Sunday Gospel Reflection, February 4, 2018: For this purpose have I come...

 For this purpose have I come… 

How clearly do we understand God's vision? 

   When his so-called friends challenge the good man Job for trusting in God even when Job’s life has fallen apart around him, Job does not hesitate to proffer a vision of life as he currently sees it:  Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?  Having endured months of misery and troubled nights, Job is without hope.  Job’s understanding of life, like our own, is limited by the very human parameters he places upon it.  With a growing sense that he has no control, Job is in despair:  I shall not see happiness again.  But as Job will come to learn, there is no moment when God is not by his side; once Job knows that, knows it in the very core of his being, he comes to appreciate life differently, seeing as God’s sees rather than as man does.  Only when Job gives all power over to God can he embrace the message of Psalm 147, and praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.

   In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus heals not only Simon’s mother-in-law but all who were ill or possessed by demons, and in so doing, he removes all that stands in the way of their vision of God’s love for them.  Standing at their side, Jesus’ presence is a source of strength, a gift.  

   Like Job, we can be sidetracked by the challenges life brings us, yet, like those in need of healing in the Gospel, we must trust, we must let faith help us define our world, rather than our own limited human reason or experience.  Even Paul, writing to the Corinthians, acknowledges his own limited vision – he is ever challenged to understand what he is to do that will bring lasting meaning to his life.  Paul’s answer lies in preaching the gospel, sharing the good news of salvation of all.

   As he did to the suffering souls of his time, Jesus speaks words of love that help us to overcome all obstacles, that we might believe fully in the salvation that he offers – for this purpose did he come.  Our vision needs to be informed by faith, by the knowledge that God is with us, standing at our side, no matter the trial, no matter the challenge.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordle.net

Sunday Gospel Reflection, February 8, 2015: I am filled with restlessness...

I am filled with restlessness...

What weighs you down?

Often, it’s a problem of vision:  our ability to perceive things clearly is restricted by the burdens we bear, the difficulties we face.  And yet, God’s grace surrounds us.  Job had been prosperous, faithful, in right relationship with God.  And then terrible calamities start to occur:  he loses his house, his children, his livestock, his health.  Through it all, however, Job remains faithful, trusting in God, though he does experience moments of despair like the one we hear this week.  Through a series of powerful images, we feel Job’s pain:  he believes his life is like the wind; he can’t control, guide, or see it.  And so he is filled with restlessness until the dawn.  Sometimes it’s hard to see the bigger picture, the truth beyond the tangible…  And yet the Lord is there to see us through, as Job will shortly learn.

In Mark's Gospel, when Jesus heals Simon’s mother-in-law, he is removing her, too, from the grip of all that weighs her down; he lifts her so that she can be whole again.  Indeed, in his healing ministry, Jesus releases many from whatever holds them back, yet often they still don’t see clearly.  They are now free to serve, free from constraint, free from what stood in the way of their experience of the fullness of God’s love.  Paul has experienced similar healing at Jesus’ hands, and thus he too is free to serve – it’s not a question of whether or not he will proclaim the Good News, but how he will do so.  And so he shares the vision of the healing Christ with the Corinthians – he heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147) – hoping they, too, will come to praise the Lord, to sing praise to our God.

Every day has its share of difficulty; every day also has its share of grace.  Through all that we experience day-to-day, God does not abandon us. It’s up to us to expand our vision, so that we may see more clearly all that God is doing.  Our life is not truly like the wind; it’s so much more substantial than that, for we have the assurance of infinite love, an infinite love that heals and sustains… if only we open our eyes to see it.

This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source:  Wordle