5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B 

It looks to me like Jesus is the only person who is not complaining in today's readings.

Job understandably experiences life as a drudgery, as misery, as filled with restlessness. He fully expects that he will never experience happiness again. – Not exactly what we would call good news!

Paul speaks of his proclamation of the gospel as something he does as an obligation, as something imposed on him, and he says “woe is me if I do not preach it!” He has chosen not to accept any recompense for his apostolic work, and though he is a free man, he has made himself a slave to all. – So much for accepting his vocation willingly!

Jesus, on the other hand, makes no complaint even though He encounters Simon's mother-in-law in need when he thought He might have been stopping for a moment to rest. He makes no complaint when even after His meal, people with every type of illness and disease were seeking Him out, when the whole town was gathered at the door of the place where He was staying. Jesus made no complaint when He was being pursued by His own disciples who were telling Him, “everyone is looking for you.” – He willingly accepted every person and every situation that came his way, without complaint, I believe, because the gospel shows Him to have been a man of prayer.

“Rising very early before dawn, He left and when off to a deserted place where He prayed.”

This, it seems to me, although it is only a very brief verse and small detail included in the gospel, may in fact be the key to Jesus' entire ministry here on earth.

Every one of us here today at times feels like Job, Paul, and Jesus. We can experience life as drudgery, our daily activities as duties and obligations, we can feel at times that people and commitments are pressing in on us from every side. The only way we can avoid complaining, or concluding that we will never see happiness again, or crying out “woe is me” is if we like Jesus are people who pray.

Prayer may not take our difficulties away, but it helps make our crosses easier to bear. Prayer may not make the people who seek our time or attention more self-reliant, but is makes us more patient. Prayer may not make us feel good or come with comforting consolations, but it prayer does allow us to know that we are never alone in our struggles and our sorrows and our sufferings.

And when we recognize that we are not alone, that we can be patient with the help of the grace of God, and that our crosses at times can be lighter, prayer can be the cause of our joy and a tremendous source of hope.

Even after to reflecting on the experience of Job, Paul, and Jesus today, we still have not solved the problem of why there is suffering in the world, why bad things happen to good people, and why there is sickness and disease and sorrow in life. But we have come to know that imitating Jesus' example of prayer can help us at least to know that we are not alone in our struggle.

May we always make prayer a part of our lives each day so that we will always be mindful of the presence of Jesus in our lives, especially in those times when life is difficult and we are tempted to be discouraged.

Praised be the Lord Jesus who comforts us in our sorrows and lifts us up when we are down.

Thomas P. Ferguson
February 5, 2006