Reflection on Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time by Rev. Dick Vosko

Jesus Heals Peter's Mother-in-law from womeninthebible.net

In an interview on the NPR program “On Being,” Mary Catherine Bateson, talked about  “believing in the God of all things as they are.” She said, “Job lost a sense of wonder .… God invites us to just look around to experience the wonder of creation which then leads to praise.”

That is something Job, in the first reading today, failed to do. He was so caught up in his own ambitions, possessions, and worries he failed to notice all the goodness around him.

Job's shaky encounter with God turned into a loving one once he figured out the things he thought were his really did not belong to him even though he worked hard to acquire them. The never ending beauty of creation and all it encompasses is entrusted to us to protect and share for as long as we live on this fragile planet.

The woman in the gospel, Penthera, Peter’s mother-in-law, was hanging on for dear life. Whatever she may have yearned for or acquired in life no longer mattered to her. When she was healed by Jesus the experience of his gentle goodness transformed her and gave her new purpose. She became Jesus’s disciple.

What do we expect from God? Do we want God to relate to us on our terms? Or, have we not yet noticed that God continues to be present in us even though we may not be present to God? 

In this context I am struck by Gregory Volk’s commentary on Ragnar Kjartansson’s new production Bliss, which repeats over and over again the final three-minutes of the 1786 opera Marriage of Figaro. 

Volk called it“extraordinarily pleasurable with themes of forgiveness, happiness, transcendence, and grace.” He continued, “So too are we, avidly pursuing grace while staggered by misplaced passions and mistakes, pursuing happiness but often falling well short.” 

Maybe a quiet patience beckons us to let beauty and grace come to us rather than chasing after them with prayers and good deeds. What will it take for me to be open to whatever a holy and creative Spirit will bring into my life? Will I share that blessing with others?

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 From: Dick Vosko <rsvosko@gmail.com>