Struggle and mercy

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge our evolving faith with questions of drudgery in life and financial support for our efforts.

Pope Francis has been rocking Vatican City, and he wants us all to feel the good will with THE NAME OF GOD IS MERCY: https://t.co/gw92N1rJ1g pic.twitter.com/qjSTaVqzoH

— Instaread Religion (@instaread_reli) February 4, 2018

The Book of Job describes a low point in the life story of this good man of God.

* [7:1] Drudgery: taken by some to refer to military service; cf. also 14:14.

Paul expresses his intention to work like a slave to bring the Good News to the community of the Corinthians.

* [9:15–18] Paul now assigns a more personal motive to his nonuse of his right to support. His preaching is not a service spontaneously undertaken on his part but a stewardship imposed by a sort of divine compulsion. Yet to merit any reward he must bring some spontaneous quality to his service, and this he does by freely renouncing his right to support. The material here is quite similar to that contained in Paul’s “defense” at 2 Cor 11:5–12; 12:11–18.

In the Gospel from Mark, Jesus mission to bring an encounter with God to the people includes healing for a sick woman.

* [1:21–45] The account of a single day’s ministry of Jesus on a sabbath in and outside the synagogue of Capernaum (Mk 1:21–31) combines teaching and miracles of exorcism and healing. Mention is not made of the content of the teaching but of the effect of astonishment and alarm on the people. Jesus’ teaching with authority, making an absolute claim on the hearer, was in the best tradition of the ancient prophets, not of the scribes. The narrative continues with events that evening (Mk 1:32–34; see notes on Mt 8:14–17) and the next day (Mk 1:35–39). The cleansing in Mk 1:40–45 stands as an isolated story.

Catholic Daily Reflections encourages us to be inspired by the life of Job.

Reflect, today, upon Job.  Let his life inspire you.  If you are finding a particular burden in life weighing you down, then try to praise and worship God anyway.  Give God the glory due His name simply because it is due His name and not because you do or do not feel like doing it.  In this, you will find that your heavy burden leads to your strengthening.  You will become more faithful by being faithful when it’s very difficult to do so.  Job did it and so can you!

Les at Bible bridge explains why Paul refused to make a living from his spiritual work in Corinth.

In summary, Paul did not make a living from his spiritual work in Corinth, Thessalonica, or Ephesus. In fact, he refused to do so. And he refused to do so because:
he wanted the gospel to advance as easily as possible,he wanted to avoid being a financial burden,he wanted to serve as an example of diligence, andhe wanted to personally provide for those in need.

Helmut Koester, Professor of New Testament Studies, comments that the true messiahship of Jesus cannot be recognized in his miracles.

"what is the messianic secret?" It seems to me that the messianic secret is, indeed, that the true messiahship of Jesus cannot be recognized in his miracles. The disciples as they witness the miracles don't understand. They don't know what is going on. They are taught to understand from the prediction of the passion onwards who Jesus is. And that the messianic secret of Jesus is that he is the son of man who has come to suffer and not the Messiah who is going to do great miracles.

George Butterfield is inspired by Jesus desire to remain unknown to consider the challenges of fame.

Throughout Mark's Gospel Jesus appears to want no one to know who he is. The demons shout out who he is and he tells them to be quiet. Of course, Jesus doesn't need a recommendation from demons but it appears to be more than that. He heals people and then tells them not to tell anyone about it. Most of them go out and tell everyone they can. In today's story, Jesus can stay and make a name for himself but he says that it is time to move on. Why? Jesus is a servant of God. He does not come to make a splash - to impress people - to become well known. He simply wants to proclaim the good news and heal people.

Friar Jude Winkler looks at the background to the appropriate depression of Job. The reward for serving others is the ability to serve others.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, believes with all his heart that mercy and forgiveness are the whole Gospel.

We do not attain anything by our own holiness but by ten thousand surrenders to mercy. A lifetime of received forgiveness allows us to become mercy: That’s the Beatitude. We become what we receive, what we allow into our hearts. Mercy becomes our energy and purpose. Perhaps we are finally enlightened and free when we can both receive it and give it away—without payment or punishment.

The conclusions today include: The reward for perseverance is perseverance. The reward for the serving others is the ability to serve others. The reward for mercy is to become merciful.

References

(n.d.). CHAPTER 7 1 Is not life on earth a drudgery, its days like those of a .... Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/job/job7.htm

(n.d.). 1 Corinthians, chapter 9 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/9

(n.d.). Mark, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/1

(2018, February 3). When Life is a “Drudgery” – Catholic Daily Reflections. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://catholic-daily-reflections.com/2018/02/03/when-life-is-a-drudgery/

(2011, May 2). The Apostle Paul's Income: Four Reasons Why Paul Worked a Day .... Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www.bible-bridge.com/pauls-income-four-reasons-why-paul-worked-day-job/

(n.d.). The Story Of The Storytellers - The Gospel Of Mark | From Jesus To .... Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/mark.html

(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved February 4, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 4, 2018, from https://cac.org/richard-rohr/daily-meditations/daily-meditations-archive/