20201003 SEEING THE GLORY OF GOD
03 October, 2020, Saturday, 26th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading |
Job 42:1-3,5-6,12-17 © |
In dust and in ashes I repent
This was the answer Job gave to the Lord:
I know that you are all-powerful:
what you conceive, you can perform.
I am the man who obscured your designs
with my empty-headed words.
I have been holding forth on matters I cannot understand,
on marvels beyond me and my knowledge.
I knew you then only by hearsay;
but now, having seen you with my own eyes,
I retract all I have said,
and in dust and ashes I repent.
The Lord blessed Job’s new fortune even more than his first one. He came to own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand she-donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters; his first daughter he called ‘Turtledove’, the second ‘Cassia’ and the third ‘Mascara.’ Throughout the land there were no women as beautiful as the daughters of Job. And their father gave them inheritance rights like their brothers.
After his trials, Job lived on until he was a hundred and forty years old, and saw his children and his children’s children up to the fourth generation. Then Job died, an old man and full of days.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):66,71,75,91,125,130 © |
Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.
Teach me discernment and knowledge
for I trust in your commands.
It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your statutes.
Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.
Lord, I know that your decrees are right,
that you afflicted me justly.
By your decree it endures to this day;
for all things serve you.
Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.
I am your servant, give me knowledge;
then I shall know your will.
The unfolding of your word gives light
and teaches the simple.
Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 10:17-24 © |
Rejoice that your names are written in heaven
The seventy-two came back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’
It was then that, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said:
‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
Then turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’
SEEING THE GLORY OF GOD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JOB 42:1-3,5-6,12-17; LUKE 10:17-24 ]
Today, we have the conclusion of the story of Job. The question underlying the book of Job is, why do innocent men suffer? This is also our question as well. When we suffer a tragedy, a failure, injustices of our fellowmen or an illness, we wonder why God allows such things to happen, especially when we have been faithful to Him, serving Him in Church and in community. This was Job’s question as well when he was inflicted with tragedies in his life, the loss of his wealth and his children, and personally he was even brought down by his unbearable and disgusting illness when he was once rich, prosperous and revered by his fellowmen. Job demanded justice from God and an answer from Him.
God did not give him an answer but He allowed Job to contemplate on the wonders of creation and the universe. Indeed, humanity has always marveled at the beauty of creation, so much so that some people, so charmed by creation, ended up worshipping creation itself. Many forms of pagan worship are worship of nature, as in the days of Israel. However, the scripture makes it clear that the beauty of creation comes from God. St Paul wrote, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.” (Rom 1:19-23)
The conclusion of the long dialogue came down to this point when Job began to recognize the wonders of God’s creation, which was something beyond his ability to understand. He said, “I know that you are all-powerful: what you conceive, you can perform. I am the man who obscured your designs with my empty-headed words. I have been holding forth on matters I cannot understand, on marvels beyond me and my knowledge. I knew you then only by hearsay; but now, having seen you with my own eyes, I retract all I have said, and in the dust and ashes I repent.” If he could not even understand the marvelous creation of God and its workings, how could he ever understand the wisdom and plan of God? In truth, God did not answer Job’s questions about innocent suffering. In the light of God’s amazing creation, these questions were no longer essential. The truth remains that God is the maker of heaven and earth. As the prophet Isaiah remarked, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isa 55:8f)
What Job needed was not another revelation from God because he had been given the intelligence to understand the human problems of life. What he needed, and we all need in the final analysis, was to see the face of God. The psalmist says, “Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” (Ps 80:8) The responsorial psalm similarly says, “Let your face shine on your servant, O Lord. Teach me discernment and knowledge for I trust in your commands. It was good for me to be afflicted, to learn your statutes. The unfolding of your word gives light and teaches the simple.” The face of God can only be seen by those who are courageous enough to ask the hard questions of life as Job did. Not that we will have the answers but we will come to know the ultimate answer. All questions of life are transient but they lead us to the ultimate question of God, our destiny and our origin. To brush away these questions, as Job’s friends did by giving traditional answers and hiding the contradictions of life, would never help us to understand the ultimate question and therefore see God as Job did.
This same theme of seeing the glory of God prevails in today’s gospel story as well. The seventy-two disciples had just returned from a missionary trip. They had been sent out earlier to all the towns and villages to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom. They were to cure the sick and cast out devils. (cf Lk 10:1-12) Now they have just returned full of excitement and joy because they saw the power of God at work in and through which they could never imagine to have or to see with their own eyes. Rejoicing, they reported to the Lord, “Lord, even the devils submit to us when we use your name.” Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall like lightening from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you.” Indeed, Jesus had given a share of His authority and power over Satan.
However, the Lord also warned them of pride as well. “Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.” This warning echoes the warning of God to the King of Babylon who was proud of his military might. “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!” (cf Isa 14:12-17) Indeed, it is a warning to us who are in the ministry or in our vocation in life. We must not let success get into our head! True joy cannot come from the feeling of self-importance, power and glory. Success and power are the real blessings that God wants to give us. Pride will make us fall like Satan himself.
Rather the Lord said to them, “Rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.” Indeed, more than anything else is to know that we are God’s children. To have your names written in heaven is to be assured of our salvation. The joy that God gives us in mission is that in saving others, in proclaiming the gospel to others, we also save ourselves and proclaim the gospel to ourselves as well. A preacher or an evangelizer who speaks about God or mediates the presence of God, is himself transformed by what he says and what he does. Knowing that our place is in God’s house is the greatest joy we can have.
Secondly, to know the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit is the other great joy. The revelation of the nature of God as the Blessed Trinity is truly a gift of God. In the gospel, we have Jesus in complete union with the Father because they share the same Spirit. Jesus was so identified with the Spirit that the scripture says, “Filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said, ‘…Everything has been entrusted to me be my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.'” Indeed, we come to know the love and mercy of God who is almighty through Christ, His Son who reveals Him to us in the Spirit. Salvation is through Christ. Our knowledge of Christ as the Son of God and our Savior is our great joy.
Such are our privileges of seeing the power of God at work in and through us, revealing to us our salvation in Him and most of all, enabling us as His adopted sons and daughters to share in His Trinitarian life. For these reasons, Jesus said to His disciples, “Happy the eyes that see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.” Indeed, we are more blessed than Job, than Moses and the prophets, because we have seen the glory of God in our lives, in our ministry and not just in creation. But most of all, we have seen the glory of God in Jesus. St John wrote, “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (Jn 1:14,16) Humility as in Job is the key to see God, for God hides “these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children.” Only in simplicity and trust like the apostles, will God show us His face.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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