Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 5, 2012

Job 7:1-7; Psalm 147; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39

          Job's speech reminds us that life is filled with heavy burdens and drudgery. Futility and hopelessness surround him and he can see no relief from his life of misery. His life is fleeting like the wind and he declares confidently that he will not see happiness again. Job raises for us the eternal question: If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, why do the innocent suffer? It reminds us that suffering isolates a person and puts one on the fringe of society. People do not want to look at someone who is suffering because it raises something instinctual within us to flee from the horror of pain.

          The Gospel shows us the first actions of Jesus after he leaves the synagogue where he taught with unparalleled authority. He immediately went with his friends, James and John, into Simon and Andrew's house where he met Simon's mother-in-law who lay sick with a fever. The fever left her when Jesus grasped her by the hand. Word spread throughout the town that Jesus has an amazing gift of preaching and healing the sick. Many were brought to him in the early evening to be cured of their illnesses. He was inundated with their pleas.

          The disciples misunderstand the ministry of Jesus. Peter and the others look for Jesus early in the morning because there are more people to be healed. They figure that this is surely his mission because God does not want anyone to suffer, but Jesus tells them that they are to move on. Their true mission is to preach the kingdom of God to all the people of Israel. Preaching is the key. If people learn in their hearts that the kingdom is in their midst, then God's power will be made manifest. Healing is secondary to the mission, but through it we learn the mind and heart of God.

          The narratives raise some questions about who, why, and when Jesus healed people. Is it God's choice that some people are cured and others are left to suffer? Are the healings only to illustrate a point Jesus is trying to make? Are there some people that Jesus was unable to cure? Surely, he was gifted with some power to fashion miracles. We never get a clue about how those who were cured lived the rest of their lives. We hope they were able to hear the message that Jesus proclaimed to them and that they were not only concerned with their own interests. It seems right that preaching the kingdom of God was central to his mission. Everyone has the ability to hear and accept his offer of salvation. To this mission, he knew to be faithful.

          Jesus preached a kingdom-centered theology that showed that God cared intimately for each person. It revealed that God's presence was everywhere and was not more specially present in the Temple or other religious-based buildings. The kingdom of God was among the people. This theology conflicted with the Temple-based theology that showed the primacy of worship was in the Temple and that religious authority rested with the elders, chief priests, and temple authorities. In this theology, the rites, liturgy, and laws are sacrosanct and obedience to the law means life. The human person is valued if he or she upholds the law and teachings. Otherwise, the individual is not considered an important aspect of the faith. These are the types of rules Jesus was continually challenging. This conflict ultimately led to his death. Take for instance, the event when he upset the money-changers and challenged temple authority.

          In parallel ways, the church of Jesus struggles with the same dichotomy today. Many who suffer and look for moral guidance seek Christ in the ordinariness of their day and wrestle with their experiences of faith against the developed doctrine that has endured for centuries. In this scenario, the person's experience matters greatly. Others will hold tightly to the letter of the law or declared teachings because they have persisted and withstood the challenges of time. Here, the person is not considered to be a major factor. Differing philosophies still compete. A classicist worldview is pitted against an historical minded one.

          While this conflict occurs, we take heart from this passage. Jesus moved on to proclaim the kingdom of God is in our midst. We are to do the same. Our preaching about the kingdom is to be central to every aspect of our lives. Christ cares about our suffering and struggles. He begs us to come to his Abba, to the one who will wipe away every tear from our eyes, to the one who has conquered sin and death, to the one who wants to pull us close to his heart.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading:  The elders and leaders of Israel came to King Solomon in Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the covenant to Zion, the City of David. The community assembled for the sacrifice and when everyone left, the glory of the Lord settled upon the holy place. Before the people, Solomon prays to God asking that the covenant be remembered. God will be the protector of the people. The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame and wisdom. She visited him and asked subtle questions and she was quite impressed. She offered him abundant gifts the likes that had not been seen before. In his old age, Solomon turned his heart away from the Lord. As retribution, the Lord told Solomon that he would deprive his son of the kingdom. Only one of the tribes would inhabit Jerusalem. When Jeroboam left Jerusalem, Israel went in rebellion. They tore cloaks into twelve pieces. One tribe would remain in tribute to David. Jeroboam persisted in sin as he ordered shrines to be built in Bethel and Dan.

