The first reading from the Book of Job resonated with me, because there have been quite a few people that I’ve personally known recently that have been going through illness and suffering. Good people and it’s really hard to understand. If you are not familiar with the story of Job, you may want to read it. There is a recent modern day adaption of this story in the movie “The Shift”, if you prefer watching a movie. In a nutshell, The Book of Job is a story about a man whose life was going pretty well, but then had tremendous misfortune that would shake the faith of anyone. He was blessed with a large family, an abundance of livestock and land, and was faithful to God. Then Satan enters the scene, and contends with God that Job would lose his faith if he lost his family and fortune. God allows Satan to have power over the life of Job and puts him to the test. Job then loses everything, his family and livestock, are all gone, and he is afflicted with an illness. The story continues on, with Job’s friends coming to console and help him understand the reason for his suffering. They try to convince Job that he must have offended God which brought misfortune upon himself. But Job is persistent with them that there is nothing he has done to cause his plight.
The reading we heard paints the picture of Job’s heartfelt despair about his suffering. “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery?”, “I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights allotted me”, and “I shall not see happiness again” Job did not sound hopeful at all. But throughout his plight, Job sustains his faith in God. In the end, Job is restored, over twice what he previously had. Why Job was allowed to suffer, remained a mystery that only God knew. Job appealed to God to know the cause of this suffering, but was only given the insight of God’s almighty power. Job was content with this answer, and put his trust in God. A purpose of Job’s story was that even people faithful to God may endure suffering.
When we listen to scripture, it can sound like our own story. Job’s words may be the reality of what you may be going through yourself. Or it can be the story of someone that’s close to us, like Eric Schommer, from the Criterion this last week. When he was in the first grade, Eric had Perthes’ disease, a rare condition that disrupts the flow of blood to the head of the thigh bone, causing the bone to deteriorate and often leaving a child with pain, a limp and limited movement of the hip joint. “I wore a full leg brace for the duration of the diagnosis,” recalls Schommer, the principal of St. Monica School in Indianapolis. “This impacted my activities after school while running and riding bikes. It was also the focus of issues on the playground because we always played kickball.” It is difficult to understand why innocent people suffer, like Eric when he was in the first grade, but they do.
But our Gospel reminds us that we have a God who is always present and cares so much for us, that he became one of us enduring suffering himself to put an end to sin which is the ultimate cause our suffering. We hear today about healing that Jesus performed curing
Simon’s mother-in-law, and many who were sick with diseases, and possessed by demons, which may have been those with mental illness. As a result of these healings, many people pursued Jesus, because they wanted relief as well. There were not doctors and medications like we have today. So in his divine power, Jesus miraculously healed the people, to relieve their physical and mental illness, so they could be spiritually healed as well, which they greatly longed for. It was thought by people at the time that those who had diseases and illness, were being punished by God due to their sinfulness. So they were not allowed into the synagogue to worship God. Healed of their illness and diseases they would be welcomed to join once again to worship God in the synagogue.
Jesus gives us a good model to follow, so we can help people heal physically, mentally, and spiritually as the Body of Christ. Before Jesus goes out to heal, he is in prayer with God. He was in prayer in the synagogue, prior to healing Simon’s mother-in-law and went off to a deserted place to pray early in the morning before going out. Prayer is such as important aspect of Jesus’ healing ministry. He spends time in relationship with the Father, which gives him spiritual strength to be able to physically and mentally heal the people. He was also being prepared to preach the Kingdom of God to overcome the power of sin. Jesus’ mission was to heal and preach, empowered by prayer with His Father.
We have been greatly blessed by modern medicine healing many illness, diseases, and injuries. God has provided us with the human ingenuity to develop medications, treatments, and surgeries to heal through these modern wonders. Even though we have these advances in modern medicine, people still need the peace of Jesus to ease their anxieties and fears as they go through in the healing process. Today the physical healing is addressed, but the spiritual healing is forgotten. Prayer and preaching about the Kingdom of God is something we can do to help the healing of the whole person, body, mind, and soul. If someone is going through a serious illness, they can receive the Sacrament of anointing of the Sick, administered by one of our priests. Too often this sacrament is only considered, when someone is terminally ill and near death. This sacrament can be a tremendous blessing providing the grace and peace of Jesus for someone who is struggling with a chronic illness or major surgery as well as their caregivers. This sacrament is offered on a monthly basis after one of the weekday Masses and can also be scheduled with one of the priests. During the anointing of the sick, prayer and preaching is part of the rite to provide to support the spiritual healing of the person receiving the sacrament.
As members of the Body of Christ, we can also provide prayer to help those going through these struggles. When you hear about someone having surgery or a serious illness, ask them if it would be ok for you to pray for them. You can do so privately in your own personal prayer time, or ask them if you can say a prayer with them. I used to tell people I would prayer for them, but more recently have been praying with them at the time they tell me about their illness. It can be a simple prayer such as, “Dear Lord, please be with Mary as she undergoes surgery tomorrow, so she can be healed, and guide the doctors and nurses who are caring for her, in Jesus name we pray. Amen.” If they are Catholic, why not invite with them to consider to ask their priest to receive the anointing of the sick. And if they don’t have a particular faith, it can be a time to share your belief in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus and your hope of eternal life.
Returning to the story about Eric Schommer, he found a refuge while visiting his uncle who lived at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s St. Augustine Home for the Aged in Indianapolis. He would visit his uncle every week to hang out, play chess, eat in the dining room with the Little Sisters, and go to church. When his uncle found out what was happening to Eric, he started praying for him intently while also attending daily Mass and multiple prayer services, with his healing intentions for me.“Before second grade, I no longer required a brace, and X-rays showed that I no longer had Perthes. The following two years, my doctor would have me walk down the hall every time I came in for weekly allergy shots so he could show other doctors and nurses how I no longer had a limp. He cited it as a miracle, as there was an expectation of a need for a brace for several years.”
Even though we have modern medicine, Jesus is still healing people today. May we always keep in mind those who are ill and offer our presence in caring for them and prayers to be healed in body, mind, and spirit and receive the peace of Christ.
