Homily for the Week of February 8, 2009

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B 2009
Job 7:1-4, 6-7
Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23

Mark 1:29-39
One day in I was in the sacristy at St. Peter's Church in Hammond looking at some books and through the door I noticed a parishioner who came to the church, he fell on his knees in front of the altar and shouted in a loud voice, I am not Job. You cannot keep piling things up on me, God. You have to help me. The man continued to call out, Why me? Why can't it be someone else, God? Please help me.

Eventually, after he had calmed down, the man stopped by the holy water font to bless himself as he left. He turned back to the altar and said in a quieter voice, I don't understand, but I'll be back.' I was struck by the final comment, I don't understand, but I'll be back.
The Book of Job is a story. It presents Job as a good man. Among his many blessings were his wife and children, a lot of cattle, and much land. These were outward signs of a special relationship with God. But Job's life turned tragic for no reason known to him. Ultimately Job loses his wife and family, his cattle, lands and most of his friends. Even those friends who stayed close to Job blamed him for his misfortune, saying he must have sinned in some manner to bring such a catastrophe upon himself.

Job is alone. Today's Bible reading from the Book of Job is part of his complaint against God. He has become utterly dependent on others for his survival. Like many people today who lose their job, each day he would wait in the marketplace to be hired. In the Mediterranean world it was considered shameful to ask someone for a job. You had to wait until asked, and Job felt depressed while knowing that no one would hire him. Having nothing and having been reduced to begging, Job now considered life itself as nothing but drudgery.
Our psalm today stands in stark contrast to the lament of Job: ''Praise the Lord, for he is good...He heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds... The Lord sustains the lowly....'' Neither Job nor the parishioner would have found comfort in these words.
There is another contrast of sorts in the Gospel passage. Peter's mother-in-law was living in Peter's home. This was very unusual, for when a woman married she left the home of her family and went to live with the family of her husband. The only reason that Peter's mother-in-law would have been living with Peter's family would be because she was a widow without male children left to care for her. Because widows and orphans were thus the most defenseless in society.

Having been told of the mother-in-law's illness, Jesus, though it was the Sabbath, healed her. Mark says that Jesus ''grasped her hand, and helped her up.'' This is the phrase used when Jesus raised a person from the dead. This was a serious illness, and given the absence of any real medical practice, people had already thought of her as dead.

It is startling that, instead of rejoicing over her healing, the mother-in-law immediately waited on Jesus, Peter, and the rest of the group. This seems uncalled for, and some have argued that this passage demeans women. Mark had no intention of presenting Jesus in a bad light nor of demeaning women. The words Mark chooses when saying ''she waited on them,'' did not mean to serve milk and cookies. This is the phrase Mark uses for ministry. She got up and ministered to those present.

Though there were many more people needing healing, Jesus elected to move on. He told Peter that He had come to preach. Mark reminds us that Jesus came to preach the care of God. Jesus didn't heal Peter's mother-in-law because He needed a meal and a waitress. He healed this woman so that she could resume her role showing God's goodness and caring for those who can't care for themselves.

How often do we ask ourselves Why bad things happen to good people? or Why do Good things happen to Bad People? In a sense both questions are about the same thing. Sometimes things happen for no reason. God is not sitting in heaven sending us bad things. Suffering enters our life in many different ways.

Life can be difficult, not because God made it so. Life is difficult because life is difficult; it is part of being human. We don't live in an ideal world where every problem is resolved in less than sixty seconds. where you don't have homework, where everyone is easy to get along with. The people who came knocking at Peter's door looking for Jesus wanted an instant cure for their ailments. Jesus was the one who knew that these things take time, yet he also sensed the urgent needs of these seekers, and responded in love. Taking time to pray and place ourselves in God's presence is one of the many important actions we witness and follow through Jesus' good example. I leave you with one final thought upon suffering and goodness. It is the words of St. Therese of Lisieux who wrote: OUR LORD DOES NOT LOOK SO MUCH AT THE GREATNESS OR OUR ACTIONS, NOR EVEN AT THEIR DIFFICULTY, BUT AT THE LOVE WITH WHICH WE DO THEM.

If you were to read the entire book of Job you would find out that God does not answer his questions about suffering. But Job was satisfied with God's answers. Job's heart told him to trust in God's love even when his mind couldn't understand the mystery of suffering. God is good, just, loving, and merciful. Often things happen to us that we simply cannot understand. However, instead of doubting God's goodness, our reaction should be to trust Him. God does heal the broken hearted. Often we need to take the time to find out what is just around the corner. When we do, God takes our hands and lifts us up.

The man I mentioned a few minutes ago turned to prayer. Yes, he was upset, but he had faith and trust that God could do something about his life. Prayer is talking to God. But in addition to talking to God, we also must spend time listening to God. Few of us can tolerate friends who do nothing but talk at us. Words are an important part of prayer, but just as relationships are more than words, so is prayer. Prayer is the one relationship where you can talk to God about all of you and know that you are loved.