted with a seemingly insurmountable task or challenge, stated simply it says: “We must pray as if it is all up to God but work as if it is all up to us.” I submit that in our current secular environment, the saying is appropriate.
Sacred Scripture given to us by the Church today gives us some great insights about facing the calamities resulting from physical illness to which we can apply this saying. In the first reading from the Book of Job, we hear Job responding to his friends following an incredible series of travesties heaped upon the hapless hero of the story (Eliphaz has just commented in an optimistic way about Job’s possible future). Job has had everything taken away from him by Satan in the Evil One’s attempt to cause him to turn away from God. He has lost his material possessions, his wife and children, and even his health. (The tragic saga included “So the satan […] struck Job with severe boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head,” at which point even his wife supposed Job had offended the Lord and told him he should just roll over and die. Job 2:7ff) As an aside, if you ever feel like you the Lord has forsaken you, read the Book of Job. If you do [spoiler alert], you should know it has a happy ending.
What we hear in the passage from Job is instructive. It is easy when faced with “when it rains it pours” events, when everything seems to be going wrong, to feel that God has abandoned you or worse that God is even punishing you (as Job’s wife did). We must never forget that Satan, which was also repeated in Job’s second chapter, is still “roaming the earth and patrolling it.” We will reiterate that point when we pray the St. Michael prayer at the conclusion of Mass. There is not just the spirit of good in the world, there is also a spirit of evil and we must be cautious.
Let’s not dwell on Job though or we might get depressed. We’ll skip to the happy ending and remember that we have a Gospel given to us, as God sent his Son to prove once and for all how much he loves us and cares for us. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, shouts at us that we, like him, should feel compelled to proclaim the Gospel with our lives.
The great “golden tongue” saint, St. John Chrysostom provides the logic for us. He says in essence that our character, molded by Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit, will force us to act as heralds Christ. If we are genuinely dedicated to following Christ’s example, we will not be able to hide our faith as it will color all that we do. As the good saint reminds us, “The light of Christians cannot be hidden, a lamp shining so brightly cannot be hidden."
That brings us to the incident described in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus comes to the house of Simon (Peter) and Andrew and finds Simon’s mother-in-law ill with a fever. The Hebrews of Jesus day called it a “fire in the bones.” I don’t know how many of you watched the first season of “The Chosen,” which is really an excellent dramatization of parts of the life of Christ. The series actually portrays this miracle, inferring that Christ healed Simon’s mother-in-law to free him from worry so he could follow the Lord with single-minded purpose. The series had actually set up this moment by showing the woman afflicted with long suffering at various times earlier in the series. We submit that this was one of those points of speculation we can chalk up to “creative license.” From a purely scriptural perspective, Jesus would not have needed a motive other than his infinite mercy to restore the woman to health. (I’ll just add that, contrary to the opinions of some, I was not there when it happened so I can’t say for sure the series got it wrong. Just saying…)
Jesus demonstrates, with his act of mercy, that when Simon, in faith, brings Jesus into his home, he brings salvation to those present, including and in this case especially to Simon’s mother-in-law. It is in this act of bringing the Lord with him that Simon gives us an example of our mission as disciples. We do the same when we bring our faith in the Lord with us into a place. Jesus is always with us in spirit. He comes with us when we go into our home or to work. Through our faith and actions, the Lord is introduced into our environment and can bring that sense of love and spiritual healing to those with whom we have contact.
If we are willing to proclaim the Gospel with our lives as St. Paul exhorts us to do, following his example, we bring the Lord with us wherever we go. Our discipleship is clearly evident without effort on our parts beyond our constant faith in Jesus, acting through the Holy Spirit.
We all face a changed world and we don’t know for how long or how deeply these changes will impact us and our lives. What we do know is that our Lord and Savior loves us deeply, incredibly, infinitely. And our faith brings that love and healing power with us. It will not necessarily protect us from the virus “roaming about the world seeking the ruin of souls.” We still need to work as if it is all up to us, taking appropriate precautions but at the same time praying to God to help us, knowing that he hears those prayers as well.
Today we hear a message of hope in the Gospel. We recall that, unlike the people of Job’s time, we do not believe that bad things come because God is punishing us. No, we are confident that God loves us and his mercy is always present for us. We give thanks for all the many blessings he has given us, and as missionary disciples, pledge to take Jesus with us into the world.
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.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, except for the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 230.
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