Throughout the first readings of this week we’ve considered excerpts from the Book of Job as he struggles with the reason for his suffering and questions God about why it happened. As we saw yesterday, God finally answers Job’s prayers, and Job’s response is a renewed awareness of the wonder of God, a foreshadowing of the wonder the Holy Spirit instills on Our Lord in today’s Gospel at the thought of how wonderful the Lord’s revelation is. Jesus’ disciples were amazed at their power over evil, invested in them by Our Lord, but he knew the true source of wonder was a place reserved in Heaven and to have lived to see and experience the Messiah.
In Job’s case his renewed wonder and love for the Lord became a source of blessings for him. He thought he’d lost everything, but with the Lord he had everything and proved the very virtue the Lord had seen in him at the beginning of his tale. The Lord blesses him for his fidelity in the face of adversity, just as he will bless us. Job’s blessings at the conclusion of his story are a foreshadowing of the blessings we’ll receive in Heaven if we persevere in faith, hope, and love. Even if the Lord has already done wonders for you in this life, you haven’t seen anything yet.
If you are experiencing trials in this moment, ask Our Lord to reveal himself to you. You’ll be amazed by the response.
Readings: Job 42:1–3, 5–6, 12–17; Psalm 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130; Luke 10:17–24. See also 14th Week in Ordinary Time, Sunday, Cycle C, 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, and 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.
