5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (08.02.15)
The readings in today’s liturgy emphasise two important lessons –
Firstly, as we dwell on the story of that upright, blameless man, Job, and how his virtue was sorely put to the ultimate test by unspeakable suffering and loss, yet how he never lost his faith and hope and trust in God through it all….always accepting his lot with the words and sentiments therein :-
“the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Is that how we feel or respond in the face of cruelty and unfair treatment of good people – or do we complain as did Job’s friends and acquaintances exclaiming: – “Why Job?” “What harm has he ever done anyone?”
When we or those we know and love have to suffer, do we ever think or say: – “Why me.. or him.. or her?”
Yes, it is natural and understandable to ask –Why suffering!
But let us look at how Jesus dealt with it during his life on earth, as He devoted his time to answering the plea of all who came to Him for healing – day and night, everywhere He went. He continued His compassionate ministry throughout His life – following the will of His Father. That is why He had come.
The questions of the suffering Job – and indeed of anyone else who cried out in endless anguish at their own or other’s seemingly unjust plight – are not answered in the Gospel.
Remember, Jesus Himself did so during His Passion – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”
However, during His public life Jesus stays committed to caring for the sick and suffering without question.
That is His witness, and that must be the enduring witness of His followers.
This shines through when we hold fast to the truth that God loves us in our weakness and fragility, in our sickness and suffering… exemplified in the dedication of doctors, nurses, carers, hospital chaplains and all those who tend in any way to the suffering of others. As Denis McBride puts it so aptly – “They are God’s compassion in flesh, God’s care in motion. No doubt all of them have reason to wonder, to protest, to be angry when they see the innocent suffer, but they carry on their good work. That is their enduring witness. Like Jesus, they know that this schedule of care must be kept.”
Secondly, we are reminded that in addition to His busy daily schedule of travelling about – healing the sick, casting out devils, dealing with impatient apostles etc. Jesus always found time to ”go off to a lonely place to pray”!
Why! Because even He could not live a life of feverish activity and self-giving without from time to time standing back from it and seeking strength in solitude and prayer. Here likes the secret of His successful ministry!
As Mother Teresa said “If you want a lamp to keep burning, you must keep putting oil into it.”
Whatever our role in life, we too need a lonely place in our busy lives – a breathing space… a chance to recover lost energy, physical, mental and spiritual… time to pray ….time to keep clearly in mind the main purpose of all this activity – to focus on the will of God, not our own will!
Christ’s admonition is – “When you pray, go to your room and pray to your Father in secret.”
We should not imagine that this lonely place is necessarily a place far away, or that by “room” He means four walls separating us from others. It is rather a place within ourselves – “room” in our innermost heart where we can be still and hear the still small voice of calm inspiring us to “listen to Him”!
This room is within us at all times. We carry it around with us wherever we go… a place where we can retreat from time to time in order to find rest and spiritual recovery in the presence of the God of love who dwells within us.