Sometimes you can tell when something is wrong with a person even if they don’t talk about it. Today’s gospel says that Jesus “sighed from the depth of his spirit”. Saint Mark doesn’t record anything about what the Pharisees said to the Lord, and he recorded very few of Jesus’ words in this encounter, but he never forgot how Jesus felt about it. The gospel was written a long time after Christ’s death and it’s hard to remember all the details of an event in the past, but today’s gospel shows how much Saint Mark loved the Lord. He still remembered how frustrated and resigned Jesus was to the Pharisees’ constant badgering. You can still feel the resignation in Christ’s words when he told the Pharisees, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
The first reading for mass from the letter of Saint James talks about perseverance in trying times. Jesus was both human and divine, but his human side went through the same kind of things we do, as evident in today’s gospel. Yet, he persevered even in the face of constant criticism and badgering by the Pharisees. Perhaps Saint James was remembering Christ’s perseverance throughout everything he experienced during his lifetime, when he wrote this passage, “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete.”
It’s tempting to give up and say “forget it” sometimes. Married couples usually will at some point feel this way about their marriage, even if it isn’t acted upon. Parents who have rebellious children or adult children who are constantly causing them heartache will often have these same feelings, and feel like washing their hands of the child because they’ve had enough of their emotionally draining behavior. Those suffering with a chronic illness or deep depression sometimes feel like giving up too. The list goes on. If someone keeps getting failing grades at school and no matter how hard they try, they can’t bring their grades up, it’s enough to make them want to quit too.
The things we go through though, make us stronger, just like Saint James says in the first reading, “Let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” The very act of persevering, teaches us how to persevere in other things that happen in the future too though. It develops our character in the same way that suffering does. There is a saying that “smooth sailing doesn’t make a good sailor” and this is so true in life. If things are tranquil and calm all the time, we would never develop the better traits of our character.
A lot of times we don’t know how to handle chronic, long term problems like an alcoholic spouse, a co-dependent child, mental illness, unemployment, accumulating debt, etc. That is why Saint James said, “if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.” Saint James never said that God will solve our problems for us, but that we will receive wisdom from Him on how to solve our own problems, and this is so true. God doesn’t waive His hand and make it all go away, but He can show us through our prayer life, what to do about it. If we persevere in doing the right thing, Jesus will walk by our side through the whole thing. We are never alone in our heartaches and struggles, even if it seems that way at times. Jesus is there with us the whole time and he loves us and cares what we are going through.
For poor people, it may seem like they work very hard and do all the right things and still can’t “get ahead” or improve the quality of their lives. It’s hard to see those who have so much more than you do sometimes and it is discouraging to continue working every day, just to pay the bills or provide for the basic necessities for yourself and your family. There are no new cars, televisions, trips, or new homes on the horizon for you, just other people.
Saint James reminds us of something important though. These things will not last. Material things are here today and gone tomorrow. Even the fanciest homes ever built will eventually decay and fall apart, yet many devote their entire life to pursuing these things. Like Saint Paul says, they may continue to do so until the day they die, “So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.” At the end of a person’s earthly life, what is most important to them? The money or possessions they spent their life on acquiring? Or the people in their lives, some of whom they may have neglected in pursuit of material things during the prime of their life?
In the end, the only treasure we have is our faith in Jesus Christ, and our family and friends. These are the only things of true value in life. These treasures are available to every single human being, rich or poor. Where your heart is, your treasure will be.
Daily Mass Readings:
Jas: 1-11 / Ps 119: 67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76 / Mk 8: 11-13
