by Fr. Ed Liptak, SDB

Our Scriptures this 5th Sunday open with Job’s dark and miserable view of life. He was smitten by illness and abandonment. He felt every painful, forsaken moment. No healing was in sight. “I shall never see happiness again.“ — By the way, when was the last time you had a perfect day? Isn’t it true that we all left our mother’s womb crying loudly? Welcome to our world! Yet through Job’s faithfulness and trust, at last God’s blessing did heal him.

Let St. Paul begin to lead from the gloom and doom. Worn from his labors preaching the Gospel, he labeled himself “a slave to all in order to win over [to Christ] as many as possible.” Not satisfied, he added, “To the weak, I became weak to win over the weak.” He claimed all this was because God had ‘imposed’ on him ‘an obligation.’ Paul had only one desire: that he share in the reward of the Gospel together with those to whom he preached.

For most of us, we do not preach, but we do live. For some of us, that may mean putting up with a lot of nastiness for the sake of the Gospel of Christ. And doing so can be even more important. Actions, living the Gospel of Christ, truly Christian living speak louder than words to our brothers and sisters on the way with us toward the reward of Eternal Life.

The messages of the Gospel should be the strongest aid for us to deal with our ‘imperfect’ days. Matthew says, “Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases”(Alleluia Verse). Mark’s Gospel today displays the power of Jesus attacking those infirmities. At the synagogue, Jesus found the deformed man. A few steps away, he entered Peter’s house, found Peter’s bedridden mother-in-law, took her hand- no words, and fever gone, she was able to serve a meal. That kind of news spreads quickly. 

By evening, the whole town (like us?) had gathered, seeking cures. St. Mark carefully worded: “He (Jesus) cured many sick with varied diseases; He drove out many demons.” Note the word ‘many’.Perhaps He could tell who deserved healing. Or perhaps He knew those ready to appear before His Father’s mercy, and He let them do so. By bedtime, certainly, Jesus was weary. But he rose before dawn and, in prayer, prepared for His saving work in the day ahead. Prayer never slows us down.