The first thing that struck me when I looked at the readings for today was the striking contrasts between Job’s attitude in the first reading and Jesus’ attitude in the Gospel. But, I must admit, I sympathize with Job and how he is feeling, because we all have probably been in that same frame of mind at one time or another. Job feels like a servant in the relentless hot sun who wants to be in the shade. He feels like the laborer whose work is hard and tedious, who watches the clock and hopes that the day will end. Job is weary and tired, hoping that his futile days here on earth will mercifully come to an end. He is like the man who tries to get sleep, but who tosses and turns until dawn. Job is in a bad place. He finds no value or meaning in life. He is full of pity and woe. He does not see any hope, nor is he taking steps to make his life any better.
As I thought about Job and all the doom and gloom he was feeling, I thought of a quote a heard recently from St Josémaría Escriva (1902 - 1975), a Spanish priest who founded the Catholic lay movement Opus Dei. Escriva said this: “Do everything for love. Thus there will be no little things: everything will be big. Perseverance in little things for love is heroism.” This quote is relevant to us in challenges and frustrations that face us during the pandemic. Escriva’s quote talks about heroism. Most people think of heroism as one great significant act when they sacrifice for the good of others. According to this view, we wouldn’t have many opportunities for heroism in our lifetime, if we’re offered an opportunity at all. But, as Escriva asserts, the big heroic things are not what comprise our journey of faith. It is the little ordinary things that makes up the majority of our lives that Jesus asks us to approach with love: the little mundane things; the tedious monotonous things. In all things, we are to persevere in love.
The Gospel we hear today is a continuation of the first chapter of Mark that we heard last Sunday, in which Jesus visited the synagogue and healed a man possessed with an unclean spirit. Leaving the synagogue, Jesus visits the house of Simon Peter, where he cure’s Simon Peter’s mother-in-law who was sick in bed with a bad fever. People see the power that Jesus has, so now many of the sick are coming to him asking him to heal them. Jesus is committed to serving the people and proclaiming the kingdom of God through these healings. Jesus does not think about himself and his own selfish desires. He is following the will of the Father and the mission to which he has been sent.
We can bemoan our situation in life and the sacrifices we have to make. We can look at the crosses we carry with pity and dread. We can feel unfulfilled at work, looking for a way to escape. We can just go through the motions of life, taking the easy way out. Or we can see ourselves in service to God and service to others. We can unite our crosses with the cross of Christ. We can take joy in those little moments we have in our lives and in our interactions with others. The life of Jesus calls us to reach out of ourselves and to bring his light to others.
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