I think I know the answer most of you will give to today’s question. My question is this: Do you feel overwhelmed? The answer for many of us, probably, is a resounding: “Yes.” There’s just too much coming at us. And no real end in sight.
Every day we’re reminded of our economic problems. In a lot of cases, our concern is not only what’s happening in the US-at-large, but more importantly, what’s happening among my friends and in my own family. How can I be concerned about a million-dollar bonus received by a Wall Street banker, 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?
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.”
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 has made himself a slave on behalf of others.
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 – who heard about what had occurred in the synagogue – come 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? He goes off to a deserted place to pray. He goes off for a quiet conversation with God, his Father. And then, he returns with Peter and the other disciples to continue his daily work of preaching and healing throughout the whole of Galilee. He asks us to do the same.
Today, on this 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are reminded of all the ways we are called to journey with Jesus the Christ and to be his disciples in the modern world. This call begins with our youth. For many, this weekend celebrates Boy Scout Sunday and their assistance to others. On the other hand, today also begins our annual participation in DSF – the Diocesan Services Fund. Our archbishop, in fact, has requested that a special video be shown at all masses this weekend. It’s a seven-minute presentation on how our own DSF supports the efforts of the local church as it provides “Hospitality to All, Especially the Stranger.”
Hospitality: our loving care for those in need of help.
Hospitality: the ministry that each one of us who follows Christ is called to provide.
Hospitality: the action which results from prayer and our dialogue with God through his Holy Scriptures.
This weekend we are given two opportunities to participate in this offering of our hospitality. Before Jesus continued to help those seeking his hospitality, he went off to listen to his Father, to be renewed by Abba. Today, we, too, are given an opportunity to listen to God’s word in his scriptures. After mass, today, you will be able to further this opportunity by purchasing a complete Bible for the very small price of five dollars. Each and every one of you is encouraged to participate in this way.
And secondly, each of us is urged to join in the actions supported by our DSF. Having heard the word of God in his scriptures and having consumed the Word made flesh in his Eucharist, we are to go forth to accomplish his word through being active members of the Body of Christ by providing “Hospitality to All, Especially the Stranger.”
5th Sunday in Ordinary: February 8, 2009; DSF Weekend (with video)
Job 7:1-4,6-7; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39