REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS

FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR, CYCLE B

Job 7:1-4, 6-7;  Psalm 146:1-6;  1

Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23;  Mark 1:29-39

“What have I done to deserve this?”  is a question we still hear people asking, even in the 21st century.  The problem of suffering, especially the suffering of the innocent, is what the Book of Job engages with unflinchingly.  Job experiences all the countless mood swings, anger and frustrations of one undergoing an unexpected, serious illness and personal loss and we hear this clearly in our first reading today.  As his story unfolds, Job is to grow into the knowledge of God in the dark obscurity of ignorance.  There are no easy, slick answers.  Job faces the essential nakedness of his humanity and there, in his encounter with God, finds transformation and begins to understand the ineffable glory of God, the God who brings the majesty of creation out of chaos.  Inner healing, rooted in the establishment of a living relationship with God, is only accomplished when all earthly hope is shattered.

It is in our woundedness that we are at one with God in His work of transformation, just as, if we are to be healed, we have to enter, with Him, into the pain of things.  It is precisely in our woundedness, not in our notions of power or success, that we find God, for He is a God who weeps with us, who is very close to us in our suffering, transforming us and giving us hope when everything seems hopeless.  This is the essence of Psalm 146, written after the Israelites’ pain-filled experience of exile in Babylon.  God, who “calls each [star] by its name”  is praised here as “the Lord who heals the broken-hearted”.

Mark, who writes for a community of early Christians already beginning to suffer for the sake of their beliefs, is keen to emphasize that Jesus had also been one who suffered – even unto death.  Mark portrays Jesus, who will be proclaimed as Son of God through suffering, as someone who entered into the sufferings of others and who healed them from all kinds of afflictions.  Already in his account of the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry, Mark has told us of miracles bringing healing to two individuals: one involving an exorcism, the demoniac, the other a general restoration, Peter’s mother-in-law.  It is significant that each story implies that the power of Jesus to heal is universal.  As we saw in last week’s gospel reading, the link between Jesus’ authoritative teaching and his power to heal is also significant for Mark. 

Jesus knew he needed to move on, beyond Capernaum, into the rest of Galilee, to preach God’s kingdom, even though everyone in the town was looking for him, wanting to hear his message and experience his healing touch.  In the same way, Paul also understood the urgency of spreading the gospel.  In today’s reading, he speaks of his willingness to forgo any financial support from the Corinthians, which would have been his due, just as long as the gospel is proclaimed.  Paul knew that the spreading of the gospel must always take precedence over human success and even human stability – a hard lesson we still need to learn today.   The majestic vision of God in Psalm 146, God who ”fixes the numbers of the stars”, remains an excellent starting point for living in God’s presence, assured of His compassion and healing - and for pondering what the gospel demands of us.  As Jesus says in today’s gospel, ‘ … that is why I came”.

Sr Margaret Shepherd nds

 

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