Homily For The 5th Sunday In Ordinary Time Year B.

Job 7:1-4.6-7; Psalm 147:1-6; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19.22-23; Mark 1:29-39.

“THE LORD IS CLOSE TO THE BROKEN-HEARTED!”

By: Rev. Fr. Charles Onyeka Ezejide.

·      We thank the Lord for the gift of a brand-new month, the month of February. Today being the first Sunday of the month, it is only proper to return all praise and adoration to God who made it possible. We also commit our plans and visions for the month into God’s hands knowing that if the Lord journeys with us, we will surely reach our destination.

·      Friends in Christ, today’s homily comes at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to be a Christian in our world today. There are more questions to ask than answers to give. One of the questions that readily comes to mind is why do good people suffer? Why is it that good things don’t last? Why do we experience so much hardship and pain in our world? 

·      The story of the book of Job in the first reading (Job 7:1-4.6-7), tries to answer some of those questions. Job represents for us a good man who had to suffer grievously for being an upright man. Job may have gone through hard times but in all of them, his experience proves to us that truly “the Lord is close to the broken-hearted”.

·      Dearly beloved in Christ, if you think that the weight of the world is on your shoulders and that you are about to give up, if you think that life is no longer meaningful to you and you wish to end the suffering by taking your life, ask Job how he survived. He was a good man by every standard. For us, we make mistakes from time to time. His only crime was that he was chosen for the contest between God and the devil.

·      St. Paul cries out in the second reading (1 Corinthians 9:16-19.22-23), that to preach the gospel is hard, especially to the broken-hearted but we must preach all the same. We are called to be close to them and at all times to be all things to all men. To the discouraged; be their source of courage, to the lonely; be their companion, to the confused; offer wise counsel, to the doubting; be their hope. 

·      Preaching the gospel, especially with our lives is a great burden but we must preach the gospel anyway because that is what the Lord God expects of us. It has its challenges and discipline, but its rewards are immeasurable.

·      For the gospel message to be relevant, we must be all things to all people. We must be close to an armed robber to understand the plight of the armed robber. You must be close to the prostitutes and outcasts of society to find a way to make the gospel relevant to them. To the learned and well-read you must be sound enough for them to understand the message. For the simple-hearted and not too educated, you must also find a way to transmit the message to them.

·      In the gospel reading (Mark 1:29-39), Jesus demonstrates that he does not just talk the talk, but he works his talk. This he demonstrated in his words in the healing of Peter's mother-in-law and all those who were tormented by one kind of disease or the other. He is close to the broken-hearted hence, he healed them all.

·      For every expectation or command Jesus gives to us, he is first to put it into practice. He healed Peter’s mother-in-law and other sick people. The sickness was of a different type, but he was all things to all people. To those with broken bones, he became an orthopaedic doctor, to those with bad sight, he became an ophthalmologist, to those with skin disease, he became a dermatologist, to those who were barren, he became a gynaecologist, to those who suffered hunger and starvation, he became a philanthropist. 

·      Friends in Christ, this is what the Lord God expects of us. We must continually seek to be relevant to our brothers and sisters. Our lives and relationships must add value and better the lot of those around us.

·      Dearly beloved, notice that Jesus was not just able to do all these because he is the son of God but because he constantly sought the face of God through prayers and quiet moments in God’s presence. We have a lot of lessons to learn from that, that we can only give out that which we have first received from Jesus through prayers if not we will grow empty and spiritually fatigued.

·      The Psalmist wraps it up by assuring us that this sickness will not end in death, this hardship will not consume us, and these financial challenges will not dampen our faith rather it is for the glory of God, and it must end in praise. And that is our response today “Praise the Lord who heals the broken-hearted” (Ps. 147:3).

·      Why give up? God’s promises are yes and Amen! If he did it before, he will do it again for you, all you need do is to have unreserved faith and trust in Him knowing that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

·      Happy Sunday!!!