February 4
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted.”
Readings
Reflection
The theme of today’s readings could be focused on what kind of day people are having. We all know that some days are better or worse than others. It seems that Job is having a really bad day in our first reading, speaking about the hardships of his life after everything has been taken away from him. Things get better with Paul, who describes his need to preach the gospel as an obligation. To Paul, any day that he can preach the gospel is a good day. In the gospel, Jesus brings goodness to Simon’s mother when he cures her of a fever. She responds by waiting on him and the apostles, a very motherly response to Jesus’ kindness. Her day goes from bad to good in the blink of an eye. Jesus can do that for us.
Sometimes we have bad days. They are usually associated with our level of health and how we feel on a given day. If we are sick, we suffer not only the physical pain of our illness, but some emotional pain as well. Other times, we respond to the bad things that sometimes happen to us and those we love. If our friend or loved one is sick and suffering, we feel that any day is not a good one until their misery is relieved. Their misery is our misery. We begin to sound a little like Job when these things happen. Our days become marathons of sleeplessness, sadness, and suffering, while our nights seem to be endless. We are all prone to disappointment and suffering in our lives. This is where Jesus comes in to make things better for us.
Jesus brings light to our darkness. He brings healing to our sickness. The news he brings us is a message of hope in a time where we may be surrounded by hopelessness. As we hear in Psalm 147, our Psalm for this day, “The Lord heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Our hearts are often broken by the suffering we experience in the world. We are often wounded by the world’s indifference to our pain. But we must remember that while each of us suffers through our difficulties, it is Jesus who brings us better days. Let us trust in him.
Keep the faith,
Deacon Dare
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