I Know My Redeemer Lives!

Thursday, 3 October 2024. Readings: Job 19:21-27, Ps. 27:7-9,13-14, Luke 10:1-12

“For I know that my Redeemer lives and that at last, he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God.” (Job 19:25-26)

A few weeks ago, someone asked me: “Father, with all the evils going on in the world, does God still exist?” There is every temptation to doubt God’s existence when we are at our lowest moments. This was not the case with Job in today’s First Reading:

- When Job lost everything, his friends told him to stop claiming he was righteous. If your hands are clean, none of these should happen to you. This was the belief of those who asked Jesus about the man born blind. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.’” (John 9:2-3). In other words, suffering may not always be a punishment for sins.

- Job’s wife asked him, “Do you still persist in your integrity? Curse God, and die.” But he told her, “You speak as any foolish woman would speak. Shall we receive the good at the hand of God, and not the bad?” (Job 2:9-10). When bad things happen to us, we tend to ask: “God, where are you? Why do you allow my enemies to laugh at me?” We may even find ourselves insulting God, but Job’s story teaches us a powerful lesson: Evil does not negate God’s existence.

- When Job uttered this song (“I know my Redeemer lives”), he had no more reason to believe in God. He had been praying for days, and all he could see was the opposite of what he was praying for. This song reminds us of Paul and Silas, who, in prison, sang songs of praise to God. Nothing touches God as much as our ability to sing His praises despite our difficulties. By singing, Job utterly disappointed the devil, who felt that Job’s righteousness was tied to his material blessings.

- Are you a Christian because you want God to bless you? If God’s blessings cease, will you still worship God? Or, will you walk away from God like the multitude who left Jesus when He refused to repeat the miracle of the loaves? (Cf. John 6:66-67). St. Paul said: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Job did not serve God only for this life. He knew there was another life: “After my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God.” (Job 19:26).

- In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus (like Moses, who bestowed his spirit on the seventy elders in Numbers 11:25-29) appointed seventy disciples and sent them two by two into various towns and villages where he was about to come. Jesus warned them: “See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road.” (Luke 10:3-4). Jesus knew these material riches tend to act as thorns, preventing the seed from bearing much fruit. (Cf. Matthew 13:22).

- Like the seventy, Jesus expects us to spread the Gospel through actions and words. However, this is a dangerous mission – anyone who commits to letting their light shine amid the darkness in today’s world will surely become the devil’s target. Like he did with Job, the devil will do everything to frustrate you. Hence, Jesus said: “I am sending you like lambs amid wolves.” To be successful, you must reduce your love for earthly riches. Even if you lose everything you have, continue to let your light shine.

- Today, we remember Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873 - 1897). Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin was born in Alençon, in France, on 2 January 1873. Her mother, who already had breast cancer, died when Thérèse was four, and the family moved to Lisieux. Thérèse became a nun at the Carmelite convent there at 15, after a long battle against the superior, who insisted that 16, or even 21, would be a more sensible age. She died of tuberculosis at the age of 24.

- In 1895, Mother Agnès of Jesus, the prioress, commanded Thérèse to write her memoirs. Writing “not to produce a literary work, but under obedience,” Thérèse took a year to fill six exercise books. She presented them to the prioress, who put them in a drawer unread. A year after Thérèse’s death, the memoirs were published. This was the first spark that ignited a “storm of glory” that swept the world. Miracles started to happen: conversions, cures, even apparitions. She was canonised in 1925. Her parents, Louis and Zélie Martin, were canonised by Pope Francis on 18 October 2015.

Let us pray: Almighty, ever-living God, grant us the grace of perseverance when the going becomes rough. Help us to fulfil our missionary mandate to the world. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. May God’s abundant blessings be upon us all. (Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin, Doctor. Bible Study: Job 19:21-27, Ps. 27:7-9,13-14, Luke 10:1-12).

@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu