5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B. By Tobe Eze

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B.

FIRST READING
Job 7:1—4, 6—7

SECOND READING
1 Corinthians 9:16—19, 22—23

GOSPEL
Mark 1:29—39

THEME: GOD'S PERMISSIVE WILL, OUR FREE WILL AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD.

When one looks at the first reading, tracing it back to the time the devil got permission from God to try Job, one may ask. Why should God allow such to happen to one who is faithful to him? There are many examples in the Bible especially in the Gospel where story of sicknesses were told for the glory of God. After sees all these things we may ask, does God glory in the sufferings of his people?

It is not that God glories in the sufferings of his people but sometimes he allows some certain things to come our ways to solidify our faith in him. Our faith should be tested as gold is being tested in the fire to purify it (1Peter 1:7).  It is through some of these things that God’s many more blessings come our ways. Think of Abraham, after his faith had been tested, from that mountain the Lord started providing for him, Joseph after being tested, he started enjoying the blessings of the Lord with his family which the test came through. Job that we talk about today, after the testing, he latter enjoyed the riches of the Lord. Some of our trails are for us to see the glory of God around us. The man born blind that Jesus healed, he said that neither his sins nor his parents sins but for the glory of God to be revealed to him and others (John 9:3). When we receive some certain favours from God, they make us to acknowledge him the more. God permits in other to help us to trust him the more. It was Leibniz who on the account of explaining physical evil said that, they normally lead to good things, and sickness is one of them. Continue Reading....................

St. Paul in the second reading is trying to tell us, though we have obligations to preach the gospel, we can still reject it, we have the obligation not to boast with it but we can still do that, though we have the obligation to do good, we are still have free to do bad. God created us out of his own image which means, we have a participation in him and he is a free being, therefore we are also free beings in term of morality. It was Leibniz on account of defining moral evil who said that, we do not have freedom in metaphysical necessity but in moral necessity, we have freedom. If we have this freedom then, our own wills come in here in all that we do. Let us learn from St. Paul who made himself all things for all men in other to make the gospel message free of charge.

In the gospel we see the perfect will of God for us. Jesus hates seeing us suffer. Immediately he was told about Peter’s mother in-law’s fever, he did not ask or do any other thing except going to heal her. He has love for his people. Bible also made us to understand that all that were brought to him, he healed all of them. Anywhere he goes, he will make sure that he heals all who are suffering from one thing or the other. He casts out every demon. O n' agwo oria ma gwuo ihe kpatara ya.

In any situation we fine ourselves, let us know that Jesus knows about it, even if it is not his perfect will for us, we should just know that he allowed or allows it to bring the best for us. He does not forsake his people. Through the prophet Isaiah God told us that even if a mother forgets her suckling child, he will never forget us (Isaiah 49:15). In St. Paul’s letter to Timothy (2Timothy 2:13), he told him that even when we are faithless he is faithful to us for he cannot forsake his own flesh.

Borrowing for Immanuel Kant, the perfect morality is conforming our wills to the moral law and this conformity is HOLINESS. So, let us accept every permissive will of God in our lives as Job did in the first reading and try to conform our own wills to the will of God as St. Paul directs us in the second reading and we will get that perfect will of redemption God has for us as in the Gospel. In all our situations, he is there for us. THANKS AND HAPPY SUNDAY.