Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Suffering And God’s Wisdom
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. Today we hear the closing words of the book of Job. In his sufferings, he has voiced his complaints; his friends have tried to justify God, but Job cannot fully understand; finally, his eyes have seen, and he accepts that God is greater and wiser and that God knows best. We should understand better than Job, for we have seen the suffering face of the crucified Christ.
Gospel. In the gospel, the disciples, and Jesus with them, rejoice that people have been liberated from the power of evil in the name of Jesus.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
in your bewildering wisdom
you let us stand at times
all alone before you with our miseries
and we barely know where you are.
Give us then the courage
to keep our trust in you alive,
as people without pretensions,
humble, without illusions,
but aware that you too have a Son,
who all alone and disfigured,
died one day on a cross for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Reading
Job’s Response to the Lord
This was the answer Job gave to the Lord:
I know that you are all-powerful; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
“Who is this who obscures counsel with ignorance?” I spoke of things I did not understand, too wonderful for me to know.
My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I retract all I have said, and in dust and ashes, I repent.
The Lord blessed Job’s later years much more than his earlier ones. He came to own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys.
He was also blessed with seven sons and three daughters.
The first daughter he named Dove, the second Cinnamon, and the third Bottle of Perfume.
Throughout the land, no woman could compare in beauty to Job’s daughters. Their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.
Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.
He died old and full of years.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130
R. (135) Lord, let your face shine on me.
Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commands I trust.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
According to your ordinances they still stand firm:
all things serve you.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I am your servant; give me discernment
that I may know your decrees.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The seventy-two disciples returned joyfully. They said:
“Lord, even the demons obey us when we call on your name.”
Then Jesus responded:
However, don’t rejoice because the evil spirits submit to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.”
At that time, Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said:
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. I have been given all things by my Father so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said to them privately:
for I tell you that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see, but did not see it; and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Prayers of the Faithful
– For the poor and the suffering, for the victims of injustice and exploitation, for the lonely and the desperate, that we may not only show them compassion but help them to lighten their burdens, we pray:
– For the dying in their hour of struggle, that by his agony in the garden the Lord Jesus may be their strength, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may learn to accept our crosses and carry them with Jesus, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our God and Father,
we bring before you this bread and wine
to be one with Jesus, your Son.
With him, may we not insult those who suffer
with hollow pious words
but stay by their side,
perhaps in silence listening to their plaints
and just let them feel
that we are there,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in this Eucharist your Son has been among us
as the person who died one day for us
but who lives now a life of glory.
In him we hope and trust
that no pain is suffered in vain
but that our mourning, our sickness or misery
may make life more bearable and worth living
to someone whom perhaps we may not know,
on account of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
The mystery of suffering and evil remains a problem. For many of its questions, we have no answer, and a superficial reference to the cross does not suffice. We know that God wants our happiness. We also know that there is much suffering, much of it caused by people to other people. We keep believing in God’s love, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Luke 10: 17-24
Fortunate are we!
The Seventy returned from their initial preaching and healing ministry brimming with joy and excitement over the victories they had accomplished in Jesus' name. However, Jesus then warns them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven." This statement holds deep significance and can be interpreted in various meaningful ways.
It might signify the defeat of the forces of darkness and evil, the overthrow of Satan's stronghold, and the establishment of God's kingdom. It could also serve as a caution against pride. According to legend, Satan was expelled from heaven due to pride, and Jesus may have been warning the Seventy to guard against becoming prideful despite their successes. Jesus advised his disciples to avoid pride and overconfidence, reminding them that their true glory lay in having their names inscribed in heaven. It will always be true that a person's greatest glory is not in their own accomplishments but in what God has done for them.
Christianity does not mean knowing all the theories about the New Testament, nor does it mean knowing all the theologies and Christology. It does not mean knowing about Christ; instead, it means knowing Christ, which requires not only earthly wisdom but heavenly grace. Jesus gives a simple formula to know God: "If you want to know what God is like, look at me." Jesus didn't just speak about God; he embodied God's character and nature, revealing God through his words and actions.
The concept of evolution in science suggests that human beings have gradually evolved from lower forms of life. From a faith perspective, we can take this a step further and view Jesus as the culmination of this evolutionary process. In him, humanity meets God, and he is at once the perfection of humanity and the fulness of Godhead.
“Fortunate are we to experience what we experience in the Church, in the Word of God and in the Sacraments!”