In today’s Old Testament reading, Job sounds very depressed. He does not know how to process his suffering. In my own life, I struggled for many years to come to terms with the suffering I was experiencing. I would distract myself with useless or self-defeating pursuits. I would also get bitter and blame God. The enemy was very successful at using my suffering to put a wedge between me and God.
The turning point came after my first trip to Medjugorje. One of the key insights I received there was to accept my suffering. Of course, some suffering we can prevent through prudent action. Some suffering we can alleviate through simple remedies. Some forms of suffering, like injustice, we should work to oppose. But we will all be visited by suffering that we cannot change. We can allow such suffering to destroy us or we can use it to grow and become more loving.
After my first trip to Medjugorje, I started saying the following prayer: “Lord God, thank you for my suffering. I give you glory, honor, and praise for my suffering. Thank you for deeming me worthy to suffer for you.” Once I started saying this prayer, everything changed. Suddenly, I felt peace and joy even in the midst of my suffering. That is the paradox of the Cross. Embracing our cross gives us peace and joy, even as we still feel the pain of our suffering.
When I embraced my cross, the enemy, the demonic force that was trying to turn me against God, lost his most powerful weapon against me. The enemy could no longer use my suffering to stir my soul up against God. I was now allowing the light of Christ into my heart, and the light of Christ always dispels the dark.
In the Gospel reading to today, we see that Christ expels many demons from people. In our contemporary culture, we might have a different understanding of demonic possession, in that we typically do not attribute physical illness to demonic possession. But we should make no mistake. Demonic activity is just as strong in our world today as it was at the time of Christ. We continue to need the healing power of Christ to cast out the demons that have insinuated their way into our lives.
As we prepare for the great season of Lent, let us reflect on which areas of our lives need cleansing. Where have we allowed demons to enter and take hold in our lives? To be able to reflect, let us spend some quiet time in prayer, as Jesus does before he begins his work. Let us ask Christ in our prayer what areas of our lives have been affected by demonic influence. Let us ask him to expel those demons through his power. So that we too, like Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, might receive healing in the broken areas of our lives.
||
The readings for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, are:
Jb 7:1-4, 6-7
Ps 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
Mk 1:29-39
The full text can be found at the USCCB website.
Photo Credit: The Site of the Crucifixion on Golgotha By Zoltan Abraham (c) 2016.