5th Sunday in Ordinary Time year B 2015
Autor: Padre Denis Mwenda blog | Publicado: 2015-07-11T21:26:00-07:00




Readings:&nbsp;Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 129-39

Focus: Jesus is our only Hope, and the only Hope we need.

Location:&nbsp;Mercy Hospital Springfield Missouri, 6th Floor Chapel; Date &amp;Time: February 8th 2015;&nbsp;8:00Am



&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Who do you take your troubles to? Jesus' disciples freely brought their troubles to Him because they found Him ready and able to deal with every difficulty, affliction and sickness they encountered. When Simon brought Jesus to his home, his mother-in-law was instantly healed because Jesus heard Simon's prayer. As for Job, he became committed to Jesus after complaining&nbsp;"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle; they come to an end without hope. Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again." Job 7:6-7

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Has there ever been a time in your life where you felt all hope was lost for your future because you couldn’t see past your pain, suffering or challenges?&nbsp; There may be times in our lives that life seems unfair and we want to throw our hands up and say, “I can’t handle it anymore!”

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You are in the right place this morning if you are or have ever felt this way before.&nbsp; This fifth Sunday we are reminded of Job and his feelings of despair as he lamented the bitterness of his soul. (Jb. 7:1, 7, 11).&nbsp; How do you handle such feelings and what is your response in moments of despair?&nbsp; In respect to mental health and psychology, feelings of despair are characterized as “the blues”.&nbsp;&nbsp; Today we will see how to recharge our spiritual batteries when we are left to say, “I just can't handle it anymore!"What are situations in your life that cause you daily sleepless night?

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There is a story I was told about a couple who had been married for more than thirty years. One evening, when the husband returned from work, he found his wife packing. "What in the world are you doing?" he asked. "I can't handle it anymore!" she replied. "I'm tired of all the bickering and arguing and complaining that's been going on between us all these years, I'm leaving." Whereupon, the startled husband suddenly dashed to the bedroom, pulled a suitcase out of the closet, filled it with his belongings and ran after his wife, saying, "I can't handle it any more either. I'm going with you!

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Can you imagine Jesus standing before your bed and you continue sleeping? It is absurd that you would remain in bed in His presence when He has all power to heal and to deliver you from all your harm. Let us remember today that there is no trouble or bondage that the Lord Jesus Christ cannot overcome in our lives.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Have you allowed Jesus to be the Lord and healer in your personal life, family, and community? Approach the Lord with expectant faith. God's healing power restores us not only to health but to active service and care of others. There is no trouble He does not want to help us with and there is no bondage He can't set us free from. Do you take your troubles to Him with expectant faith that He will help you?





&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Today’s first reading tells the story of a man named Job who is at a point in his life where he can't handle it anymore. He expresses himself as a man without hope and he complains that life is “drudgery" ... that his eyes "will never see joy again" while he laments the bitterness of his soul (Jb. 7:1, 7, 11).

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Job's life was not that unusual because of unrelated catastrophes and troubles he encountered in his life. (Job 7:1) He considered life to be hopeless, joyless "months of misery" (Job 7:3ff).

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Multiple tragedies are the rule of life and not the exception.&nbsp; Look at the billions of sick, dying, aborted, persecuted, oppressed, divorced, bereaved, exiled, starving, lonely, and rejected people. Do such experiences not make us cry like Job “I shall not see happiness again!" Job 7:6-7. Therefore like Job we have reason to say "Is not man's life on earth drudgery?" (Job 7:1) He considered life to be hopeless, joyless "months of misery" (Job 7:3ff).

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Job's assessment of life is true, but it is not the whole truth.&nbsp; In Jesus, and only in Jesus, there is hope.&nbsp; Jesus loves us infinitely, forgives us our sins, saves us, heals the sick, frees us from demons, raises the dead, works together everything for the good (Rm 8:28), and takes us to be with Him forever in heaven.&nbsp; Jesus is our only Hope, and the only Hope we need.&nbsp; Whether or not people know Jesus, "everybody is looking" for Him (Mk 1:37) because everyone has to have hope and Jesus is our only Hope.&nbsp; Therefore, "should anyone ask you the reason for this hope of yours, be ever ready to reply" (1 Pt 3:15). Jesus is our only Hope, and the only Hope we need.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Today, don’t leave this place without restoring your Christian commitment and refueling your spiritual batteries aids pain, suffering and misery.&nbsp; Jesus showed us this in His public ministry in which He taught with authority, exorcised demons and healed Simon’s mother-in-law. After all that, when the sun had set, he “cured many who were sick with various diseases, and drove out many demons.”&nbsp;Thus, Jesus spent most of His time ministering to the needs of others; giving healing, forgiving and a restoring many.&nbsp; Yet, He was well aware that even the most important work had to be continually refueled and evaluated before God His Father.&nbsp; Hence, Jesus showed this by seeking a quiet place “a deserted place" to pray in order to assess His work for His Father’s glory and to recharge his spiritual battery. Can we do the same in our service to others and relationships?

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; May the Lord bless you.