Homily: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
Friends, this week we
encounter the famed biblical figure of Job.
We recall that Job was one of God’s most faithful people; so much so
that, when challenged by Satan to allow him to do so, God permitted Job’s faith
to be put to the test when he allowed Satan to destroy the pillars of his
life. We recall that Satan then caused
his livestock to be stolen or killed, his servants to be murdered, his crops to
be destroyed, and even his own children to die a sudden and tragic death. Then, beyond all of that, Job’s own health
was attacked. Through all of this, Job
never turned against the God.
Nevertheless, he did become despondent about whether life could ever
bring him joy again and today, we heard his lament.
For Job, life had become
difficult: like the life of a soldier who is off on a war campaign, who has
very little comfort and long hard days, even when those days aren’t filled with
battles. Job also describes it like that
of a day laborer: out in the field, laboring under the hot sun, longing for
shade and the sunset that will bring the day’s meager wages, but with little
else for which to look forward since the next day would only bring more of the
same. Job, while not turning from God,
had nonetheless lost hope that God would rescue him from this great grief that
had come upon him. Thus, he saw his
future days as dark and full of struggle.
These February days are often
dark and cold, adding further discouragement to the challenges that daily life
brings to all of us. For nearly one year
now, the challenges and losses that this pandemic has caused have added to our
sufferings. Maybe it is only the
suffering of having to have school at home and not being able to visit friends
and relatives for extended periods of time.
Perhaps, however, you’ve also suffered a loss of job or even the loss of
a loved one. Regardless of the
additional sufferings that this has caused you, I feel confident that all of us
have experienced some additional suffering; and that this suffering has endured
for nearly a year now means that many of us may have begun to lose hope that we
will be rescued from the grief that has come upon us.
In the Gospel reading, we
heard how Jesus brought hope into the lives of those who had long looked for
the one who would come and restore the kingdom of God. Two weeks ago, we heard how Jesus came onto
the scene and announced the “time of fulfillment”, the restoration of the
kingdom of God. Last week, we heard him
preach in the synagogue with authority and demonstrate his authority by
expelling a demon. This sign was a sign
of hope. Today, we heard how those who
were in the synagogue went and spread this good news, bringing back those who
were sick and possessed to be healed as a further sign of the new life of the
kingdom that Jesus came to proclaim and make real. For those who heard his proclamation and
experienced his healing, these signs gave them new hope that their lives of
hopeless suffering had come to an end.
Friends, Jesus brings this
same hope into our lives that have become full of suffering. We know the full story of what Jesus came to
do: not only to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God, but also to redeem
mankind by his passion, death, and resurrection. This is the “time of fulfillment” and we are
beneficiaries of it through our baptism.
Having been united to Christ in this way, we have hope—real hope—that
all of the suffering and challenges in this world will one day end and that a
new and glorious life in God’s kingdom awaits us. This hope is not just a strong optimism that
things will be good in the future, but rather a conviction that what has been
promised will become real. In one sense,
it is already real for those who have died in Christ and now live with him in
heaven. This fact strengthens our hope.
Notice, however, what Jesus
didn’t do: he didn’t eliminate suffering all together. Rather, he brought hope into a world of
suffering. Job lamented because he saw
no hope of joy in the future now that his life had become overwhelmed with
grief and loss. Surely, even after God
restored much of what Job had lost there was still challenges and sufferings
for Job. Those, however, were sufferings
endured with hope because he could see how God’s providence would carry him
through.
Those who received healing and
deliverance at the hands of Jesus surely suffered more in their lives. Most of them, I assume, became Christians and
probably suffered persecution along with many of the ordinary sufferings of
daily life. Because of their encounter
with Christ, however, these sufferings were infused with the hope that one day
these sufferings would be transformed into a life of glory with Christ in
heaven.
The same is for us. While our baptism has united us with Christ
and the redemption that he won for us, it has not promised us a life without
suffering. Rather, it has infused our
lives with hope that once the suffering of this life has passed we, who have
remained faithful to him, will experience an eternal life without suffering. Thus, when we look at the sufferings of our
daily lives (made worse by the pandemic), and we experience the desire to
lament, as Job did, we nonetheless look to Jesus Christ—to his incarnation,
life, death, and resurrection—and we take hold of the hope that suffering is
not the end of our lives, but only the beginning.
And so, how do we stay hopeful
in the midst of daily challenges and sufferings? Certainly, by worshiping God in Mass, like we
do here today. But also by praising God
daily. Our responsorial Psalm has us cry
out, “Praise the Lord, for he is good; sing praise to our God, for he is
gracious… Great is our Lord and mighty in power…” My friends, can I challenge you to open your
bibles to Psalm 147 each day this week and to pray this Psalm with deep feeling
and emotion? Raise your hands to the
Lord as you do it. I promise you that,
whatever suffering you are experiencing, you will find some consolation in
doing it. By boldly proclaiming with our
mouths and our bodies that God “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their
wounds”, we will strengthen our hope that, after these days of suffering, we
will experience peace in God’s kingdom.
Please, look for ways to make your outward praise of God a daily habit
as a way to stay hopeful in the midst of your daily challenges and sufferings.
Then, with this praise still
ringing in our hearts, we will be ready to share this hope with others. Every day, I imagine, each of us encounters
others who are weighed down by life’s challenges and sufferings. We have a chance to meet them there and to
sympathize with whatever difficulty is afflicting them. From there we can then share with them the
reason for our hope, which is also hope for each of them: the good news of
Jesus Christ our Savior. Friends, this
is evangelization! And, like Saint Paul,
we are all obliged to do it! Obliged,
not as a payment for the blessings that we have received, but because of our
gratitude for such a gift and of our conviction that this gift is a gift ready
to be given to anyone who is open to receiving it. Surely, it is selfish and cruel to have
received a gift of great value and, recognizing that this gift is available to
anyone who wishes to receive it, not to tell anyone about it. Thus, as Saint Paul says elsewhere, “the love
of God urges us on” to proclaim this good news to all. The great paradox of God’s love is that, when
we do so, our own hope is strengthened further.
Friends, every time that we
come here to this altar we bring with us the challenges and sufferings of our
daily lives (including our own failings that have caused suffering for
ourselves and others). We bring them
here and we give thanks that God has infused them with hope through Jesus. May our thanksgiving lead us to praise of God
in our daily lives. And may our praise
lead us to share the reason for our hope with others, so that more of God’s
people will join us here in thanksgiving and God’s kingdom of hope will grow
among us.
Given in Spanish at St. Paul parish: Marion, IN – February 6th,
2021
Given in Spanish at St. Mary parish: Union City, IN – February
7th, 2021
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