The Lord Blessed the Latter Days of Job More Than His Earlier Ones (Job 42:12); Homily – Saturday of the 26th Week In Ord. Time Year B.

 

Homily – Saturday of the 26^th Week In Ord. Time Year B.

v  Job 42:1-3, 5-6,12-17

v  Ps 119:66,71,75,91,125,130

v  Luke 10:17-24

The Lord Blessed the Latter Days of Job More Than His Earlier Ones (Job 42:12)

Today we celebrate the Lord of Job and of the 72 disciples. We celebrate victory of Job over trials as well those of the 72 over demons, in today’s Gospel of Luke. Job’s victory is our victory. The 72’s victory is our victory. Road to such victories requires, humility, patience, hope, faith, endurance and the steadfastness of Job, which we saw him display through throughout his Book, culminating in today’s epilogue, the 42^nd chapter, and the first reading, where God blesses and rewards Job more and more for his steadfastness and repentance!

In this prose epilogue, our first reading today, Job is convinced of the love, the sovereignty, the wisdom and the power of God. When he answers God that, “I know you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted, who is this that hides counsel without knowledge, therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me which I did not know” ( vv. 1-3), Job is actually confessing his innocence. In chapter 38:2, Job was judged to have spoken ignorantly about God, yet he is judged here in this last chapter, in this epilogue to have spoken exemplarily and correctly about God. How many times have we not spoken ignorantly about events surroundings our lives, without facts? Are we also ready to learn, and to speak correctly, now?

In this final episode, Job affirms his innocence, yet, God is the source of all things, life and death. If we die we die in Christ, if we live we live in Christ, as St. Paul would later affirm (Romans 14:8). His friends who stressed so quickly on retributive justice were wrong and fell short of divine wisdom, as some of our contemporary friends would. His wife who also had encourage Job to curse God and die in Job 2:10, may have been mistaken as well. However, there is still a window of hope and mercy for all from a merciful, loving and forgiving God, through the prayers, repentance and intercession of Job (vv.5-6).

Job prays, “but now my eyes sees you, therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (like ancient prophets, Isaiah 20 and others). Job’s repentance is also a spring board for the Lord blessings him, his latter days than before. His fortunes is restored (as always been in the prayers and prophecy of Zephaniah and others). Job is also given back the blessings of having family, and friends, each whom brought him a gold ring and a piece of money (vv.12ff). He is blessed with many children, 7 sons and 3 beautiful daughters, with significant names: Jemimah (Dove), Keziah (Cinnamon) and Keren- Happauch (Horn of Eyeshadow). Job also lived about 140 years, saw his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What a joyful ending!

Job’s joyful and happy ending anticipates the joyful return of the 72 in today’s Gospel (Luke 10:17-24).  The demons subjected to them because the healed in Christ name, they kept the faith, the rules, the ethics of Christ’s mission, serving with humility, missioning with modesty, carrying no sacks, no tunics, and no sandals but bearing peace, love, mercy, forgiveness,  patient, compassion, generosity ( Luke 10:1-12).

Job’s patience, endurance, steadfastness and prayers are rewarding at the end. The humble mission of the 72, in the name of Christ pays off at the end. Like job, their names are written in heaven. They are rewarded a hundred fold as Job’s latter days became more blessed than the earlier ones.

Job in particular challenges us, through the intercession of Blessed Virgin Mary to patience- endurance, to love, peace, hope, and steadfastness, trust in God’s power, tender care, divine mercy, faithfulness, blessings, and restoration of fortunes of those who persevere to the end!

 Reflection Questions

1.      Do we preserver like Job or like the 72 disciples of today’s Gospel?

2.      What do we make of the epilogue the final chapter 42 of Job?

3.      What is the significance of Job’s daughter’s names for us (Dove, Cinnamon, and Horn of Eyeshadows?).

A God Who Guards and Watches Over Us; Homily – Friday of the 26th Week In Ord. Time, Year B. Memorial the Holy Guardian Angels

 Homily – Friday of the 26^th Week In Ord. Time, Year B. Memorial the Holy Guardian Angels

v  Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5

v  Ps 139:1-3,7-8,9-10,13-14ab

v  Matthew 18:1-5, 10

A God Who Guards and Watches Over Us

Today we celebrate the memorial of the Guardian Angels, God’s messengers. It is a celebration of a God who guards, guides, loves, and watches over each of us. Scripture, of course reveals in many places the role of the angel in our lives.  This was true, when we celebrated the feasts of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael with their richness in meaning and roles, the other day. We know of the story of Angels in the Books of Exodus, Daniel, the Prophet Ezekiel, Zechariah, Revelation, and Tobit and in Luke-Acts of the Apostles etc. Each of these and many more shows that the Lord would constantly send his holy Angels to guard us, hear our supplication and prayers, as well as defend and protect us from every danger!

Ordinarily, Angels, God’s “messengers” can come to us in different forms, in a child, the poor, and in our friends, whenever, and however, the Lord choses! In all that Job went through, as we have been reading this week, the Lord did not abandon him. In his losses, sufferings, arguments with God, friends (Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) came to comfort him with their own perspectives on life. Yet, Job was been guarded by divine providence.

 In chapters 32-37, like his first three friends, a man with a Jewish name Elihu, appears stressing retributive justice as an explanation to Job’s sufferings and losses and added that the source of true wisdom was from the spirit of  God and not from advancement in mortal’s age( 32:8).

In all these, today’s first reading (Job 38), returns to God’s responses, speeches as well as Job’s repentance as was the cases with Habakkuk and Thomas, the doubter, in John’s Gospel. In these rhetorical speeches, in  the first reading, just read, God’s shows the limitation of human beings, their power and intellect and wisdom as well as his divine sovereignty (over creation), mercy, love and protective care and faithfulness of God, who continuously guards and watches over his children.

Although, in the case of Job, God never tells Job why he suffered, but instead describes his great power, love and wisdom, Job final acceptance and repentance is important:

“Behold I am of little account, what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again though twice, I will do so no more” (Job 40:3-5).

In other words, Job finally acknowledges his limitation, his insignificance positon, and dependence on God for protection and greatness. Job in a sense anticipates today’s Gospel of Matthew 18, where, Jesus taught his disciples that true greatness lies in one putting on a humble, and docile attitudes of a children, who are always dependent, solely on the protective love and feeding and provision of their parents and guardians. In their treatment of the little, ones, socially poor or inferior they must not despise or look down on them, because, their “angels in heaven (as was believed, Acts 12:15= Peter was liberated from jail by an angel) always look upon the face of my heavenly Father,” (Matt 18:10; cf. Acts 12:15).

As mentioned, earlier, “angels” (angggelos) means, messengers.  Ordinarily, even though, we are called to be “God’s messengers ,” our prayers this day, as indicated, particularly  in the ”prayer over the offerings,” is that, as we humble venerate the holy angels today, we may under his divine protection,  be guarded and delivered from present dangers and brought happily to life eternal, an everlasting way( Ps 139:24b)

 Reflection Questions

1.      Do we see ourselves as “angels” to one another?

2.      When we doubt, and argue, do we like Job, Habakkuk and Thomas come to believe, remain silent, profess, my Lord and my God?

What do we thing are the sources of true greatness in Christ?