Encouragement Sunday: When working Hard is doing God’s Will
Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39
Our period of Covid-19 syncs with two dimensions of job’s life. On the one hand, we are reminded of the illness that ravaged the life of Job and threatened his life; on the other, the silence of God to his prayer of anguish and complaint also seems to be our lot. This is the situation of many of us, even when we are not infected with Coronavirus, but our normal lifestyles have been taken away from us because of the limitations of Covid-19 restrictions. We all pray for an end to Covid-19, yet we remain solidly in the woods! Also, for some of us, we realize that we are social creatures who could go crazy from confinement, even when we do not think about the plights of our brothers and sisters in prisons around the world and those confined to their homes or hospices because of old age or sickness. Today, our readings provide us with encouragements in our difficult times. We need to know what the problems are, in order to appreciate the encouragements our readings provide.
Our first reading addresses two problems in the life of Job and our own lives: the meaning of hard work and our pursuit of happiness—do the two go together? After some reflections about his life and what meaning he could attribute to it, Job asks: “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of a laborer/slave?” (Job 7:1). That is, is hard work not punishment and suffering? This may sound very pessimistic and discouraging. Perhaps, more discouraging is to read the concluding statement of our first reading: “I shall not see happiness again” (Job 7:7), Job says. But what are the bases for this conclusion? This is a possible conclusion of a man who feels the decay of his life, how sickness and sorrow are gradually snuffing out life from him. Many of us ask similar questions today, because of our own situations. This is the seeming meaninglessness of life that may lead to the conclusion “I shall not see happiness again” (Job 7:7). However, “see happiness AGAIN” means that there was a time Job saw happiness! Moreover, we do know that the story of Job’s life has a happy ending, because God restores his health and fortunes in stupendous measures, after a period of turbulence and trials. Yet, there is a message in our first reading not to be missed. The message is this: with God on our side, there is always a tomorrow, a hopeful and bright future. When we realize that there is always a tomorrow, then the “drudgeries” of life and the life of “hirelings” become very meaningful because God always rewards hard work. This is the first encouragement we get from our first reading, to help us to weather the storm of hard work and the difficult situations of life.
Furthermore, a careful reading of the last sentence of our first reading (“I shall not see happiness again” [Job 7:7]), rather than discourage us, brings out the best and only source of happiness for human beings—God! Job’s real conclusion is that God is the source of happiness. In our first reading of today, job says: “REMEMBER that my life is a BREATH; my eye will never again see good/happiness” (Job 7:7). When we realize or “remember”, as the text invites us to do, that the “breath” of life that keeps us alive comes from God, it simply means that our separation from God means death and lack of happiness. “Happiness” is the human connection to God, who is the source of happiness and all good! Therefore, Job invites us to remain connected to God, if we seek happiness and the goodies of life. Our connectedness to God, then, is the fidelity we bring to bear in our daily tasks, no matter how difficult. “Hard work” becomes a source of happiness because we glorify God through our hard work. Our second encouragement is that we find God in hard work!
There is no fatalism in Job. All hope is not lost, even if it seems so. Job hopes for a reward for his hard work, he believes that there will be a difference when God intervenes and rewards hard work. It is at the arrival of God that Job’s happiness will return; so Job says, “Like a slave who longs for [a shade] the shadow, and like a hired hand who looks for his wages, so I am allotted months of emptiness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me” (Job 7:2-3). Job uses the imagery of a “slave” worker to evoke his Master-God; he uses “shade” and “reward/wages” as what masters provide for their hard working slaves, which God will provide for him. Job implies that God will eventually reward his labor and provide him with a shade from his present predicaments. In other words, the absence of God is what makes life appear meaningless. As soon as God steps into our lives, we see life differently and we appreciate God’s role in it. As it were, we need to work hard in our occupations and happiness will follow as God’s reward and blessings to encourage us for extra-hard work.
Our second reading takes over the question of happiness and hard work and situates happiness in fidelity and faithfulness to God in our respective occupations. Paul argues that his occupation or job is the preaching of the gospel. Unlike the consideration of hard work as punishment, Paul says: “If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” Paul’s conclusion that “woe to me if I do not preach it [the gospel]” is the realization that happiness comes from working hard for God. Paul further indicates how present happiness is tied to hard work: “If I [preach] do so willingly, I have a recompense . . . All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it” (1 Corinthians 9:17, 23).
The reward for preaching the gospel willingly/joyfully is eternal life with God in heaven. Present happiness is based on this realization that there is a recompense for good hard work in the future, which God guarantees. There is a consistency between Paul and Job: God alone is the source of happiness and guarantees it. Our hard work or the inconveniences of life are no discouragements to a happy and fulfilling life; the presence of God and our fidelity to whatever jobs we have would procure us God’s blessings of encouragement and happiness. Besides the encouragement of a future reward, perhaps in heaven, there is also the reward of here and now, which our gospel talks about.
As a proof that God encourages those, like Job, going through health challenges, Jesus procures healing miracles for the sick of our gospel reading. Yes, coming straight out of the Synagogue of Capernaum (Mark 1:21), Jesus heads for the family house of his apostle Peter, whose mother-in-law’s fever he cures; but no one could accuse Jesus of favoritism or nepotism, because he cures all those arriving and seeking healing at Simon Peter’s house. It does not end there, Jesus takes his healing ministry to the villages and synagogues around, so that as many persons as possible would benefit from his healing power. Jesus shows us, through his ministry, the example of hard work. Being an itinerant preacher, he spends his time with the crowd providing for their needs, and not his own needs.
Interestingly, Jesus himself needs encouragement for his ministry of healing and preaching of the good news. God attends to Jesus’ needs in two ways, physical and spiritual. First, Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, after her healing, cooks for Jesus and his entourage: “Then the fever left her and she waited on them” (Mk 1:31). God places human beings on our path to help us, and God places us on other people’s paths to encourage them. Second, as if Jesus needs to recharge the energy he dispenses by driving out evil spirits and healing the sick, he goes to his Father in prayer and communion before departing to other places to preach and heal: “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed” (Mk 1:35). Evidently, Jesus teaches us, through his time dedicated to prayer, the need to find encouragement in prayer, when the going gets tough. As a matter of fact, the very first statement of Jesus, in response to the fact that many people seek his audience, is to let the disciples know that there are other people, in other villages, who also need God’s healing. Jesus’ prayer time with his Father affords him the encouragement and information to go elsewhere to preach and heal and not remain hostage in a particular place.
No matter what you may be going through, count your blessings to see the miracles God is working in your life right now as encouragement to nudge you on. Even when you do not think that you have enough blessings and miracles for your present situations, remember that more blessings are in store with God for you in the world to come!
Assignment for the Week:
Be the voice and hand of God, through what you say and do, to encourage someone having it rough these days.
Edifying and didactic. Thank you Fr