“Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted” (Psalm 147:3), “is the refrain from the Responsorial Psalm in celebrating the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle. And this refrain is drawn from:
How
good to sing praise to our God; how pleasant to give fitting praise. The Lord
rebuilds Jerusalem, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, healing the
brokenhearted, and binding up their wounds (Psalm 147:1-3).
So, this Sunday (5th Sunday in Ordinary
Time, B), we see God as the healer, who restore what is broken. For this, the
Scripture readings address God’s healing in response to the problem of
suffering – brokenness.
This Sunday’s Responsorial Psalm refrain, “Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted”
(Psalm 147:3) nicely follows the Responsorial Psalm refrain from last Sunday (4th
Sunday in Ordinary Time, B): “If today
you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”(Psalm 95:7-8).
God heals us, mending our brokenness, keeping our
hearts from becoming hardened to be broken through his dabar (Word out of His mouth).
Through the flesh of Mary the Immaculate Conception
and by the power of God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35), the Word has
been incarnated Christ the Son in the human flesh of Jesus (John 1:1, 14), the
Word in the flesh of Jesus can speak but also touch us to bring healing and
keeping our hearts from becoming hardened.
For the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time,
Cycle B, the Scripture readings address the problem of suffering in humanity
and healing through Christ, the Word-God incarnate.
Basically, the Gospel Reading for the 5th
Sunday (Mark 1:29-39) focuses on Jesus’ healing ministry, immediately following
the Gospel Reading of the 4th Sunday (Mark 1:21-28).
Jesus had a busy Sabbath day, preaching and
exorcising in the synagogue (as we remember from the last Sunday’s Gospel
Reading – Mark 1:21-28), then, healing Peter’s mother-in-law later on the day.
She was immediately relieved from fever and healed as Jesus touched her and
helped her up. Then, as soon as she was healed by Jesus, Peter’s mother-in-law served
Sabbath dinner for Jesus and his disciples.
When Sabbath was over upon sundown of that day, people
of the village brought those who were in need of healing - those who were sick and possessed. Jesus
cured many of them and drove out demons, not allowing them to speak as they
knew who Jesus was.
Jesus was up before anyone else next morning and
spent solid time with the Father alone in prayer in a deserted place – free
from distraction.
Then, Simon and other disciples (Andrew, James, and
John) pursued him there and told Jesus, “Everyone is looking for you”. But,
Jesus was not interested in enjoy his popularity but rather up to his mission.
So, he said, “Let us go to the nearby
villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come” (Mark
1:38).
In regard to this Gospel Reading, Mark 1:29-39, I
sometimes tell this joke to my students: Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law so
quickly so that he could eat Sabbath dinner there before Sabbath ends with
sundown. But, if he did not heal her, who would wait on him with the dinner?
C’mon, it’s Sabbath. And the sun will set soon.
He had a busy day in the synagogue on that day,
preaching and exorcising with divine authority. He deserved to be waited on”.
Of course, it’s a joke. So, it was not for dinner
that Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law. And, I reminded my students that we do
our works of mercy for dinner. We serve each other and our neighbors,
especially those in need and in mercy, unconditionally out of love – so without
any expectation for reward or compensation. If we deserve something for our
good deeds according to the Gospel teaching, especially in Matthew 25:31-46,
then, we can find what it may be in the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 9:16-19,
22-23). And it is no earthly reward or no reward on earth. However, it is Jesus
who said, “The laborer deserves his
payment”(Luke 10:7). So, where is the payment for my good deeds to fulfill
my “obligation” to do the works of mercy? And, such a response may be typical
of “righteous” people like Job. But, humble servants of God, like Paul, know
the payment comes to those who did the works of mercy out of love, not as an obligation to avoid forfeiting the
chance to go to the Kingdom, is addressed in Matthew 25:34-3: Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I
was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a
stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for
me, in prison and you visited me.
Reward for our works of mercy out of love –
inheriting the Kingdom! And it is for the humble – poor in spirit (Matthew
5:3).
Those who are rewarded with payment for their good
deeds in the works of mercy are those who do not in obligatory way but out of
love with joy. And Paul is a good example of this (i.e. 1 Corinthians 13:1-10).
Connecting Matthew 25:34, Matthew 5:3, and 1
Corinthians 13:3, to the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23), it is
evident that service with the works of mercy out of love is carried out because
of humility to be entitled to inherit the Kingdom as the “payment” or “reward”
or “recompense”. If no humility, the service would be obligatory and may bring
unbearable suffering.
In regard to suffering and humility, we can draw a
lesson from Job.
Job in the First Reading (Job 7:1-4, 6-7) reminds us
of the problem of suffering, as well as our blind spot in dealing with
suffering. And, it has been a nagging problem to the humanity even today. Many
people say that Job did not deserve suffering for being “righteous”. But, he
suffered tremendously as God tested his “righteousness”. So, what is a lesson
here? Job may be “righteous” in his own eyes for being proud of not violating
any of God’s commandments. But, does it necessarily mean that Job is innocent
in the eyes of God?
To find it out and understand Job’s suffering in
connection to the problem of suffering, it is necessary that we read the entire
Book of Job and reflect. Then, we realize that Job’s ego, justifying himself
rather than God, contributed to his suffering, as so recognized by Elihu (Job
32:2). And this gives a realistic lesson that our suffering may have nothing to
do with whether we are “righteous” or sinful, though sinful behaviors certainly
result in suffering of ourselves and/or others. Even we think we are not so
sinful as we strive for perfection according to the Law of God, we still may
suffer until Christ destroys Satan for good and ushers those who deserve in New
Eden with New Jerusalem, as envisioned in Revelation 21:1-22:6.
