I will trust Him. Whatever,
wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may
serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my
sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary
causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain. - Blessed
John Henry Newman (Roman Catholic Cardinal)
Scripture
Text: (JAS 5:13-20)
Beloved:
Is
anyone among you suffering?
He
should pray.
Is
anyone in good spirits?
He
should sing a song of praise.
Is
anyone among you sick?
He
should summon the presbyters of the Church,
and
they should pray over him
and
anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
The prayer of faith will save the sick
person,
and
the Lord will raise him up.
If
he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven.
Therefore,
confess your sins to one another
and
pray for one another, that you may be healed.
The
fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.
Elijah
was a man like us;
yet
he prayed earnestly that it might not rain,
and
for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land.
Then
Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain
and
the earth produced its fruit.
My
brothers and sisters,
if
anyone among you should stray from the truth
and
someone bring him back,
he
should know that whoever brings back a sinner
from
the error of his way will save his soul from death
and
will cover a multitude of sins.
In the first reading from James today
at Mass, one can hear the writer implore people to become dependent on our
Lord. If you are suffering, pray to God: depend on him to grant you the
grace you need to get through the suffering. If you are in good spirits,
pray to God in praise—recognize your joy is the fruit from your dependence on
God. If you have sinned, pray to God for forgiveness—depend on him for
the grace for your soul to be at peace again.
As the reading from James states and
the analogy from Jesus intimates, dependence on Jesus is overwhelmingly
beneficial. Jesus was hoping that his disciples would connect with
memories of their own childhoods as well as with the reality of the children
right in from of them. Children are completely dependent on their parents
for their health, for their sense of being deeply cared for and for their
food. And because they are so freely dependent, they can then enjoy each
moment of their day. Each day is filled with discovery, with the joy of
being with others, with no worries about anything else. And because of
this, they can feel deeply joyful; they can go through their day and get ready
to sleep with nothing left on their minds to worry about. They can begin
and end each day in peace.
Jesus
invites us to do the same.
When we are physically, emotionally or
spiritually suffering, he invites us to be dependent on him. In a way,
our suffering can “clear away” our day-to-day worries. Some of these seem
quite small when we are in pain. And that “clearing away” leaves room for
us to focus on our Lord. To become dependent upon him. And when we
do, we are assured by our Lord that our one step toward him will be met with an
incredible amount of steps by him toward us. As we become more dependent
upon Jesus, we will feel the showering of grace he is constantly sharing; we
will find more joy and more peace in our lives.
Sometimes as we grow from childhood to
adulthood, through many joys and struggles, we are hesitant to be dependent,
even with our God. Jesus invites us to place our hesitancy to the side
and walk toward him, to depend on him. It is a way to truly follow him,
it is a way to get through the toughest challenges in deep peace, and, it is a
way to feel the deep joy that our Lord so wants us to experience in our daily
lives.
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