Lectionary: 74
Reading 1
Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
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
Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (cf. 3a) Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He tells the number of the stars;
he calls each by name.
R. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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. Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
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
Mt 8:17
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mk 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
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: THE ONLY HOPE
"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." –Job 7:6-7
Job was both rich and secure in that he had diversified investments. However, in three unrelated catastrophes, Job's financial empire crashed in one day (Jb 1:14ff). Job's bankruptcy was not the worst thing that happened to him that day. In another unrelated incident, Job's ten children were killed when the house in which they were gathered collapsed (Jb 1:2, 18-19). Later, Job contracted an extremely painful illness "with severe boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head" (Jb 2:7). Job had reason to say: "Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?" (Jb 7:1) He considered life to be hopeless, joyless "months of misery" (Jb 7:3ff).
Job's life was not that unusual. Although few people have had so much hit them so fast, multiple tragedies are the rule of life and not the exception. Look at the billions of sick, dying, aborted, persecuted, oppressed, divorced, bereaved, exiled, starving, lonely, and rejected people.
Job's assessment of life is true, but it is not the whole truth. In Jesus, and only in Jesus, there is hope. Jesus loves us infinitely, forgives us our sins, saves us, heals the sick, frees us from demons, raises the dead, works together everything for the good (Rm 8:28), and takes us to be with Him forever in heaven. Jesus is our only Hope, and the only Hope we need. Whether or not people know Jesus, "everybody is looking" for Him (Mk 1:37) because everyone has to have hope and Jesus is our only Hope. Therefore, "should anyone ask you the reason for this hope of yours, be ever ready to reply" (1 Pt 3:15).
PRAYER: Father, show me how to invite people to the "new birth; a birth unto hope which draws its life from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pt 1:3).
PROMISE: "I do all that I do for the sake of the gospel." –1 Cor 9:23
PRAISE: Praise You, risen Jesus, only Hope of the world!
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