Homily, February 4, 2024
From The Pastor
There is a Job in all of us, and there is Christ in all of us. It reminds me of the Indian parable of the elder and the little boy. A young boy was in the habit of getting in trouble through conflicts and fighting with others. Seeking to resolve this inner tension, the boy’s father sent him to an elder of the tribe. The elder asked the boy where the conflict came from. The boy described it this way, ‘sometimes I feel like there is a wolf in me, and other times I feel like there is a lamb in me. The wolf makes me feel strong and sometimes angry that makes me want to fight. The lamb calms me and helps me feel safe and at peace. How do I resist the anger and desire to fight like the wolf, and choose the lamb who calms me and leads me to be good? The elder simply answered, ‘It depends on which one you feed.’
To steal a line from Dr. Scott Peck in his book, The Road Less Traveled, ‘Life is difficult.’ Sage words that reveal the obvious. We all have times like the times Job had. Job was a just and righteous man who held faith and trust in God. Yet in the loss of his property, family members, and health, Job is thrown into despair and a loss of hope. He feels the weight of life, long sleepless nights, and the passing of meaningless days. All the good Job had identified with seemed lost. Personal physical pain left him in misery with little hope for the future.
Many in our culture and time have this kind of experience. Inevitably we are confronted with the contradictions and paradoxes of life. When we are riding high, it feels like we could never fall. When we fall, it feels as though we will never rise again. Job is at the bottom and forgets the God who is always with him.
Even, and especially, in times of loss, crisis, deep health concerns, or other unexpected challenges, the Lord is ever-present with ready help. For those in despair, depression, or the anxiety of unresolved problems, calling on the Lord may seem like a small consolation. This is where the Indian parable fits in. It depends on what you feed. To feed despair and misery will only strengthen hopelessness. To call on the Lord with faith and trust will lead to hope and the opening of a new path.
The image of a new path is seen in the experience of today’s gospel. In the broad sense, we are shown the movements and actions of the Christian life. Jesus is our center and our hope and his manner of life is a good path to follow. For Jesus, the model could be seen as proclamation, witness, and action. After preaching, Jesus leaves the synagogue and moves to the house of Simon and Andrew. In the synagogue, Jesus proclaimed a message of freedom, liberty to captives, sight to the blind, and movement to the lame. Upon arrival at the house, Peter’s mother-in-law is found ill. Immediately, she has the full attention of Jesus. Jesus gives witness to his words of preaching. In fulfillment of his words, Jesus heals the mother-in-law. With no words, he simply grasps her hand and helps her up. The fever left her and she waited on them. Why this detail? Her service is a proof of her healing and the power of Jesus. She puts her faith in him. In gratitude, she desires to use her energy and skill to serve him. Faith put into action.
Good News travels fast. People are feeding their hope in the power of Jesus to heal. Now Jesus is called to action. In the evening, the whole town is at the door with the ill, the blind, and those with unclean spirits. Fulfilling his mission, Jesus heals them all. The identity and mission of Jesus is revealed in the proclamation of his word, giving witness to the word, and bringing the word to action.
Jesus does not feed the woes and tribulations of life. Rather, he brings hope to despair, healing to illness, and witness to the wisdom of faith. All of life, even the Christian life, is filled with contradiction and paradox. Jesus himself holds this holy tension. In the contradiction and paradox of his human condition as the Divine Son of the Father, Jesus carries the tension of sin, oppression, evil, and violence in his body to his death on the Cross. The contradiction is that his death resulted in new life not only for Jesus, but for all who suffer sin, oppression, evil, or any other calamity of life.
We can all fall to despair and doubt in tough times. Jesus examples for us how to feed faith and hope even in times of loss, suffering, or illness. We can proclaim our witness to Christ by claiming our identity in him. We give witness to our proclamation of faith through thick and thin, sin and grace, loss or victory. The evidence of faith is our capacity and desire to both trust and act upon it regardless of our circumstance.
Job eventually found his peace in God and his faith was restored. Life is in fact, difficult. Faith is most faith when it is tested. Knowing the tension of the Cross, Jesus remained faithful to his mission, clinging to the Father’s love, and persevering through his suffering and death. He continued to act with love and compassion. If you are without hope and in need, reach out for help. Do not isolate yourself. Let us, or someone know of your need. Pray. Storm heaven with trust and hope. Use the name of Jesus. If someone shows up to help, let them. Jesus may have sent them.
Father John Esper
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