Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2/7

“Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?...So I have been assigned months of misery” (Job 7)
Brothers & sisters,

Perhaps we can identify with Job during these months of the pandemic. Perhaps we and our loved ones are even like Peter’s mother-in-law who lays sick with a “fever.” These last two weeks, myself and our community of brothers have felt this as COVID struck several of us and while none of us had severe symptoms, thanks be God, we perhaps were able to feel a bit of the restlessness Job refers to.
In the Gospel, it says (Jesus) “approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.” A sign of hope. Who is the One who has control of this world in chaos? It is easy to lose hope sometimes. But Jesus approaches, takes us by the hand and helps us up. We are not alone.
Perhaps we can ask ourselves why suffering and evil exist. Perhaps this mystery exists so that we can feel, if even for a brief moment, that we are not enough on our own. That we are in need of a Savior. We need Him who is more powerful than our “fever,” who can calm the “storms” in our life. Let our “miseries,” whether great or small lead us to look to Him who is approaches us and wants to help us up. Let us be like those who took all of the sick to Jesus to be healed.
And let us learn from Him, who even though He was God still went off to a deserted place to pray before attending to the needs of the people.

Patrick Travers, SCV