5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - February 8th, 2009 - In our lives we occasionally have things happen that we just are not able to find solutions for. Perhaps we have lost our home or our job or a loved one has died, or maybe we have a child who is chronically ill, or we have alcohol, drugs or psychological problems. Who has a solution to make the pain go away? How can the family return to its former state before it was devastated? It cannot. Chronic sickness and pain becomes the focal point of our mind at the time and it is impossible to believe it is not there.

          It is because of our Faith in God we are drawn to the Church to pray, especially in our time of need. As I get to know all of you better I am impressed with your ability to control your anger for the problems you have and instead brought them to the Lord for help. I know that sometimes you hear us speak in flowery language about the wonders and beauty of God and we give constant encouragement to lead Christian lives, to be people of Faith; but for some of you, all you can focus on is the turmoil, the trauma in your lives. Perhaps you hear us say that like Jesus, you need to go to a quiet place to pray, but you cannot escape the reality which is your own situation in life. Nor can you escape the turmoil within yourselves.

          To you, and to us all, God has given the book of Job. The Book of Job is framed around a story of trauma and reward. Job was a prosperous man with the perfect family. Then everything went wrong. One day he received messages that the Sabeans had stolen his oxen and donkies, his servants had been killed, his sheep and their shepherds had been burned in a fire, the Chaldeans had stolen his camels and killed the herdsmen, and, then, the worst news yet, his sons and daughters all killed when the house they were in collapsed. You know Job’s reaction: “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshipped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.” And if all this was not enough, even to much, then Job was plagued with sores all through his body. Through most of the book of Job he sits in ashes suffering all these pains, and considering his suffering. At the end of the book of Job, God rewards him for continuing his Faith in Him.

          Job and his so called friends ask the same questions we all ask when besieged with problems. This is particularly evident in today’s first reading. “I have been assigned month’s of misery……my days come to an end without hope…..I shall not see happiness again.” Job’s own wife tells him to curse God and die. He cannot explain why these terrible things have happened to him. But through it all, the turmoil, the doubting, the pain, the loss, Job keeps his Faith in God. He knows that God is there somewhere. His Faith is rewarded by recognizing the presence of God in the midst of the pain.

          We see the suffering of Job and in the Gospel today we see Jesus arrive at Simon and Andrews house where he found Simon’s mother-in-law sick with a high fever. Jesus in his love for us immediately cured her and in the evening cured all that came to the door. Knowing his impending suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, he went off to pray. Jesus’ total sacrifice of himself for his people and for God’s Kingdom results in his feeling completely abandoned. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me,” he prays on the cross. But Jesus keeps his Faith in God, his Father. God vindicates Jesus and Job, his actions show the truth of Job’s and Jesus’ Faith in the face of turmoil.

Nothing could take God’s life away from Job or Jesus, not even death could destroy this life. Job believed in this, Jesus gave this to us.

          In our lives today we are experiencing an economic depression; many people have lost their jobs, their homes and the strain put on the Family has caused many marriages to fracture. Our Food locker is evidence of the poverty within our community. Every week we have 7 to 10 more families apply for food assistance. In our suffering and pain we must have the Faith of Job and Jesus; we must remember that God is with us always, somewhere watching over us. Have Faith and pray, turn your problems over to God; and you to shall be rewarded in the end.