Job, in today’s first reading, doesn’t seem able to pray with hope. He is feeling the misery of the world. He is pessimistic about life. And when we turn to the Gospel we see how the crowds who suffer like Job are drawn out of their despair by the healing touch of Jesus. Our Savior has announced the kingdom of healing sick people and casting out devils from those who are possessed. He has come to preach a message of hope to a suffering world. Much of St. Mark’s Gospel is taken up with Jesus’ miracles of healing because this is what a wounded world demands. But Jesus does not want to be seen just as a wonder-worker. His healing goes deeper. He forgives sin and heals spiritual sickness.
In a society which highly values those who are young, healthy and rich, the acknowledgment of sickness and even death is not always welcome. The Bible tells us that we are mortal and gives us permission to lament our suffering just as Job did. Jesus confronts the misery of the world head-on. He makes the healing of sick people central to His ministry. Optimism is a feeling that things will get better, but Christian hope is rooted in a person who has triumphed over death. In the light of that hope we can pray to God for healing in many ways… And today we are fed with the bread of life in Holy Communion. But we are also healed, by care in our homes through the loving concern of our fellow Christians.