If I were to pull out a message from our readings this weekend, it would be about hard work and dedication in the midst of great difficulty and terror. And I do not mean hard work at labour, or a profession of this world. The greatest work at this moment in history for men and women everywhere of a religious bent is remaining faithful and devoted to God as the world appears to be crumbling around us. We could think back only a few years, and the terror that was inflicted upon us by the new illnesses and the global lockdowns that ruined our societies and isolated us from family in desperate circumstances. Before that, there were the uncertainties created by politics, especially financial uncertainties. Like the ‘credit crunch’ of about 2008; and only a couple years ago you could hear school children talking about the ‘cost of living crisis,’ the result of the recent rises in inflation. All of these crises and the suffering they produce – especially the mental suffering – is inflicted upon us not by God, but by men. Greedy men, men desiring power, interested men who want to shape the world for themselves. They are like shadows you may hear about, but hardly ever see. It reminds me that S. Paul said once (in his letter to the Ephesians) that our struggle is not ultimately with flesh and blood but with the powers that are associated with this world, even spiritual powers in the heavenly places. We’re talking here about spiritual beings who for some reason or other are given licence to torment the children of men. And that brings us to Job, the subject of our first reading at Mass this weekend.
“What is man’s life on earth but a campaigning? Like a hired drudge, he passes his time away; nor ever was slave so weary, longing for the shade, or drudge so weary, waiting to earn his hire, as I have been, counting these months of emptiness, these nights that never brought rest. Lie I down to sleep, I weary to be up with the day; comes the day, I weary for the evening, comfortless until dark. Overgrown my flesh with worms, matted with dust; my skin dried up and shrivelled. Frail as the weaver’s thread my years vanish away, spent without hope. Bethink Thee, Lord, it is but a breath, this life of mine, and I shall look on this fair world but once; when that is done, men will see me no more, and Thou as nothing.”
Book of Job, 7: 1-8
Notice that this cry of pain ends with a prayer. The subject of this reading is the man Job, a good and honourable man who nevertheless is harassed by the devil, apparently to test his faith before God. His family is destroyed, his livelihood is destroyed, and finally his health is destroyed. And sitting in the depths of misery, he continues to make confession to the Holy One, although daring to accuse God of injustice. But his cry of desperation we may find familiar; it is the cry of mankind, sighing like a slave (as the reading says) for a break from the burden of mental anguish. It is deep night for his soul, and Job asks himself, When, oh When, will it be day again? My life is like a breath, he says, here today, gone tomorrow, and he fears that he will not see joy again in this world.
Another man who struggled with immense difficulties, who strained against the impossible, in his often-lonely mission of spreading the Gospel of OLJC in pagan countries with only a passing understanding of Judaism, was S. Paul, and he tells us in the second reading today of how his devotion to God and to his mission fell upon him like a duty, not chosen by himself (as you or I may choose a line of work or a profession today) but assigned to him by the Holy One.
“When I preach the gospel, I take no credit for that; I act under constraint; it would go hard with me indeed if I did not preach the gospel. I can claim a reward for what I do of my own choice; but when I act under constraint, I am only executing a commission. What title have I, then, to a reward? Why, that when I preach the gospel I should preach the gospel free of charge, not making full use of the rights which gospel preaching gives me. Thus nobody has any claim on me, and yet I have made myself everybody’s slave, to win more souls. With the Jews I lived like a Jew, to win the Jews; with those who keep the law, as one who keeps the law (though the law had no claim on me), to win those who kept the law; with those who are free of the law, like one free of the law (not that I disowned all divine law, but it was the law of Christ that bound me), to win those who were free of the law. With the scrupulous, I behaved myself like one who is scrupulous, to win the scrupulous. I have been everything by turns to everybody, to bring everybody salvation. All that I do, I do for the sake of the gospel promises, to win myself a share in them.“
First letter of S. Paul to the Corinthians, 9: 16-23
Paul declares that he is dedicated to the spread of the Gospel, but it is not his initiative. He is acting upon a command from Christ, hoping for no reward in this world. Indeed, according to both the Jewish religion of the time, and the rule of the Apostolic Church, Paul was entitled to be supported financially by the people, as the Apostles were and as our clergy still mostly are today. But he chose to finance himself as a tent-maker, so as to present his ministry to the people as being entirely free to them on his part. Job had had everything taken from him; Paul had voluntarily given up family and inheritance. It was not an easy job, this travelling and preaching and building churches and being persecuted. In the end, the Apostles and even their Lord were also hard workers, as the Gospel story demonstrates. They had long hours, and when Christ attempted to find some peace himself, for prayer, Apostles came searching Him out to say, Everybody is looking for you. These Apostles, and S. Paul, worked to free men and women like Job from the torments of the devils, who are mentioned several times here…
“And when it was evening and the sun went down, they brought to Him all those who were afflicted, and those who were possessed by devils; so that the whole city stood crowding there at the door. And He healed many that were afflicted with diseases of every sort, and cast out many devils; to the devils He would give no leave to speak, because they recognized Him. Then, at very early dawn, He left them, and went away to a lonely place, and began praying there. Simon and his companions went in search of Him: and when they found Him, they told Him, ‘All men are looking for Thee.’ And He said to them, ‘Let us go to the next country-towns, so that I can preach there too; it is for this I have come.’ So He continued to preach in their synagogues, all through Galilee, and cast the devils out.”
Gospel of S. Mark, 1: 32-39
And so, we could place ourselves in the shoes of Job, suffering and waiting for the eruption of God into our lives, working hard to preserve our devotion, our hours of prayer, and our work of evangelisation, while continuing our struggle with God. We shall take up every challenge He places before us, we shall do our duty, and with the assistance of His Apostles in our times we shall prevail against our enemies.
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 