DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS
JOB 1:6-11
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
Unlike Job, there are not many who have the fortitude to bear the disasters that befall us. We generally tend to whine, complain, murmur, and grumble when we life gets too much for us. Thank You for this Book in Scripture that teaches us that faith in You enables us radiate grace under fire.
Job lost everything in a day not through any fault of his own for he was a righteous man and the favor of God was on him. Troubles come to us all for various reasons but through it all, if we trust You, in the end, all will be well. More often than not we lack the faith, courage, and fortitude to do so.
To God's question to Satan, 'Where have you been?' he responded, 'Round the earth.' It brings to mind what St. Peter said in his letter, 'Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.' It is heartwarming to note how God praises Job's virtues to satan. He, in turn, challenges God to withdraw His favor from him and Job would crumble under the weight of misfortune like every one else. God accepts satan's challenge with just one condition, ‘Very well, all he has is in your power. But keep your hands off his person.’ A very clear indication to us all that life and death belong to God alone no one can usurp God's power over our lives. How wonderfully heartwarming it is to learn that satan lost his challenge against God, let us never forget that he always does.
When the news of each calamity was reported to him with the final one being the loss of all his children let us take note of Job's reaction:
Job rose and tore his gown and shaved his head. Then falling to the ground he worshipped and said:‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
naked I shall return.
The Lord gave, the Lord has taken back.
Blessed be the name of the Lord!’
In all this misfortune Job committed no sin nor offered any insult to God.
PSALM 17:1-3, 6-7
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The verses of the psalm chosen for the liturgy today is that of a just person, who like Job had great faith, courage, and fortitude in the face of tribulation.
It teaches me who am so frail, so weak, who so readily is despondent over the slightest difficulty, to have a more robust faith and trust in You.
Trials come to us all and they are necessary if we are to be pruned in order to bear more fruit. Unless we are thrust into the crucible of suffering we cannot grow in Your image and likeness. This is our calling, to grow more and more like You each day. All who strive after purity and holiness will have You who are God, for a friend and a brother.
My Beloved, Soul of my soul,
The Gospel of the day begins with these words, An argument started between the disciples about which of them was the greatest. This is the perennial desire of the worldlywise who seek to grab and grasp as much as they can by any means possible without too much thought of the cost to others or the consequences of their actions.
Knowing the secret thought of Your disciples, You once again patiently teach them the paradox of the Kingdom of God. He took a little child and set him by his side and then said to them, ‘Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least among you all, that is the one who is great.’
If we want to belong to God then we must remember that in the Kingdom of God, the first is last, the least is the greatest, the Master is the Servant of all for You came to serve not to be served and to give up Your life as a ransom for us all.
There is another important point You make today. John said, ‘Master, we saw a man casting out devils in your name, and because he is not with us we tried to stop him.’ The Good News is not given to an exclusive club of people. All who believe in You are welcomed into God's family. Let us get rid of our narrow vision, our narrowmindedness, our readiness to push people out of a nonexistent inner circle. By virtue of our baptism, we are all called to preach the Good News of salvation regardless of who we are, what language we speak, which country we belong to, for there is no law against preaching the Gospel of Love.
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