Homily: Ocotber 5, 2024, Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Blessed)

 “Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.”

That’s a lot of livestock! Maybe not for American farmers, but I think Job’s property was huge.

When I first came to Iowa, people would ask me about my parents and their lives. When I talked about our family farm back in India, they would naturally imagine it like an American farm, and I didn’t think too much about it.

My family farm was considered one of the larger ones in my area, though it was just 10 acres of land, every inch of it was cultivated. We had five cows, a few goats, and a dozen chickens, which was more than enough to sustain our family of 11.

Only later did I realize that an average American farm can be 500 to 1,000 acres, and their livestock can number hundreds or thousands.

In comparison, Job’s household was much larger, after God restored more than all that Job lost earlier in his life.

Today’s reading is taken from the final chapter in the Book of Job, which tells about Job’s life after all the hardships were over. It begins with God praising Job for his faithfulness, and it ends with Job praising God in turn for His faithfulness.

This book teaches us an important lesson: if we remain faithful to God, He will provide for all our needs. God will strengthen us through our sufferings, He will allow misfortunes but will not let it suffocate us, but will use the situation to mold us into a better person.

The Book of Job shows us that even when we are at our lowest, darkest and most difficult times, God never leaves us, He walks with us through it all. God is always with us. Let us rejoice that “our names are written in heaven”. 

Amen.