The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

The tie in between today’s readings: Building for Eternity

Psalm 147:1-6, Job 7:1-7, I Corinthians 9:16-23, Mark 1:29-39

Our friend Job has a problem in our Old Testament reading for today, Job 7:1-7. It may be remarkably similar to your situation as well. You get up. Drink your coffee and drag yourself to work. There you’ll grind away for at least eight hours at a high-pressure, life-sucking, nowhere job. You finish. In your exhaustion, you don’t even remember how you got home. You take care of your family. Watch TV. Take your antidepressants along with your tranquilizer to hopefully escape your life’s anxieties and, just maybe, get some sleep before you have to get up and do it all over again. Your body aches. Your mind is numb. You give five days on this treadmill to get two back on the weekend. You get paid, but it’s never enough. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, you try to keep your creditors at bay while telling yourself that you’re lucky because what you have is better than nothing. Perhaps, but if the doctors tell you that you will die tomorrow…would you care?

On the surface, the quick answer is economics. If changes in your occupation, expenses, or location will make things better, yes, by all means, make smarter decisions and adjustments. But for many, our life circumstances encase us like a body cast and there are no honorable options. Remember though, living comfortably doesn’t shield you from a frustratingly empty life either. Ultimately, the problem is not prosperity, but perspective. You need to learn that it’s not about you. You have to live for something bigger. Jesus show us that something bigger in today’s gospel in Mark 1:29-39.  These ten verses, have the Lord exhausting Himself healing the sick, casting out demons, and in prayer. Seize His examples of loving God and neighbor. Christ assigns each of us our own particular cross of sacrificial love to carry. Pick it up! Go up the hill with Him! Die! Lose your life for His sake! Then you will find it and, in the finding, you will see that all your struggling has a larger dimension.

In 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, St. Paul, who was no stranger to poverty, suffering, and imprisonment, gives us his motivation for living a fulfilled life: he has a commission to preach the good news to the world. In accomplishing his mission, he translates his God love into brotherly love by making himself a slave to his hearers. Instead of throwing his intellect and authority around, the apostle stoops to conquer by finding common ground with his vast and varied audiences. He knows that humbling himself is the best way to earn a hearing for the gospel and so, save souls. Paul sees salvation’s bigger picture and builds for eternity. We, too, can re-orient the pain and problems of our lives into heavenly gold if we grasp this first principle: in word or deed, we are witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ in this life. Everything else needs to support that.

Our reading in Psalm 147:1-6 shows us that we can have joy in this veil of tears. Our faith gives us behind the scene glimpses into the eternal world, where the real action is. While in this existence, our Father sees, He binds our wounds, He heals our broken hearts, He understands our situations. The Lord is always there in our time of need. Never fear! Though this life can be ridiculously hard, it is not forever. Better days are coming! As it says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “Eye has not seen. Ear has not heard and no one can even imagine the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.” Set your heart on eternity! Get the big picture! Love God! Love your neighbor! Spread the gospel! The Lord is with you! Don’t give up! You are on the edge of glory, my friend!