Gospel: Jesus returns to Galilee after healing the demoniac. People recognize him and bring all their sick to him. Pharisees and scribes observe that the disciples of Jesus do not customarily wash their hands before meals. He tells them that they disregard God's commandments but cling to human tradition. He then reminds them that keeping the commandments mean honoring your father and mother. He concludes that what is in the inside of a person defiles them, not outward customs. Jesus declares all foods clean and focuses upon the attitudes that corrupt. He travels to the northwest territory of Tyre where he meets a Syrophoenician woman. She begs him to drive a demon out of her daughter. After originally resisting her, he accedes to her wishes and realizes his mission expands beyond the boundaries of Israel. He then travels back to the Decapolis where he heals a deaf, mute man. He opens the mouth of the man. His heart is moved with pity for the people as they gather to hear him speak. He miraculously feeds over 4,000 people with a scant quantity of fish and bread.

Saints of the Week

Monday: Paul Miki and Companions, martyrs (d. 1597), were martyred in Nagasaki, Japan for being Christians. Miki was a Jesuit brother and a native Japanese who was killed alongside 25 clergy, religious, and laypeople. They were suspended on crosses and killed by spears thrust into their hearts. Remnants of the Christian community continued through baptism without any priestly leadership. It was discovered when Japan was reopened in 1865.

Wednesday: Jerome Emiliani (1481-1537), was a Venetian soldier who experienced a call to be a priest during this imprisonment as a captor. He devoted his work to the education of orphans, abandoned children, the poor and hungry. He founded an order to help in his work, but he died during a plague while caring for the sick.

Josephine Bakhita (1869-1947) was a Sudanese who was sold as a slave to the Italian Consul, who treated her with kindness. She was baptized in Italy and took the name Josephine. Bakhia means fortunate. She was granted freedom according to Italian law and joined the Canossian Daughters of Charity where she lived simply as a cook, seamstress, and doorkeeper. She was known for her gentleness and compassion.

Friday: Scholastica (480-543) was the twin sister of Benedict, founder of Western monasticism. She is the patroness of Benedictine nuns. She was buried in her brother's tomb; they died relatively close to one another.

Saturday: Our Lady of Lourdes is remembered because between February 11 and July 16, 1858, Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in a cave near Lourdes, France eighteen times. The site remains one of the largest pilgrim destinations. Many find healing in the waters of the grotto during the spring.

This Week in Jesuit History

·         Feb 5, 1833. The first provincial of Maryland, Fr. William McSherry, was appointed.

·         Feb 6, 1612. The death of Christopher Clavius, one of the greatest mathematicians and scientists of the Society.

·         Feb 7, 1878. At Rome, Pius IX died. He was sincerely devoted to the Society; when one of the cardinals expressed surprise that he could be so attached to an order against which even high ecclesiastics brought serious charges, his reply was: "You have to be pope to know the worth of the Society."

·         Feb 8, 1885. In Chicago, Fr. Isidore Bourdreaux, master of novices at Florissant, Missouri, from 1857 to 1870, died. He was the first scholastic novice to enter the Society from any of the colleges in Missouri.

·         Feb 9, 1621. Cardinal Ludovisi was elected Pope Gregory XV. He was responsible for the canonization of St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier.

·         Feb 10, 1773. The rector of Florence informed the general, Fr. Ricci, that a copy of the proposed Brief of Suppression had been sent to the Emperor of Austria. The general refused to believe that the Society would be suppressed.

·         Feb 11, 1563. At the Council of Trent, Fr. James Laynez, the Pope's theologian, made such an impression on the cardinal president by his learning and eloquence, that cardinal decided at once to open a Jesuit College in Mantua, his Episcopal see.