Scripture references: Jb 7:1-4, 6-7, Mk 1:29-39
In the first reading, we hear Job refer to human life as a drudgery. He then expounds on how miserable his life has become and ends his soliloquy with the words, “Remember that my life is like the wind; I shall not see happiness again.” Job is not alone. The prophet Jeremiah, overwhelmed by depression, complains that God has duped him, and, what is worse, is he allowed himself to be duped. Jeremiah, lists how hard his life as a prophet has been concluding that he wishes he had never been born. Many of us may have felt or said something very similar at one time or another in our lives. It is a comfort knowing that while misery loves company, we are, at the very least, in the good company of Job and Jeremiah.
It is important for us to not leave Job and Jeremiah in the throes of their disillusionment. As much as they may have felt left abandoned by God, God did not abandon them. God remained true to them and was present to them. The Psalmist of Psalm 23 writes that even though he walks through the valley of death, God continues to walk by his side. It is important for us to note that the Psalmist does not say that by being faithful servants of God we will not experience desolation or hardship. What the Psalmist states is that when we do experience dark times in our lives, God will not abandon us. God will remain present to us, just as God has done for Job and Jeremiah.
If we need more proof of this we must look to the life of Jesus, who, in the Passion accounts of Mark and Matthew, also expressed, “My God, my God! Why have you abandoned me?” It is true that Jesus dies feeling alone and abandoned in those two accounts of his Passion. It is also true that God the Father did not abandon him, but remained present to him, raising Jesus victoriously from the dead on the third day. When times of disillusionment and desperation fall upon us, let us recall that we are never left alone by God. God is very present to us, just as God was present to Job, Jeremiah, and especially Jesus.
