Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said:
Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!”
Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light? Wherefore did the knees receive me? or why did I suck at the breasts?
For then I should have lain down and been tranquil; had I slept, I should then have been at rest With kings and counselors of the earth who built where now there are ruins Or with princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest.
Why is light given to the toilers, and life to the bitter in spirit? They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures, Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: Those whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in!
The Word of the Lord.
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At the age of 24, Saint Thérèse lay on her deathbed holding a crucifix.
Five of her final words were: My God, I love you!
That simple gesture of confessing her love for Christ while clinging to a crucifix is key to understanding her spirituality.
Thérèse believed that no action was extraordinary in itself; on the surface, there’s nothing profound about speech, even from one’s deathbed. What is profound is the love behind her words.
Unlike Job in our first reading, who cursed his suffering, even the day of his birth, Thérèse embraced her cross and praised the Lord. Those five simple words – My God, I love you! – were more pleasing to God than a thousand words prayed mindlessly from routine.
Ultimately, it’s not what we say or do, but why we do it that matters.
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Mother Teresa later adopted this same spirituality.
She spent her life clothing and feeding the poor; caring for the sick and the dying; and washing the wounds of lepers.
Ordinary actions that were done with extraordinary love, because she saw Christ behind every beggar, leper, or homeless person she encountered starving on the streets.
What matters is why she did what she did.
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Much of our own day will be filled with routine. What makes all the difference is how much love we put into the hours ahead.
Engage someone in conversation. Take an extra minute to listen. Pray for those you encounter. Be the first to smile. Quickly forgive those who wrong you.
Take those final five words of Thérèse – My God, I love you! – and put them into practice.
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Image credits: (1) Harvest Church of God (2) Heralds of the Gospel Magazine, Therese of Lisieux (3) Pinterest
One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD, Satan also came among them. And the LORD said to Satan, “Whence do you come?” Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “From roaming the earth and patrolling it.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?” But Satan answered the LORD and said, “Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing? Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.” And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand upon his person.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
And so one day, while his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were ploughing and the asses grazing beside them, and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid. They put the herdsmen to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another came and said, “Lightning has fallen from heaven and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, seized the camels, carried them off, and put those tending them to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, when suddenly a great wind came across the desert and smote the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair. He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said,
“Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!”
In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.
The Word of the Lord.
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We’ll be reading from the Book of Job all week. Engrained in the story are several spiritual lessons that are as challenging as they are rich in wisdom.
It begins with a dialogue between God and Satan.
God praises Job, his worthy servant. But Satan rebuffs God’s claim, arguing that Job only praises God because of his security and material possessions; if these were taken from him, Satan argues, then Job would abandon his faith.
So, God allows Job to be put to the test; everything may be taken from him, except his life. In the following verses, reports come to Job that he has lost everything – his life-stock, his material possessions, even his children.
In this darkest hour of his life, when the audience awaits his despair, Job’s sole and greatest possession is revealed – his faith. “The LORD has given, and the LORD has taken away,” he says. “Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job understands that everything and everyone – even the bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh – comes from and belongs to God. We are merely entrusted with such treasure for a time.
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Scholars believe Job was not, in fact, a real person. Rather, he was the “ideal Jew,” the personification of what Israel hoped to be – faithful in times of trial, grateful in times of prosperity, unshaken in their praise of God.
That’s the kind of faith I’m sure everyone wishes for. So, how might we attain it?
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Ultimately, faith is a gift from God. It must be placed in our hearts before we take possession of it. However, once it’s given, God allows us to nurture our faith through prayer, study, and charity.
Conversely, if we never use it, or if we abandon it during times of trial, then it begins to wither.
As we read through the Book of Job this week, his faith will be pushed to the brink, as Job asks God the one question every human being wonders: Why?
Why is there suffering? Loss? Evil in the world? Why did Job have to lose everything?
How does God respond? Is his response sufficient for Job – or us?
Stay tuned.
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Image credits: (1) Revelation Library, Etsy (2) Job and his Friends, Ilya Repin (3) Medium
At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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When celebrating a baptism, I usually begin by asking the parents: You brought your child here to be baptized. So, what does it mean to baptize?
Answers may vary from a nervous pause, to welcoming their child into the Church, to removing the stain of Original Sin.
The verb, “baptize,” means to, “plunge; submerge.”
In the early church, people were literally plunged in a pool of water, before rising to new life as Christians.
While babies are not submerged underwater today, parents are asking God to plunge their child into his Spirit – the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead.
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The first known example of this verb – baptize – being used in written literature comes from a pickle recipe. The text states: Boil water. Add cucumbers. Once tender, baptize the cucumbers into vinegar.
Now, if you just dip a cucumber into vinegar, is it a pickle?
No. It’s a quickle. A half-pickle.
To pickle a cucumber, you must baptize it – literally plunge it, submerge it – allowing it to soak in the vinegar.
Over time, the pickling process actually changes the chemical composition of the cucumber, so that it’s no longer a cucumber, but a pickle!
Similarly, when children are baptized, they’re quickled. Half-pickled Christians.
It’s the mission of this entire community to help “pickle” the next generation, ensuring our faith is not only handed on – but lived out in word and deed.
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Once we’re soaked in the Spirit, what begins to happen?
We dive deep into our faith by sharing, studying, healing, forgiving, praying, and encountering Christ in our neighbor. Or, using a biblical term, we “prophesy.”
To “prophesy” in the bible means, “to speak with the voice of God.” Pickled Christians are the hands, the face, and the voice of Christ in this world.
Preaching the Gospel is something that priests not only do from the pulpit; it is also something that every Christian is called to do.
I may preach here in church, but you are called to preach the Gospel inyour homes, at work, to your friends, and in your social circles – places beyond this physical building and our SPX community.
We see this call to spread faith everywhere foreshadowed in our first reading.
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Moses is leading the Israelites on their forty-year journey through the desert. While Israel is resting, Moses and the other religious leaders gather in a separate place, where God visits them, filling them with his Spirit.
However, two of the elders – Eldad and Medad – remain in the camp with their families, where the Spirit comes to rest upon them, as well.
This was a significant moment in the life of Israel because God is signaling that his authority is moving beyond the “tent,” beyond the “sacred space,” beyond the grasp of the religious leaders alone. His authority is to be shared with everyone.
As the prophet Joel foretells, “Thus says the LORD: I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy.” They shall speak in my name and tell others what God has done.
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The same dynamic unfolds in today’s Gospel.
An unnamed person is casting out demons in the name of Christ. The Apostles are confused because it isn’t one of them.
“We tried to prevent him,” they say. But the Lord corrects them, saying, “Do not prevent him. Whoever is not against us is for us.”
The Apostles begin to realize that this is a sign of what is to come – divine authority will rest, not just in the hands of the religious elect, but with all believers.
Symbolically, this anonymous person could be anyone performing a good work in the name of Jesus– not just an Apostle or a priest!
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In what ways am I that anonymous person in the Gospel? How do I share my faith with others at home, in my marriage, with my family, at work, in places beyond SPX?
And, we might add, how are we “pickling” the next generation?
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As Saint Paul says, “Stir into flame the gift of God… For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord; but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel.”
Prophesy. Speak up! Do something.
Be Christ’s hands, face, and voice in the world.
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Image credits: (1 Morningside church of Christ ) (2) Pinterest (3) Germantown Presbyterian Church
