Word to the Wise
Sunday, February 4, 2018 - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39]SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018 FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME [Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39] If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship. [1 Corinthians] St. Paul was a driven man. As a result of his conversion experience, he turned his formidable energy to preaching the gospel. I don't think there was any of the 'unwillingly' about him. He makes it clear that he feels under an obligation but it is one that he accepts. To do this he becomes "all things to all people in order to save some." In the gospel scripture for today (which appeared in the daily scripture a couple of days ago), Jesus seems to feel that same 'obligation.' He would not allow one village to hold him tight but moved forward "to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come." Can we capture some of that same urgency in our own faith? There is a tendency at least in our secularized culture, to treat faith as a personal matter, to be shared only in special circumstances with select people. Even when we are in a church with a crowd, we can be lost in our own world and acknowledge others only at the Sign of Peace. I heard recently of a church with a sign at the entrance to the parking lot which faces toward the lot and says to the departing people, "Warning! You are entering mission territory!" Can we realize the power of our baptism which is meant to be shared? Pope Francis speaks of "the Joy of the Gospel." Can we give that to others? We don't have to be dramatic about it. We can simply be intentional and aware of the importance of what we believe in and the good it can do. AMEN
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