Sunday, February 4, 2024, is the fifth Sunday in ordinary time, Year B. In the entrance antiphon, we pray: “Come, let us worship the Lord. Let us bow down in the presence of our maker, for he is the Lord our God. Amen.”
The first reading of this day presents one of the most dramatic passages of the Old Testament, that is, the story of Job, who was put to the test and had to go the hard way of suffering. It reminds us of the tragic condition of human life and the need to trust the Lord in good as well as in bad times. In the second reading from First Corinthians, Saint Paul puts himself wholly at the service of the Lord without looking for personal advantages in return. Preaching the gospel was the only thing that mattered in his life. In the Gospel, Saint Mark presents Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry. He has embarked fully on preaching the Good News in synagogues, houses, and public places, curing the sick and chasing away evil spirits from the possessed. Working miracles is an integral part of our Lord’s ministry.
First Reading: 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.
Comment
The Book of Job forms part of what is usually referred to as the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Whereas the other books forming the wisdom literature usually take the form of proverbs, maxims, and wise sayings, the Book of Job is a piece of wisdom writing in the form of a continuous narrative. It is the story of a man who, even though he is faithful to God, still suffers one misfortune after another.
The book takes its name from the central character, Job, an upright man, who suffers a whole series of terrible reverses in which he loses his property, his family, and even his health. His friends and family members try to reason with him and show him where he has gone wrong. Job refuses to reject God despite his terrible conditions and, in the end, he is shown to have been an upright man in every way, and God again blesses him with a new family and with fortune greater than the one he lost. After a long and happy life he dies, like an ancient patriarch, surrounded by esteem and honor.
The passage of our meditation reminds us of the tragic condition of human life. It makes us wonder why an innocent man should face such a fate. In Old Testament times, it was thought that suffering was directly caused by man’s conduct and behavior and that anyone who suffered had to have sinned. That is why Job’s friends and relatives believe that he is suffering from some sin he must have committed. He protests that he has not sinned and that he has always loved God and his neighbour. That is why he asks himself the eternal question every persecuted man or woman always asks: “Why me, of all people?” This man, who suffers indignities he does not deserve, is a symbol of all people in history who suffer unjustly and are persecuted for nothing.
Man’s life is a continual battle. As the Fathers of Vatican II tell us in their document Gaudium et spes, No. 37), “The whole of man’s history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield, man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God’s grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity.” Who do we turn to when we suffer? To our Lord who, in the Gospel of this day, proves that he has come to preach the Gospel and cure us of our infirmities, in body and spirit.
Let us pray with the Psalmist: “Great is our Lord and mighty his power; to his wisdom there is no limit. The Lord sustains the lowly; the wicked he casts to the ground. May peace reign in our land. Amen.”
Second Reading: 1 Cor 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.
Comment
Shortly before the passage of this day, Saint Paul gives a list of rights he rightfully should be entitled to. He serves others by preaching and administering the sacraments and so should be supported by the faithful he serves. However, to make himself more acceptable as a messenger of salvation, he is prepared to renounce all such apostolic privileges. He does not even want to think of his rights but is dominated by his duty to preach, come what may.
Conscious that his God-given calling obliges him to preach the Gospel, he prefers to carry out that mission without receiving anything in exchange. His attitude shows both his greatness and his humility. He faces every kind of suffering, privation, and danger for the sake of the Gospel and yet considers that he is doing no more than his duty. His policy recalls what our Lord himself teaches: “When you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘we are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’ (Lk 17:10).
To keep this self-imposed policy, Saint Paul has to do all his work of evangelization in addition to working to earn a living. In Acts of the Apostles (18:3), we learn made tents to make a living in Corinth. He tells his converts of Thessalonika that “we worked night and day, that we would not burden any of you, while we preached to you the Gospel of God” (1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:9). It is only from the Philippians, for whom he felt a special affection, that Paul accepts gifts (Phil 4: 15-16).
To ensure the success of his mission, he becomes all things to all men, making himself a slave to all. Despite failures, he must carry on to gain his share in the Gospel he peaches. These are some of the most incisive of all of Paul’s words on his apostolic office. Preaching the Gospel is an obligation to him. “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” he tells us in this reading.
