First readingJob 42:1-3,5-6,12-17
In dust and in ashes I repent
This was the answer Job gave to the Lord:
I know that you are all-powerful:
what you conceive, you can perform.
I am the man who obscured your designs
with my empty-headed words.
I have been holding forth on matters I cannot understand,
on marvels beyond me and my knowledge.
I knew you then only by hearsay;
but now, having seen you with my own eyes,
I retract all I have said,
and in dust and ashes I repent.
The Lord blessed Job’s new fortune even more than his first one. He came to own fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand she-donkeys. He had seven sons and three daughters; his first daughter he called ‘Turtledove’, the second ‘Cassia’ and the third ‘Mascara.’ Throughout the land there were no women as beautiful as the daughters of Job. And their father gave them inheritance rights like their brothers.
After his trials, Job lived on until he was a hundred and forty years old, and saw his children and his children’s children up to the fourth generation. Then Job died, an old man and full of days.
Responsorial Psalm 118(119):66,71,75,91,125,130
Lord, let your face shine on me.
Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commands I trust.
Lord, let your face shine on me.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.
Lord, let your face shine on me.
I know, O Lord, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
Lord, let your face shine on me.
According to your ordinances they still stand firm:
all things serve you.
Lord, let your face shine on me.
I am your servant; give me discernment
that I may know your decrees.
Lord, let your face shine on me.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
Lord, let your face shine on me.
Gospel Luke 10:17-24
Rejoice that your names are written in heaven
The seventy-two came back rejoicing. ‘Lord,’ they said ‘even the devils submit to us when we use your name.’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Yes, I have given you power to tread underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.’
It was then that, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, he said:
‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’
Then turning to his disciples he spoke to them in private, ‘Happy the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.’
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The true joy
As we read the gospel, we can imagine the disciples’ excitement and eagerness to tell Jesus about everything they had experienced in their mission. At the same time, we grasp how Jesus joyfully observed the signs they were doing and rejoiced with them. Instead of emphasising their amazing work as the source of their joy, Jesus told them that their true happiness should come from the fact that their names were written in heaven. What brings us true joy? We may feel happy when we get promoted at work, when we are about to go on a vacation to a fantastic place, when our child passes an exam or when we have a day without any physical pain. Such moments indeed bring us happiness. But do those moments last?
“…Filled with joy by the Holy Spirit”. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Jesus experienced profound joy by recognising God’s action in His disciples. Our true and lasting joy is also rooted in recognising God and His actions in our daily lives.
Reflective question:
Does the presence of God in my life give me joy?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
