FrNikola

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

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A common thread of today’s readings is that the Lord’s disciples, old and new, are looking for more of what they need in order to fulfill their mission, perhaps discouraged by a lack of immediate results. Habakkuk in the First Reading is lamenting the injustice he sees and unanswered prayers for the Lord to do something about it. Timothy receives a letter of encouragement from his mentor Paul, who is in prison, to be brave and re-stoke the flame of zeal that he received at ordination; Timothy has big shoes to fill, and Paul whom he esteems greatly, is now in prison. The disciples ask for more faith and Our Lord responses that even a little faith would go a long way; the apostles are asking for more faith because the little faith they have doesn’t seem to be enough to do their job.

It’s the parable that follows where Our Lord puts things into perspective. The servant doesn’t expect some special reward for just doing his job; he just does it. Faith is our action and our struggle and it is only with prayer and effort that it grows. Our Lord invites us today to focus on our mission, not the imagined resources we may be lacking. Habakkuk is told to write down his prophecies and thanks to that we now have them. Timothy is told to be a good shepherd of souls and the Church, thanks to him, continued to grow. The apostles are told to do their duty expecting nothing but the satisfaction of a job well done, and we all have the apostles to thank for receiving the faith. The prophecies were fulfilled in Christ and the Gospel has triumphed in so many lives and will continue to do so.

Whatever your state of life–laity, consecrated, ordained–focus on how you can best serve Our Lord right here, right now, with the resources, spiritual and material, that you have at your disposal and Our Lord will ensure that you succeed.

Readings: Habakkuk 1:2–3, 2:2–4; Psalm 95:1–2, 6–9; 2 Timothy 1:6–8, 13–14; Luke 17:5–10. See also 32nd Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

26th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday, Year II

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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.

26th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading the Lord responds to Job’s multiple chapters of lament and disputation with his friends over why such suffering befell him. Wisdom encompasses a great deal of knowledge, and one of the characteristics of ancient wisdom literature in general are great lists surveying the immensity of the natural world. The Lord is now questioning Job about how much he really knows, as opposed to how much he thinks he knows. Job, again showing his humility and respect for the Lord, knows he won’t win any debates with God.

In the face of suffering our distress is compounded by how little we ever truly know about the why. When our suffering is due to evil we’re reminded that iniquity is a mystery; sometimes we ask why and there is no answer. When faced with any mystery we’re dismayed by how little we truly know, and suffering is one of the greatest mysteries of all, but it is nothing compared to the mystery of God.

Our Lord knows the answer to all of life’s mysteries and has experienced suffering in a way most of us cannot even imagine. In difficult moments let’s turn to him for consolation and strength. He may not give us all the answers we want, but he will accompany us in every leg of our journey.

Readings: Job 38:1, 12–21, 40:3–5; Psalm 139:1–3, 7–10, 13–14b; Luke 10:13–16. See also 15th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.

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26th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading Job shows the humility of acknowledging that the Lord is the judge of everything in matters of justice. This is wisdom, the fear of the Lord, understood to be respect, something Job has been showing him despite the tragedy he has suffered, recalled last Monday, along with health problems in the chapters that followed.

In the chapters leading up to today’s excerpt from Job his friends have been trying to convince him that his children (or he himself) must be guilty if Job has been punished in this way by the Lord. He’s still struggling with why his misfortune has happened when, in his eyes, he has done nothing wrong. He knows he cannot declare that the Lord is unjust, because it is impossible for the Lord to be unjust.

The Lord is often accused of injustice by those who are suffering, but that goes against who and what the he is. He always has the best of intentions and always has a perfect and accurate knowledge of the “facts” in the case. Job knows this, and sometimes we have to remind ourselves of it too. Let’s ask Our Lord for the grace to help us in our trials, not put him on trial when things don’t go our way.

Readings: Job 9:1–12, 14–16; Psalm 88:10bc–15; Luke 9:57–62. See also 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday, Year II, 13th Week in Ordinary Time, Sunday, Cycle C, 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Saturday, Year II, and 26th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday.

 

26th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord has to remind James and John, after a Samaritan village disrespected Our Lord and his disciples, that he wants salvation, not fulmination. The Old Testament has some rousing accounts of fulmination; Elijah called down fire on soldiers who’d come to him with attitude (see 2 Kings 1:10-12). James and John obviously wanted to relive the “glory days” of prophetism where the wicked were blown away, but that’s just a remnant of a mentality of the Messiah as someone who is coming to “clean house.”

It’s the Old Testament for a reason. You don’t bring Good News by calling down divine wrath. You bring Good News by announcing that liberation from sin is at hand for those who want it. The Samaritans today didn’t need further punishment; turning their back on the Gospel was worse than fulmination. They didn’t turn their back on Our Lord because he was the Messiah, but because they were at enmity with Jews in general. The results are the same: the grace of God passed them by.

Our charity, even when it is slighted, can open the door to grace for a soul. Let’s take Our Lord’s lesson to heart today and focus more on sharing the Good News and less on fulmination. Little by little that charity can win over even the most hardened soul.

Readings: Job 3:1–3, 11–17, 20–23; Psalm 88:2–8; Luke 9:51–56.