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Job 3:1–3,11–17,20–23;
Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.
Job spoke out and said:
Perish the day on which I was born,
the night when they said, "The child is a boy!"
Why did I not perish at birth,
come forth from the womb and expire?
Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth,
like babes that have never seen the light?
Wherefore did the knees receive me?
or why did I suck at the breasts?
For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;
had I slept, I should then have been at rest
With kings and counselors of the earth
who built where now there are ruins
Or with princes who had gold
and filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from troubling,
there the weary are at rest.
Why is light given to the toilers,
and life to the bitter in spirit?
They wait for death and it comes not;
they search for it rather than for hidden treasures,
Rejoice in it exultingly,
and are glad when they reach the grave:
Those whose path is hidden from them,
and whom God has hemmed in!
Ps 88:2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8
R./ Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
O Lord, my God, by day I cry out;
at night I clamor in your presence.
Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my call for help.
R./ Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
For my soul is surfeited with troubles
and my life draws near to the nether world.
I am numbered with those who go down into the pit;
I am a man without strength.
R./ Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
My couch is among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom you remember no longer
and who are cut off from your care.
R./ Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit,
into the dark abyss.
Upon me your wrath lies heavy,
and with all your billows you overwhelm me.
R./ Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Lk 9:51-56
As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. He had sent ahead of him some messengers who entered a Samaritan village to prepare a lodging for him. But the people would not receive him because he was on his way to Jerusalem. Seeing this, James and John, his disciples said, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to reduce them to ashes?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village.
As a continuation of yesterday’s meditation, today, on the day the Church commemorates Saint Therese, the collect prayer proposes: «O God, who prepares your kingdom for the humble and the simple, grant us to confidently follow the path of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus so that, through her intercession, your eternal glory may be revealed to us. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ.»
Today’s first reading continues with the book of Job. The passage does not show Job’s famous patience, but quite the opposite. It is a bitter speech and a tragic lament for having been born. Something very human that we all experience to some extent when we believe we cannot bear failure and physical or moral suffering. José María Cabodevilla published, in the 70s, a work entitled «The Impatience of Job.» And the poet Carlos Pujol, author of Fragments from the Book of Job, says: «Whoever has not felt like Job in some situation does not know what it is to live, because that experience of unbearable pain that is not understood is the deepest key to what it is to be human.» In the end, we know, Job ended well. And it is this confidence that in the end everything will be okay, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end, that frees us from despair. Like many saints, Therese proved, with her very painful illness, that it is possible to endure pain to the extreme, if we welcome God’s grace.
In today’s Gospel reading, we see the exasperated and impatient reaction of James and John to a setback that may be serious, certainly not fatal, which they want to «solve» with a rain of fire. Somewhat disproportionate, isn’t it? The evangelist simply says that Jesus rebuked them. It seems to me that the rebuke had a certain touch of good humor.
Following Jesus Christ implies constancy in faith, even and especially when all circumstances seem adverse, renouncing revenge if the evil comes from a human being, having patience and always awaiting the salvation that Christ has won for us. And understanding, even if it is mysterious, that the joy of the Lord is our strength.
Virginia FernándezLord, our God,
we know that you love us
and that neither suffering nor pain,
even death can separate us from you.
Do not take it too seriously when we complain,
when we are impatient with you,
with ourselves and with people.
Keep before us the image of your Son,
who could not be swayed from his mission
and give us the strength to follow him,
for he is our Lord, for ever and ever.
First Reading Introduction
Job cries out his misery in complaints to the Lord. He cannot take it, he doesn't see any sense in it, and he asks God why. Jesus knows how to take suffering. He does not run away from it, for he accepts the consequences of his task: to be faithful, whatever the cost, to his mission of love of reconciling people to his Father and of saving us.
Gospel Introduction
The prophet Elijah did not find God in the storm wind or the earthquake or the fire, but in the gentle breeze. The "sons of thunder," James and John, wanted fire to come down on the Samaritan village that did not receive Jesus, but Jesus reprimanded them. Violence is not God's way.
– Lord Jesus, forgive us when we cry out our pain, when it is hard to bear; help us, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, help especially people who are broken and discouraged and alone, that they may carry their burden with you, we pray:
– Lord Jesus, let those who are in a long and painful sickness feel your pre-sence, we pray:
God our Father,
at the table of your Son,
uproot from our hearts
all bitterness and impatience.
You did not destroy us with fire from heaven
when we sinned against you and people.
Encourage us with the fire of love
and give us the bread of strength of your Son.
With him, we offer you our pains,
our impatience, but also our joy and love.
Grant us this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.
Patient and loving God,
we know that you love us
and want us to be happy.
You let your Son pay the heavy price
for our pride and selfishness.
By this Eucharist, restore us,
keep us hoping and believing in you,
and dispose us to live for others
and if necessary in pain and toil
with them and for them,
as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and stays with us now,
and we hope and pray, for ever.
Yes, we have a Lord who was crucified, and we are his followers. But sometimes, we forget and complain too easily. Of course, pain hurts and we have not to ask for it. May God stand by your side and bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
