GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 26TH SEPTEMBER 2016
MONDAY OF THE 26TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
(MEMORIAL OF SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIAN)
1ST READING: Job 1:6-22
PSALM: Psalm 17:1-3, 6-7
GOSPEL: Luke 9:46-50
THEME: WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE
For love of purity and holiness, she chose virginity until marriage. Now, fifteen years into marriage, she is still childless; meanwhile, her friends who care less about holiness have all given birth.
A philanthropist spends his life taking care of the poor and needy. Now on his sickbed, he does not have enough resources to take care of himself. He becomes a poor and needy person himself, needing help.
A God-fearing and selfless nurse contracts a deadly virus whiles attending to a patient at the hospital. Look around you and you would find examples of good people who have been hit badly by unpleasant challenges of life.
When bad things happen to good people, the pillars of our human understanding crumble. Such is the story of Job in our First Reading. Scripture describes him as “no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8). Though he had committed no evil, different trials bombarded this holy and innocent man without warning– trials in his family, business etc. However, he never allowed the trials of life to rob him of his faith. We read, “Then Job arose, tore his robe, shaved his head, and fell on the ground and worshipped” (Job 1:20). In the face of trials, he chose to switch to the mode of worship and total surrender to God.
The true worth of a person is seen in the face of challenges. An evil happening is a test of character. The grade that one gets after such a test determines whether one is prepared to move on to the next level of life’s journey or not.
Have you lost faith in God on account of a trial? Think of Job and rise up on the wings of prayer. You cannot afford to fail this test because you would need the grade to move on. God never said that faith in him will keep us from “fire and water”. He says that even if we should go through fire and water, he would be with us (cf. Is. 43:2).
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are my light in darkness, my strength in weakness and my hope in the face of hoplessness. I put all my trust in you and I know you will never fail me. Amen
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).