· 5th (B) Ordinary Time, February 5, 2006
· Theme: Preaching and Driving out Demons

· What did you think of that first reading?
· Job seems so pessimistic:
· Life is drudgery;
· “I have been assigned months of misery;”
· “I am filled with restlessness;”
· Life is an unbearable burden.
· Where is the Good News in these words?
· In one sense, Job speaks for the people who come to Jesus for healing.
· The words of Job give expression to the cries of the anonymous crowd who had gathered at Simon’s door.

· Actually, I think we all can easily relate to the words of Job:
· We know there are many national and world-wide issues that concern God and us at this moment.
· We are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
· We suspect Iran is about to develop nuclear weapons.
· The indictment of a major lobbyist reveals again how susceptible some of our national political leaders are to being swayed by gifts and cash payments.
· Environmental degradation threatens the health and well being of our children.
· The cries of Job could also be our cries.

· The Gospel also speaks of concerns that are closer to home to which we all can relate.
· As a metaphor for the humanity, what could be more down to earth than a “Mother-in-law”?
· A mother-in-law can be the light of family life, or the bane of a spouse’s existence.
· In fact, many of us are dealing with illnesses in our families.
· Many of us are now taking care of our parents who once took care of us.
· Sometimes even these personal cares can seem overwhelming.
· The cries of Job again seem to reflect our cries.

· Is there really a God who cares what happens to us?
· I am sure that we have all asked this question at some time in our lives as we face the tragedies that confront us in our newspapers and in our families.
· At times our faith is really strained.

· We look for Hope! We look for help!
· Jesus offers us that hope in Mark’s Gospel today.
· Jesus can empathize with our burdens, because they were his as well:
· He watched those whom he loved diminish and die before his eyes: Peter’s Mother-in-law, his friend Lazarus, and the widow’s son.
· The foreign forces of Rome occupied his country, and Jesus realized the inhumanity that human beings can levy on one another.
· Jesus understands the suffering that we endure, because he endured it as well.

· Jesus did not answer the question of “Why there is suffering,”
· But he did show us “HOW” to address suffering.
· Jesus did not avoid the suffering of others, but rather he let it touch him:
· He then reached out in compassion to Peter’s Mother-in-law, touched her and raised her up.
· He preached God’s love and mercy, and he cast out the demons of the day.

· At the time of Jesus, people believed that the world was engaged in a cosmic struggle between the forces of Good and Evil.
· These forces were represented figuratively by angels and demons that were engulfed in mortal combat
· It was this struggle that affected every aspect of life.
· The Gospel story then is not just about the working of miracles, but rather about Jesus establishing the reign of God over which death and evil have no ultimate power.
· Even as we face the challenges of personal and communal suffering, Jesus shows us that God cares for us, walks with us, and touches us, to heal our spirits, to encourage us so we do not lose hope.

· Even Job, though he expressed his frustration and anger at God in today’s first reading, was a righteous man before God.
· Through his patience, and through his consistent faith, eventually he found the justification he was looking for.

· We all have our personal demons,
· Whether they be the depression caused by self doubt,
· The struggles of a difficult marriage,
· Addictions (to alcohol, work, drugs, etc.) that sometimes we refuse to admit, even to ourselves.
· The feeling that nothing and no one can change the world condition
· Yet through our faith, we have hope that our compassionate God will never forget us,
· And will give us the courage to push back the demons in our lives so that God’s light might shine in and through us.

· As we continue with our liturgy today,
· Let us pray for one another that we may never lose hope.
· Let us pray that through the Eucharist that we receive, we will gain the strength we need to fight the demons both of our personal lives as well as those of the dangerous world in which we live.

· Amen.

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