FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR B

Job 7,1-4. 6-7

Psalm 146,1-6

1Corinthians 9,16-19. 22-23

Mark 1, 29-39

A CRY FROM THE VALLEY OF SUFFERING

Sometimes, life can seem meaningless, empty, absurd and pure drudgery, especially when we are faced with the reality of pain, suffering and evil. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations and his finitude (…) Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God” (1500 - 1501).

This was the experience of Job as narrated in today’s first reading. Job was faced with innocent suffering and the silence of God. In today’s passage, he expressed his weariness and wonder at the absurdity of human life. His days had become an unremitting drudgery, like those of a day laborer who waits for his wages. In the concluding statements of Job’s grieve at life, he said that his life was but a wind and his eyes would never see joy again (Job 7:1-7). As it can be noted, we can identify the cry of Job with that of many people in our world today, especially in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the gospel, we are presented with a different scenario. Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and restores to good health the sick and the possessed brought to him. For his reason, people were looking for him. But there is no time to bask in the admiration of the crowd; he must go to the nearby villages to preach the Good News (Mark 1, 29-39). Indeed, Jesus came to inaugurate the Kingdom of God and change the meaning of human pain and suffering.

With Jesus, suffering is no longer a punishment, a curse, but a way of experiencing the redeeming power of God. With Jesus, we discover that life is not meant to be purposeless, dull and meaningless even in the midst of suffering, but rather full of meaning and hope. And this is the Good News that must be preached to the world as it was in Saint Paul’s time. Paul was prepared to be “all things to everyone,” so as to bring the Gospel to all. May we learn from him so that having experienced the closeness of God, we may be ready to bear witness to his goodness and love to everyone. May he bless and keep all of us. 

Amen