The question is how we respond to suffering – how we
deal with the problem with suffering. And this is where our faith kicks in with
wisdom through the Holy Spirit. As we respond to and deal with the problem of
suffering, regardless of our own sinfulness, our focus is not whether we are
relieved from suffering but how God is justified and glorified through our
suffering (cf. Job 32:2; John 9:3; 11:4, 40). And, healing is a natural
consequence of this.
Take a lesson from Paul, who suffered tremendously
for the sake of Christ, yet he remained joyful in serving him and working on
his salvific causes. Why Paul did not end up like Job, who complained and
complained about his suffering? Both Paul and Job suffered even though they
were living according to what God has said. So, to begin with, they are not
supposed to suffer, right?
If your thinking is like this, you are at risk of
slipping in what is called “theodicy”, and this can be due to a lack of
humility.
With humility, what motivates us to do the works of
mercy in our service is love – unconditional love (i.e. 1 Corinthians 13:1-10).
So, it is not out of obligation or duty. It is totally out of free will.
Because of this unconditional love, we can endure suffering without arguing or
complaining like Job. Rather, we may be able to persevere suffering, even rejoicing
in suffering, as long as we find it is for others, Paul did (Colossians 1:24).
And we call it redemptive suffering. No, Paul was not a masochist. We can found
joy even in our suffering while serving Christ, because we see our suffering as
our participation in Christ’s suffering (1 Peter 4:13). On the other hand, Job’s
focus was on himself and concerned about how good he could be seen, as Elihu saw
(Job 32:2). Therefore, to Job, there is nothing but to complain in his
suffering. However, Job was finally relieved from suffering as he overcome his
problem of lack of humility and realize how great God is (Job 42).
We tend to take Gospel stories of Jesus’ healing
with our tendency to be like Job. So, we expect our suffering to be healed as
Peter’s mother-in-law was healed – being healed immediately. But, in reality,
not all suffering cases necessarily go as Peter’s mother-in-law’s case. And, if
not healed like this, those who are like Job tend to become God, and it is a
problem with theodicy. And people like Job expect rewards rather immediately
when they do good deeds for others, because their motive is not unconditional
love but to be rewarded. It is because, as Elihu’s analysis of Job’s problem:
tendency to glorify himself rather than God (Job 32:2).
Job was a man of hardened heart during his
suffering. On the other hand, Paul was not during his suffering, because he was
with the Word incarnate, Christ. In fact, Christ was in Paul (Galatians 2:20).
So, he was a Christ-bearer (Christopher) in doing the works of mercy on his
extensive missions and was able to bear suffering as Christ in him bore it with
him. This is why Paul found joy in his suffering and it was redemptive.
It is great that suffering is removed as we want.
And if this is the case, we know that God let it happen so that we can serve
Him without being distracted by suffering. This is why Simon’s mother-in-law
immediately served Jesus with Sabbath dinner (Mark 1:31). But, what if
suffering was not removed as in the case with her?
Did Paul was relieved from suffering so that he can carry out his mission – his
service for Christ without being distracted from suffering? If so, Paul would
not feel like being poured out like libation as his suffering on mission
continued prolonged (2 Timothy 4:6).
Was Paul bitter to feel being spent as a result of
his prolonged suffering in serving Christ with his works of mercy on mission? No.
Rather, his suffering and exhaustion prompted Paul to say:
I
have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now
on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will
award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his
appearance. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
What we can learn from Paul about the problem of
suffering is to recognize the suffering as an opportunity to bring glory of God
out of it, preferably in the context of the works of mercy for others, because
it means for Christ (Matthew 25:40, 45). So, what suffering can bring us is a
hopeful prospect for reward, as Paul describes in 2 Timothy 4:7-8. And, this is why Paul was tirelessly devoted
in his works of mercy – committed to carry on the ministry of Jesus, free from
temptation for earthly reward but with his hope for recompense from God, as
reflected in the Second Reading (1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23).
And, Jesus is the model of conducting the work of
mercy – healing and teaching with his pastoral authority – as the Gospel
Reading (Mark 1:29-39) gives its snap shot.
It is important to note that Jesus did not conduct
healing for Simon’s mother-in-law to be rewarded with Sabbath dinner. He did
not heal and exorcise many brought to him from the village for rewards or honor
for himself. He did it all out of his love because he is humble and meek
(Matthew 11:29). That is why Jesus did not stick around where people praised
him and continued to seek him. So, he said, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For
this purpose have I come”(Mark 1:38), in response to the disciples saying, “Everyone is looking for you”(Mark 1:37).
So that we may be healed as we want, as immediately
as Simon’s mother-in-law was healed? Or, so that we can learn and practice what
we can make out of our suffering to benefit others in light of Matthew 25:40,
45, with a hope of recompense from God but not from anyone on earth? Our
suffering will be different, depending on which view we have. And what we can
learn from this Sunday’s Scripture readings is that healing from suffering will
naturally become reality as we respond to our suffering with humility and love,
not caught in our own ego. This is a lesson from the way Job dealt with his
suffering and the way Paul dealt with his suffering. For us to learn what true
healing is and what we can make out of suffering for healing, based on his
teaching, he came to us.
How can we respond to the problem of suffering with
a lesson from this Sunday’s Scripture readings? How can we respond to suffering
as people bearing Christ within? What can we make out of suffering? These are
some questions to reflect on and prevent us from sinking in the problem of
theodicy or to be like Job.
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