The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our relationship with the Divine through our connection to Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
In the reading from the Book of Job, He replies: “There Is No Mediator.”
* [9:3] Job begins to explore the possibility of challenging God in a lawsuit, a theme that will recur (10:2), but he knows the odds are against him (vv. 12–20). (Job, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Psalm 88 is a prayer for help in despondency.
* [Psalm 88] A lament in which the psalmist prays for rescue from the alienation of approaching death. Each of the three stanzas begins with a call to God (Ps 88:2, 10, 14) and complains of the death that separates one from God. The tone is persistently grim.
* [88:4–8] In imagination the psalmist already experiences the alienation of Sheol.
* [88:11–13] The psalmist seeks to persuade God to act out of concern for divine honor: the shades give you no worship, so keep me alive to offer you praise. (Psalms, PSALM 88, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke, provides advice to would-be followers of Jesus.
* [9:57–62] In these sayings Jesus speaks of the severity and the unconditional nature of Christian discipleship. Even family ties and filial obligations, such as burying one’s parents, cannot distract one no matter how briefly from proclaiming the kingdom of God. The first two sayings are paralleled in Mt 8:19–22; see also notes there.
* [9:60] Let the dead bury their dead: i.e., let the spiritually dead (those who do not follow) bury their physically dead. See also note on Mt 8:22. (Luke, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Angela Maynard urges us to consider times that Jesus is asking something that seems to be too demanding, or stressful. What does one do when faced with this type of situation?
Recently, I faced this situation and it drove me to my knees. I found myself praying for guidance nearly continually — especially through sleepless nights. I wasn’t getting the answer that I wanted. God was continually dropping signs that he wasn’t quite finished with me — I literally heard a voice telling me "I know this is so hard for you, but I’m not finished with you. My people need you!" I cannot express the challenges that came with my assignment. Looking back, I reflect on many lessons learned during this difficult time. Mostly, I’m grateful for the people Jesus planted around me to love and support me during some very dark days. People who I previously took for granted. There were days where my faith was shaken terribly. Ultimately this experience strengthened me and provided me additional tools to use as I serve an often-forgotten group of God’s people. I’m not quite to the point where I can say I’m grateful for a very tough experience — I may get there. (Maynard, 2022)
Don Schwager quotes “Put to death what is earthly in you,” by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD).
"The statement 'Let the dead bury their dead' implies spiritually: Waste no more time on dead things. You are to 'put to death therefore what is earthly in you: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry' (Colossians 3:5). These things therefore are dead. Cast them away from you. Cut them off as you would cut off gangrenous flesh to prevent the contamination of the whole body, so that you may not hear it said, 'Leave the dead [spiritually dead] to bury their dead' (Matthew 8:22). But to some it seems abnormal and contradictory that the Savior does not allow the disciple to bury his father. It seems inhumane. But Jesus does not in fact forbid people from burying the dead, but rather he puts before this the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, which makes people alive (Luke 9:60). As for burying the body, there were many people who could have done this." (excerpt from Fragment 161) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Job 9:1-12, 14-16 comments that Job didn’t throw up his hands and lie in the dirt and die. Even in his anger and frustration, he persisted and kept questioning the Lord. He didn’t get all the answers he was looking for, even when God eventually revealed himself to Job. But when he encountered God, he could finally say, “By hearsay I had heard of you, but now my eye has seen you” (Job 42:5). When we find ourselves wondering why God allows painful things to happen in our lives, Job can be our model for how to keep going back to the Lord and posing those difficult questions.
God may give you insight into a situation or help you understand his ways more clearly. But even if you don’t get satisfactory answers to your questions, know that God is pleased that, like Job, you continue to seek him out, even when your faith is being tested. Some things we won’t truly understand until we get to heaven. But the best answer any of us can ever receive is God himself assuring us that he is always by our side!
“Lord God, help me to always trust in your goodness and mercy.” (Meditation on Job 9:1-12, 14-16, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler explains the conclusion of Job’s friends that he must be receiving a punishment for sin. Following Jesus is a journey like our lives. Friar Jude reminds us to be aware of the times when we are called to surrender to the Will of God.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Memoirist Heather King who spent a year praying with Thérèse of Lisieux’s insights, and describes how Thérèse practiced her “little way” through relationships.
I began to see the almost superhuman strength required to refrain from, say, repeating a juicy bit of gossip, or rolling my eyes, or allowing my voice to get harsh when I was upset. I began to sense as well that, just because they’re so difficult, such acts perhaps do far more good than we can ever know. Standing patiently in line helped the other people in line to be patient as well. Blessing the other person in traffic, even though nobody heard or saw, somehow encouraged someone else to bless the next person. When the neighborhood noise bothered me, I sometimes took to starting with one corner of my apartment complex, visualizing the person or people who lived there, and working my way around, praying for the inhabitants of each. (Other times I took to tearing out my hair and cursing.) . . .
We can try, at great personal sacrifice, to be perfectly righteous, a perfect friend, perfectly responsive, perfectly available, perfectly forgiving. But at the heart of our efforts must lie the knowledge that, by ourselves, we can do, heal, or correct nothing. The point is not to be perfect, but to “perfectly” leave Christ to do, heal, and correct in us what he wills. (Rohr, 2022)
We may comprehend more clearly our connection to Christ as we surrender to the opportunities in our daily journey to be generous, merciful, and compassionate to others.
References
Job, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/job/9?1
Luke, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?57
Maynard, A. (2022, September 27). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/092822.html
Meditation on Job 9:1-12, 14-16. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/09/28/497649/
Psalms, PSALM 88. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/88?10
Rohr, R. (2022, September 28). Tiny Opportunities to Love — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/tiny-opportunities-to-love-2022-09-28/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Fit for the Kingdom of God. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=sep28
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