Let Us Go To The Nearby Villages, That I May Preach There Too

02-04-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Manasseh Iorchir, VC

After losing everything including his family and treasure, and feeling dejected with his entire body covered in sores inflicted on him by the Devil and allowed by God, Job reflected on the purpose of life, with particular attention to toil, wealth and suffering. His initial conclusion was that life is transient and labor is futile. Job was pessimistic in his evaluation of his current predicament. However, in the final lines of his reflection, Job prayed to God to remember that his life has been like the wind. This is indicative of a hidden hope of restoration which Job secretly looks forward to experiencing. Suffering comes to all of us one way or the other. For unbelievers, this is enough reason to resort to pessimism and fatalism, but for the Christian, when besieged by suffering of any form, the right attitude is to radiate joyful hope in a faithful God who will certainly alleviate our suffering.

Paul the Apostle was quite different from Job. In the second Reading, Paul did not see his laboring in the Lord’s vineyard as futile toil but as a means to bring salvation to many and by doing so, to also partake in the salvation that his preaching made possible for others. Paul’s approach to labor presents a model for our own preaching of the Gospel. The Good News is to be joyfully preached, in spite of the sufferings that usually accompany it, all in the hope of gaining salvation.

While Job paints a grim picture of labor and suffering, in the Gospel, Jesus went about laboring to alleviate the sufferings of many. He had just left the synagogue where He preached and healed. Crossing to the other side, He went to the home of Simon Peter and Andrew where He relieved Simon’s mother-in-law of a fever. Following this, many who were either sick or possessed by demons were brought to Him and He healed them, not allowing the evil spirits to speak in order not to reveal who He was. Next, Jesus left very early to a deserted place in order to pray. When His disciples found him, they cleverly urged Him to come back so that they could relish in His fame and “accomplishments.” Jesus preferred to move to other villages in order to preach the Good News and not to enjoy deserved accolades for His work of alleviating human suffering and liberating the oppressed.

The Church, in general, and each one of us in our individual capacity is called to follow in the footsteps of Christ in alleviating human suffering and liberating people from all forms of captivity. The Church does this through the instrumentality of the Word of God and the Sacraments (especially through the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist, Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick). As individual believers, we are urged to embrace an optimistic attitude towards laboring to improve the human condition and so joyfully spread the Good News to the ends of the earth. May Christ teach us and enable us with his Grace so that we can joyfully bring hope to a despairing world.

Please be kind and may God bless you.

Fr. Manasseh