The Church has often used these words of Saint Paul to remind us, Christ’s laity, that Christ has also called us to the apostolate through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. As the Fathers of Vatican II Council remind us in one of their documents: “The true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers to draw them towards the faith, or to the faithful to instruct them, strengthen them, and incite them to a more fervent life.”
What lesson do I draw from this reading as a Christian living in the city of Douala today? I draw inspiration from the words of Saint Jose Maria Escriva de Ballaguer, founder of the Opus Dei Movement when he writes: “A Christian has to be ready to share his life with everyone at all times, giving to everyone a chance to come nearer to Christ Jesus. … A Christian cannot afford to separate himself from others because if he did, his life would be miserably selfish. He must become ‘all things to all men, in order to save all men.’”
Not an easy mission at all but we must pray for the grace to be of service to someone today without counting the cost, especially those of our brothers and sisters who have been displaced by this senseless war from the northwest and southwest regions of our country. Holy Spirit, strengthen our faith as we strive in our own imperfect way to preach Christ’s gospel of love and tolerance towards all. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia! Alleluia! Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases. Alleluia! Alleluia!
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.
Comment
Last Sunday, we saw how Jesus preached with authority. The people were astonished and said to one another: “Here is a teaching that is new and with authority behind it”. Today, we see Jesus’s authority in his words being increasingly transformed into action. His words and actions have divine power behind them and he cures the sick wherever he goes.
In today’s Gospel, he cures Simon’s mother-in-law by rebuking the fever that has kept her in bed and prevented her from attending to the needs of her family. News goes fast around the town that he is at Simon’s house and people come crowding around the door bringing with them many who are sick and broken in body and spirit. Christ uses his power to liberate people from the evil forces that dominate their lives. His words act as a liberating force. With his words, he frees people from the stranglehold of the devil. They set people free from fear, hatred, and enmity and bring them salvation, liberation, and happiness. Christ’s words restore peace to troubled hearts and minds and heal broken bodies, minds, and spirits.
Like Job, in the first reading, all those who are crowding around Jesus are seeking answers to the question of suffering. Everyone is wondering: “Why me?” and so they put their trust in Jesus, looking for an answer to their torments; and he does not disappoint them. He attends to their plight and cures them. He feels sorry for them and frees them from the root cause of their illness, that is sin, which destroys the whole person.
Early the next day, he seeks out a lonely place where to pray, from where to ask his Father for more strength to continue his preaching and healing ministry. This is a great example for us to follow. After a day of hard work and endless problems, let us create some space in a lonely place for what Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, calls an examination of conscience. In it, you ask yourself the following questions: “What did I do for Jesus today? What am I doing for Jesus now? What should I be doing for Jesus?” In the course of this prayer, you give thanks to God for all the good things he enabled you to do for the good of others, especially the many refugees living in our city. Then you ask for forgiveness if you did not do those things for the least of Christ’s brothers and sisters as it was expected of you.
Jesus continues to work his wonders in our lives today as he did in those days. He cares for us and heals us but we sometimes lack the faith to believe in Christ’s healing power in our lives. That explains why so many of us, Christians, have more faith in soothsayers than in Christ.
As we pray today for the faith to believe in our Lord, the physician of both body and soul, let us pray to him to bless those among us who have dedicated their lives to the care of the sick. We pray for our doctors, nurses, healers, midwives, hospital chaplains, and all who care for the sufferings of others. They are, as someone has put it, God’s compassion in flesh, and God’s care in motion. Even though they too, like Job, have reason to wonder, to protest, and to be angry when they see the innocent, especially children, suffer, they never give up. Like Christ, they remain committed to alleviating the suffering of others. Lord, grant our hospital workers the courage and strength to continue their work despite the difficulties and discouragement they may encounter as they strive to bring healing to the sick.
Let us in turn pray for all our brothers and sisters who are sick in body and soul. “Lord Jesus, healer of our souls and bodies, during your life on earth, you went about doing good, healing every manner of sickness and disease, strengthening, curing, comforting, and consoling. You want nothing more than to see us healthy and happy. You are the enemy of death and disease, and in and through you they are overcome and conquered. Lay your healing hands upon us now, so that we may live in your praise untiringly. You, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.”
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