It’s hard not to be struck by the heavy-heartedness of Job’s words. He complains that life is a "drudgery"... that his eyes "will never see happiness again". We can understand that – Job lost his children, his possessions and property, even his health. Many people nowadays can easily relate to this – to his situation – to his sentiments.
Job teaches us an important lesson when we’re going through tough times difficult: keep talking to God. Tell God your frustrations. Tell him about the unfairness of life. Tell God exactly how you feel. Then listen for his answer.
Job did not get an immediate explanation of why he lost everything. But he did, over time, come to a deeper understanding of God’s greatness - he accepted it in faith.
Let us pray that may our trials and sufferings help us to open our hearts more deeply and honestly to God.
Sickness, sufferings, death were never a part of God’s plan for humanity. Jesus healing the sick is a sign that God’s work of “re-creation” is underway. The kingdom of God is at hand. God’s kingdom is at work among us. In Jesus, God has set us free.
That is why St. Paul said in the second reading: Woe to us if we do not preach the Gospel.
Meaning – our blessings, our healings, come with a mission… “an obligation has been imposed on us…” not as a burden but a privilege to share – to participate in the Divine Life of God – in the redeeming action of God… by sharing with others the Good News of God’s love, grace and mercy – that we ourselves experienced.
St. Teresa of Avila beautifully said: “Christ has no body now on earth but yours…”
Now it is our turn. We are the disciples who must bring the good news to the brokenhearted, to those who are enslaved, to those who are weak.
In the Gospel of Luke (4:16), “Jesus went to the synagogue, as was his custom, on the sabbath day.”
Most of us - are here today - for that same reason. We have formed the custom or we can say the habit of going to Mass on Sundays. That is good - but we must take care not to allow this practice to become an end in itself. Participation in any service of public worship or Mass is a useless exercise, if it is all there is to it. The real test of its value is what happens when the service or when our Mass is over.
Last Sunday’s Gospel, Mark tells us that Jesus went to the synagogue on the
Sabbath.
Today’s reading deals with what happened after. Our Gospel reading today begins with the phrase: “On leaving the synagogue…”
Meaning - The prayers had been prayed. The songs had been sung. The Scripture had been read. The sermon had been preached. The blessings had been pronounced, and everyone left the synagogue. Then what? That is the very important question. We face that same question week after week, and in a few minutes, we will be facing that questiont again. Again - Whether or not a service of public worship has any true value depends, in large measure, on what happens after our Eucharistic celebration service has ended.
We know what happened with Jesus when the worship service ended. He immediately moved into practical service. He entered the house of Simon and Andrew, where Simon’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever. Jesus healed her, and then she began to serve him.
We do not have to do something big and dramatic. We could start by simply being nice. Simple and easy as it may sound, but in many homes, that would make a dramatic difference.
We may not think of that as an expression of genuine Christianity. But - If our faith in Christ has not, at least, made us nice or kind or gentle, then it probably has not made much difference in any that matters.
You just never know how far a simple act of kindness can go toward bringing someone closer to God.
After Church, after Mass, then what? As a start, why not go home and just be nice?
But we cannot stop there… but that is a good start. Jesus did not limit his practical service to family and friends. He recognized and accepted a responsibility to the larger community.
People from everywhere came to Jesus and most of them came with problems but Jesus did not hesitate to deal with them as though they were his brothers and sisters.
With most of us, our interests and concerns are quite localized, so to speak. We care about ourselves and the people immediately around us, especially our families and friends. We care about our jobs. We care about our neighborhoods, and our parish.
All of those are understandable. We should care about them. But the true follower of Christ is required to care about more than these.
In the Gospel reading today, the next morning, after that busy evening, his disciples found Jesus in a quiet place, absorbed in prayer.
Repeatedly in the Gospels, we find references to the Lord Jesus at prayer. From the first day of His ministry to the last -- Jesus needed to be at prayer.
Meaning - Jesus’ life – his ministry or at work or even at rest – His life is
rooted in His communion with the Father, in His loving relationship with the Father… for the love of God.
When they told him that everyone was looking for him. Jesus replied: “"Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come."
Meaning - To be a true follower of Christ is to live in an ever-expanding world.
Meaning – We need to go out and live in a bigger world. We are called to enlarge our definition or concept of family, enlarge the circle of our love to include at least a few more people. Make their concerns our concerns, and allow their needs to become our needs.
From the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World – Gaudium Et Spes:
“The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these, too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts.”
Soon our mass will be over, and we will go our separate ways. We will have done all of the things that we do here every week. Has it been worthwhile? That depends on what happens once the mass has ended. Again - after mass, then what?
St. Augustine said "Believe what you see, see what you believe and become what you are: the Body of Christ." Meaning – when we come to the table of the Lord – wen we receive communion - when we say "Amen", we are saying "Yes! I believe this is the Body of Christ and that I will be the Body of Christ to others."
As one Life Teen Program pastor usually says at the end of the Mass: The Mass never ends, it must be lived.
So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, after Mass today, THEN WHAT?
God bless…
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Job 7:1-4,6-7; Psalm 147:1-6; I Corinthians 9:16-19,22-23; Mark 1:29-39
