It’s been a while since I’ve asked you a question. I think I know how you’re going to answer it. My question is this: Do you feel overwhelmed? I would guess for many of us the answer would be a resounding: “Yes!” There’s just too much coming at us. Too much to do. And no real end in sight.
Every day we’re reminded of our economic problems and those of our daily life, our personal needs for relief from anxiety – from all that overwhelms us. In a lot of cases, our anxiety is not only about what’s happening in the U.S.-at-large, but equally important, what’s happening among our friends and in our own families. How can I be concerned about a million-dollar bonus received by a company’s CEO, when I’m not sure about the future of my own job – or how I’m going to feed my own family in the coming weeks? We may enjoy paying less for gasoline at the pump; but, here in Houston, how will this effect employment in our energy-driven economy? In the coming weeks, what will be the outcome of the actions of our representatives in Austin or in Washington D.C.?
Our concerns, however, go beyond our personal employment. Indeed, we face all kinds of large-scale problems: immigration issues, terrorism, epidemics – to name a few. We also must feed, clothe, and house our own families. Do we have enough set aside for health let alone for less demanding events such as entertainment? Do we look forward to a retirement with so-called “peace of mind?”
Perhaps in one way or another, all of us can relate to today’s first reading from the book of Job – Job, a man who cries out: “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? … I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me. … my life is like the wind, I shall not see happiness again.”
Each of us has our endless, restless nights, while the days go by too fast, leaving us with uncompleted tasks, with more worries, with more obligations for tomorrow. Saint Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reminds them of the obligations which have been imposed on him. He has the obligation to preach the gospel – either willingly or unwillingly. He continues to offer himself without desiring to be paid for what he must say for the sake of others. He has made himself a slave on behalf of others – and of the Christ he serves.
Even Jesus, himself, appears to have similar pressures. In today’s Gospel story, having just finished teaching in the synagogue and driving out unclean spirits from another person, Jesus goes home with Peter and Andrew – hoping, perhaps, to relax for the remainder of the day. But what happens? He must first cure Peter’s mother-in-law! And right after that, others – those who heard about what had happened in the synagogue – they came to him to have their own illnesses cured, their own demons driven out.
And how does Jesus respond to such pressures, to the demands placed upon him? First of all, he does what is requested of him. He does what needs to be done, what must be done. Done for those who are close to him – such as Peter’s mother-in-law. He cures her. He also “lifts her up.” He raises her up so that she can continue to do what she, herself, needs and wants to do – to serve others. He also heals those he does not know. He heals others both physically and spiritually, those who come to him at the end of a long day.
Perhaps, we, too are called to do the same thing. To heal those who are close to us: our friends and family. To help “raise them up” so that they may accomplish what they must do. Perhaps we, too, are to assist those who seek us out, to heal those who require physical or spiritual wholeness.
And what does Jesus, himself, do in order to go on healing others, despite the long days he, himself, must endure? At the beginning of a new day, before the arrival of dawn and the work he knows is ahead of him, Jesus goes off to a deserted place and prays. He goes off for a quiet conversation with God, his Father. Perhaps this is what we must also do. Perhaps before the new day comes with its continuation of the uncompleted problems of yesterday, we must replenish our own reserves, renew our own being.
We need daily to have a quiet, intimate conversation with God, our Father. Some may find this over a second cup of coffee – before the busy day begins. Others may obliterate Houston’s traffic tie-ups by using those minutes in prayer as we wait for the cars ahead of us to move. Some may close the door at work, or take a short walk, in order to find a personal “deserted place” for renewal. At home, we may escape the kids during their nap time or behind a locked door. This is more than a time to get away from the stress of daily living; it is a time to share our stress with the only one who can help us rid ourselves from it. Time to be with the Father whom Jesus sought out each day.
And why did Jesus do this? Why in a busy, problem-filled day did he make time to be alone with his Father? Perhaps, he knew Peter and the others would find him, would bring him more problems he must solve, more people he needed to help. And to help them, to cure them, he required the power and the tranquility that come from God the Father.
He also knew he must not merely wait for them to come to him. He realized he had to go out to them. To the villages of Galilee where he must not only cure the people but – even more importantly – to tell them of the coming of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom which is now and is to come. The Kingdom of which they are an essential part.
Although we might hope to wait it out, we know we must go out from our quiet place of prayer and re-enter the work of building his kingdom. Today and tomorrow are not about being overwhelmed by the stresses of our daily, human lives. Each and every day must be about seeking out a time for prayer with our Lord and Savior. Our Lord who provides us with renewed power and tranquility, our Savior who leads us further into the Kingdom of God – into a day when we are not overwhelmed by the cares of human life but, instead, a day when we are overwhelmed by the awesomeness of our God.
5th Sunday in Ordinary: February 8, 2015
Job 7:1-4,6-7; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39