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Genesis 47:1-31 Joseph bought nearly all the privately owned land of Egypt for Pharaoh in exchange for feeding the starving Egyptians. As Jacob neared death, he had Joseph swear that his body would be buried outside of Egypt. (CCC 2150-2155)
Ch 48:1-22 The dying Jacob blessed Joseph’s two children, Ephraim and Manasseh, and adopted them as two of his own sons. They would form TWO of the TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL that would eventually be granted land in Canaan. Jacob had twelve sons, and with Joseph’s sons becoming the patriarchs of two tribes, there would have been thirteen tribes; however, the priestly tribe of Levi would not receive their own land since they had the unique mission to serve the Twelve Tribes of Israel. (CCC 1080-1083, 2626-2627)
Ch 48:12-20 This description suggests a formalized adoption rite. By adopting Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob made them his own sons, and they would be numbered among the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Analogous to Jacob’s own story of obtaining Esau’s birthright, Jacob gave the greater blessing to the younger of the two boys. God uses seemingly INSIGNIFICANT EVENTS to accomplish his will. (CCC 2373)
Ch 48:16 By Blessing Ephraim and Manasseh, Jacob invoked HIS ANGEL, whom God had sent to redeem him.
ANGELS ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS sent by God to guard and guide individuals (cf. Acts 12:7-8, 11, 15; Jdt 13:20) and nations (cf. Ex 14:19; Bar 6:6) as well as to intercede for them (cf. Tb 12:13). The Church has feast days in honor of and encourages devotion to the holy angels as well as prayer for their intercession.
Job 39:1-30 God brought to Job’s attention how the behavior and actions of the animals is not influenced by any human being; rather, they reflect God’s power over all creation. (CCC 299-301)
Psalm 16: God is infinite goodness and, therefore, the source of everlasting life and all that is good. False idols, ESPECIALLY RICHES AND SENSUALITY, deceptively give the allure of happiness, but in reality God is the ONLY GOOD that can satisfy the human person. The psalmist may have been a priest since he spoke of having the Lord as his portion, his cup, and his heritage. Recall that the Promised Land was divided among the various tribes of Israel, but no “portion” of the land was assigned to the Levites; they dwelled among ALL THE TRIBES and gave priestly service, possessing properties within each region where they lived. Because they were exclusively dedicated to God’s service, God was their only heritage. My body also...the Pit: This is a prophetic reference to Christ, who was not left in Sheol but was raised from the dead on the third day. The Church teaches that during those three days Christ preached the news of salvation to the just who had died before him; this is referenced in the APOSTLE’S CREED: “He descended into hell.” (CCC 627)
(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)
The New Testament is HIDDEN in the Old Testament
The Old Testament is REVEALED in the New Testament
God is revealing to us that He works WITH us
God is revealing that He WANTS US to be His children
We need to be His children every single day NO MATTER WHAT
In the sunshine
In the rain
When we are suffering
And when we are rejoicing
We are getting close to the end of our time with our friend, Job
Something difficult to understand: Job has been undeservedly punished, brought to a place of suffering
God even knows it and says that Job doesn’t deserve it
God in His mystery has allowed Satan to deprive Job of so many things
His first three friends come and spout off the kind of things that smart people would say
Things like “You know, sometimes pain and suffering is the result of our sin”
“Sometimes God allows our wounds and brokenness as a way to call us back from evil, as a way to wake us up, and as a way to get us to repent”
“Sometimes those who do right are blessed, and sometimes those who do evil are not blessed”
Their logic, though somewhat sound, is not accurate in Job’s case
The fourth friend Elihu basically says “How can you yell at God, how can you contend with the Lord?”
And now finally God Himself shows up
Is there an answer to the question “Why do bad things happen to good people? (and specifically in this case to Job)
God seems to have a bit of an attitude! “What do you know about the lion?” or “If you had a wild ox would that wild ox be your servant?” etc.
God is pointing out to Job that there is SO MUCH beyond him
He is not pointing this out to tell Job to stop asking questions
He is putting Job IN CONTEXT
The context is, “Job there are so many more elements to this story that YOU DO NOT KNOW”
He is not telling Job to sit down and shut up
But He is revealing in a way that only God can do, to Job, that there is a bigger story happening
Even if you can’t understand the MEANING of this moment, this moment still has MEANING
Even if you can’t understand why you’re going through this right now, there is a PURPOSE that God has for it all
What Jesus reveals about our suffering is not only that suffering can be an opportunity for us TO REPENT
Not only can our suffering be an opportunity to LEARN AND GROW IN WISDOM
Not only can our suffering can be a thing that BREAKS OUR HEART AND MAKES US MORE COMPASSIONATE
OUR SUFFERING CAN BE REDEMPTIVE
Job doesn’t know this yet, but God does though, because He knows everything
When God is questioning Job, he sounds kind of snarky and sarcastic
But what is really happening, God is putting Job in his place in the way that ONLY GOD CAN DO
Job’s friends could not do this because THEY DO NOT KNOW THE WHOLE STORY (and neither do we when we try and console friends with answers when they are suffering)
Some suffering is oriented towards repentance
Some suffering is oriented to wisdom and growing in knowledge
I cannot stress this enough:
Some suffering is oriented towards breaking our hearts and making us gentler, better people
SOME SUFFERING IS ORIENTED TO REDEMPTIVE SUFFERING that can transform us, but that can also be OFFERED UP TO GOD FOR THE SALVATION OF THE WORLD
Redemptive suffering is the Catholic belief that human suffering, when accepted and offered up in union with the Passion of Jesus Christ, can remit the just punishment for one's sins or for the sins of another, or for the other physical or spiritual needs of oneself or another.
“Do not fear, I will make you suffer, but I will also give you the strength to suffer,” Jesus tells me continually. “I want your soul to be purified and tried by a daily hidden martyrdom”. . .”How many times,” Jesus said to me a little while ago, “would you have abandoned me, my son, if I had not crucified you.” - Padre Pio (*https://www.vaticansite.com/padre-pio-quotes-suffering/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CDo%20not%20fear%2C%20I%20will,I%20had%20not%20crucified%20you.%E2%80%9D )
This does not come out EXPLICITLY in the Book of Job
THE OLD TESTAMENT IS REVEALED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE NEW TESTAMENT IS HIDDEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
Every single one of us is in a GREAT BATTLE
We all need people around us who are patient
All of us need to learn wisdom
All of us need to repent
All of us need to be reminded that God knows the full story, even when we cannot possibly see the full story
Part of that full story is that GOD CAN USE OUR SUFFERING for not only His Glory, but also for OUR REDEMPTION and the REDEMPTION OF THE WORLD
That is the MYSTERY OF THE CROSS
It is easy to talk about The Cross, but it is not easy to Carry Your Cross
So pray for each other
Prayer by Fr. Mike: "Father in Heaven, we give you praise. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for your Will. We thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ. Lord God, the New Testament is hidden in the Old Testament. And the Old Testament is revealed in the New. All this time we are spending in the Old Covenant, in the Old Testament, in the Hebrew Scriptures, we give you praise and we thank you because you are revealing to us that you work with us, that you want us to be your children. Help us to be your children every single day, no matter what, in rain, in sun, when we are suffering, and when we are rejoicing. Help us to always say yes to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen."
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