Daily Reading
First Reading
Job 9:1-12, 14-16
“Indeed I know that this is so;
but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they do not know it,
when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the Sea;
who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
who does great things beyond understanding,
and marvelous things without number.
Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
“Indeed I know that this is so;
but how can a mortal be just before God?
If one wished to contend with him,
one could not answer him once in a thousand.
He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength
—who has resisted him, and succeeded?—
he who removes mountains, and they do not know it,
when he overturns them in his anger;
who shakes the earth out of its place,
and its pillars tremble;
who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
who seals up the stars;
who alone stretched out the heavens
and trampled the waves of the Sea;
who made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;
who does great things beyond understanding,
and marvelous things without number.
Look, he passes by me, and I do not see him;
he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
He snatches away; who can stop him?
Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
Psalm
Psalm 88:10bc-11, 12-13, 14-15
Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise you?Selah
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?
But I, O Lord, cry out to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
O Lord, why do you cast me off?
Why do you hide your face from me?
Wretched and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.
Gospel Reading
John 1:47-51
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
Reflection
Friends, today’s Gospel invites us to follow Jesus above all. The heart of the message is the claim that he is everything, the one for whom a totalizing decision has to be made.
I want to consider in detail how one man in our Gospel responded to the Lord’s call to discipleship. Jesus simply said, “Follow me,” and the man replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” Well, then as now, nothing would seem more reasonable! Of course, you have to take care of your own father’s funeral. What could be more important, especially in a family-centric culture like that of ancient Israel?
Jesus answers with devastating laconicism: “Let the dead bury their dead.” We’re stunned by this deeply insensitive answer! This violates every sense of ethics and decorum that we have. Be honest: If you heard this from a religious teacher, wouldn’t you be tempted to leave him?
Here’s the point: Jesus hasn’t one little thing against family obligations. But he will insist that our relationship to him is more important than even those most sacred of obligations. Even this most precious thing must fall away if we are to make him absolutely first.