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Dear Friends,
I have to admit that I am quite fond of Job, the biblical figure who is prominently featured in the first reading this weekend. He expresses, with such authentically honest sentiments, what we all want to say. In today's passage, he says, "Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?" Haven't we all thought the same thing at one time or another? Life seems to be such hard, never-ending work. Should we just resign ourselves to such an attitude?
Let's face it. We've all had our struggles. If we are breathing, we can be certain that we are going to be dealing with all kinds of trials, pains, laborious tasks, and obligations that warrant our attention. F. W. O'Malley puts it another way: "Life is just one [darned] thing after another." In other words, life is fraught with a constant barrage of challenges that wear on us. They remind us that we will not easily find rest in this existence. That's what heaven is for. With all of these things coming at us relentlessly each day, it is only natural that we might feel as though life is nothing but misery. Like Job, we may doubt that we will ever "see happiness again".
In this life, we cannot escape the fact that we will find many hardships. However, the Gospel from Mark illustrates that Jesus comes to make all things new. As Jesus exits the synagogue, he immediately begins to cure those who were afflicted with various diseases and illnesses. He starts to eradicate the hardships and afflictions that are a part of our human experience. This is all a sign that he has come to help lift the burden. He has come to restore and renew, to transform and change. This also demonstrates that Jesus does not desire life to be a drudgery. Rather, he desires to help us in the midst of our sufferings. He may not completely eliminate our daily challenges, but he surely will walk along with us through them. He will even help carry the burdens that we must carry.
Not only does Jesus help us to carry our burdens, but also he gives them redemptive value. So, if we are struggling each day, he can make our struggles something that we can readily embrace and even love toward greater merit. If we face challenges at work, we can offer them up for a greater good. If we struggle in a relationship, provided that it is not abusive or dangerous, it can become something we bear with out of love. If we encounter responsibilities that are exhausting, it can become something that we persevere through to set an example of fidelity. It therefore, can become a mode of evangelization.
All of this has to be done in and through Jesus. The Gospel tells us that Jesus went off to a deserted place where he prayed in order to be renewed from his work. He entered into communion with the Father, so that he could carry the burdens of his daily work. If we are to allow our daily efforts to be transformative, we need the same communion with the Father. Rejuvenated by those moments of prayer, our work takes on an entirely new meaning. It becomes something that is not so much drudgery, but an act of love that feeds others and us spiritually. God bless!
Fr. Paul
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