5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B – Green)
ANTIPHON (Psalm 95[94]:6-7)
O come, let us worship God and bow low before the God who made us, for he is the Lord our God.
INTRODUCTION:
We live in a world of pain. We undergo physical, emotional, and moral suffering. There are times when, like Job, we are greatly overwhelmed and ask: “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?”
The Gospel presents Jesus attending to the sick and the suffering. In him who is God-made-man, God shows himself close to people who are broken in soul and body. Through him, God comes into this “valley of tears” and begins the transformation of despair into hope, of death into life.
FIRST READING (Job 7:1-4, 6-7)
In his suffering, job gives voice to the pains that beset us. In our brokenness, we cry out to God for an explanation. The Responsorial Psalm (which follows this reading) invites us to trust God who is gracious and heals the brokenhearted.
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.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Psalm 147:1-6; Response: cf. 3a)
R – Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
1 . Praise the LORD, for he is good;
sing praise to our God, for he is gracious;
it is fitting to praise him.
The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem;
the dispersed of Israel he gathers. (R)
2. He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name. (R)
3. Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
to his wisdom there is no limit.
The LORD sustains the lowly;
the wicked he casts to the ground. (R)
SECOND READING (1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23)
In preaching the Gospel, Paul has made himself all things to all. In particular, he has become weak for those who are weak. As Christians, we are invited to be compassionate: to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep.
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.
ALLELUIA (Matthew 8:17)
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.
R. 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.
REFLECTION:
A French proverb declares, “Life is an onion and one peels it crying.” Indeed, people are born crying, live through life with a series of complaints, and die often with disappointment, if not with fear and great anxiety. It is not for nothing that this world is called a ”valley of tears.” In the First Reading, stricken with misfortune and covered all over with sores, Job laments: ”Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?… I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me.”
It is not a pleasant sight that greets Jesus in Capernaum. In the synagogue, he comes upon a man possessed by an unclean spirit. Entering the house of Simon Peter, he sees Simon’s mother-in-law in bed sick with fever. In the evening, at the close of the Sabbath, because the news has spread that he is around, the whole town is gathered at Simon’s house, bringing people afflicted with various diseases or possessed by demons. Jesus attends to them all, alleviating their suffering. His healings and his miracles show that in him, God has visited his people to bring them relief. The Kingdom has come upon them.
And yet in the midst of a busy day, with its demands and burdens, Jesus does not sacrifice communing with the Father. He rises very early before dawn and goes to a ”deserted place” to pray. Capernaum is a cultivated place and so the ”deserted place” may simply refer to a place of solitude which, however, takes Jesus back to the desert where he was tempted by Satan (Mk 1:13). Matthew and Luke relate that there Jesus was tempted to use his power so he could be acclaimed as the Son of God, as a divine man who meets their needs and so wins their following. Using this power, his work will be easy for him. But in his communion with the Father, Jesus knows that he will fulfill the will of God to save the people, not so much by a show of power, but through the cross — in humility and obedience. Simon and the other disciples do not yet understand this, and so they excitedly inform Jesus: ”Everyone is looking for you.” But at the height of his popularity, Jesus decides, ”Let us go on to nearby villages.” He cannot be detained by the multitude clamoring for him. Yes, indeed, he heals… but the preaching of the Kingdom of God also demands a decision, which is a turning to God that involves repentance of sins on the part of the people. The Gospel involves healing, but also a carrying of one’s cross, accepting to ”peel onions” in solidarity with the Savior who has redeemed the world by his cross and resurrection.
Human pain and suffering become bearable if they are borne with Christ. Jesus carries our pain with us and nails it to his cross, thus transforming it into redeeming pain. This is the message of Pope Francis when he visited Tacloban City on 17 January 2015. In the midst of heavy rain and howling winds, he told the people: ”Jesus always goes before us and when we pass an experience, a cross, he passed there before us. And if today we find ourselves here 14 months afterwards, 14 months precisely after the Typhoon Yolanda hit, it is because we have the security of knowing we will not weaken in our faith because Jesus has been here before us. In his Passion he assumed all our pain. Therefore he is capable of understanding us…
“I have come to tell you that Jesus is Lord. And he never lets us down. Father, you might say to me, I was let down because I have lost so many things, my house, my livelihood. It’s true if you say that and I respect those sentiments. But Jesus is there, nailed to the cross, and from there he does not let us down. He was consecrated as Lord on that throne and there he experienced all the calamities that we experience. Jesus is Lord. And the Lord from the cross is there for you. In everything the same as us. That is why we have a Lord who cries with us and walks with us in the most difficult moments of life.”
— oOo —
CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS: Renewed Servant-Leaders for the New Evangelization
Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM
Theme: Renewal of Religious Life
The Vatican II decree on Religious Life (Perfectae Caritatis) envisions Church renewal following Gospel perspectives. This document discusses many matters, such as the theology of the vows (poverty, chastity, and obedience), the role of contemplatives, the place of the apostolate, and the spirituality of the active life.
Vatican II foresaw that all religious orders of men and women would be renewed in the spirit of the Council; this entails a return to the original spirit of the founders and an adaptation to the changed conditions of the world and the needs of the Church.
Religious life is a special vocation in the Church; it should be esteemed and promoted. The three basic vows taken by all religious mean that they seek to live simply in community, to practice purity and singleness of heart, and to voluntarily accept any assignment given them. This dedication reflects sincere love of God and generous service of neighbor.
We, members of the Church, are sincerely grateful for the wide variety of services (e.g. hospitals, schools, clinics, orphanages, radio stations, publications, prison ministry, etc.) rendered by women and men religious for Church and society today.
NEXT WEEK: Living the “Discipleship of Equals”
COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Psalm 107(106):8-9)
Let them thank the Lord for his mercy, his wonders for the children of men, for he satisfies the thirsty soul, and the hungry he fills with good things.
GLOSSARY:
HIRELING – a person who serves for hire especially for purely mercenary motives.
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The Mass Readings and Reflections by Fr. Gil A. Alinsangan, SSP is taken from the February 4, 2018 edition of Sambuhay Missalette, printed in the Philippines by St. Paul’s Media Pastoral Ministry. Dictionary entries: www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hireling. The views and opinions in this post are those of the authors and does not necessarily reflect those of the blog site.
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