That's Why I Came...

"That is why I came...to preach the Good News"



February 5 - 5th Sunday in Ordinary time.


This Sunday we have a variety of approaches:the First Reading from Job is heavily pessimistic and all the more because Job is a sick man who sees no future in this life and is apparently unaware of any other form of existence. Unfortunately, in spite of two thousand years of Christianity, millions today - would agree with Job and see no reason to take into consideration any life besides the one they have. Atheism has a considerable number of adherents for various reasons and the number is growing. But denying something is never a solution and we Christians can count ourselves very blessed as we endure the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" not like dumb animals but with a confident hope that our suffering is not being wasted but, united to the terrible sufferings of Christ, is gaining for us "a weight of glory" as St. Paul would say.


The Responsorial Psalm for once does not confirm the First Reading but rather takes the opposite stance: we suffer as Christians and not like animals. Our suffering is not a negation but in faith is transformed into a loud cry of joy and triumph because the Master has gone before us, endured a brutalization which, hopefully, none of us ever will, and has come out into the sunshine of a glorious eternity which he promises also to us.


Once again, inevitably we might say, St. Paul is quoted in the Second Reading on a subject which (as usual) is not directly linked to the main theme but is nevertheless extremely relevant: if we have the Good News we must share it with a darkened and pessimistic - because sinful - world. Sinful? Yes, there are endless material negatives in our time which are, fundamentally, the result of grave sin and for which, unfortunately, the people being made to suffer are usually very innocent.. We must preach about the fundamental goodness of God but also about the consequences when there is widespread abuse of His law and his gifts. St. Paul spent his life doing just that, ignoring the eventual cost to himself.


Finally, the Gospel shows the historical progress of the Good News which is both spiritual and material - Peter's mother-in- law is the well-known example. The Lord is described as "helping her up" and the text goes on to say that "the whole town" came looking for healing. Very well, but the last sentences of this Gospel are full of meaning. Tired or not, Jesus rises early to pray. When Peter and the others come seeking him out they say: "Everybody is looking for you" ... (to be healed). His nswer is striking: "Let us go to the neighboring towns . . . so that I can preach there." And why? "Because that is why I came ... (to share the Good News)." Healing? Yes, that too is a sign of my merciful heart but my mission is to heal souls and I prepare for that work by intense and frequent prayer. That is a valuable and much-needed lesson in today's Church.


~February 2012 Concord