for August 8
Memorial of St. Dominic, Priest

Life poses many deep and enduring questions for us. A few of the most challenging questions we must face in our lives include: why do we ourselves and the most vulnerable members of our families and our communities suffer so much? A related question is: what does God’s justice really mean in light of the suffering of the innocent in the world? Both scripture readings for today address these and other similar questions in different ways.

In the first reading from Habakkuk we hear about a list of complaints raised by the prophet directed to God. The prophet is asking about God’s justice in light of the terrible violence and brutality carried out by the Chaldeans—or, at least we think the prophet is speaking about the Chaldeans. A key uncertainty of this book that is considered one of the 12 “minor” prophets is “who really is the oppressor?” meaning, is it the Chaldeans or the Assyrians? But, the point is as described in today’s passage—how do we address the problem of evil? This fundamental concern that many religions try to address raises questions about how and why God permits God’s purposes to be achieved in light of the terribly wicked and unbelieving Chaldeans (or the Assyrians) who are doing bad things to hurt many innocent people.

Matthew’s gospel presents the moving story of Jesus healing a boy who is possessed (or who has some other kind of illness) that causes him great suffering and confusion in life. I find it touching to read of this boy’s father and to see his great concern for his son. It was likely intimidating to approach Jesus in person and ask him to heal his son. The father demonstrates real faith that Jesus could actually help his son. This father deals well with Jesus. Yet, the question still remains: why is his innocent son and his family suffering so much? Jesus offers healing yet it is still a mystery why this child was suffering in the first place. These and other questions about justice form part of the context of the readings today.

Unlike Mark’s Gospel, Matthew shifts the primary concern from the faith of the boy’s father to the “little faith” of the disciples in this situation. The miracle story of Jesus healing the boy redirects focus to “the struggling faith” of the disciples. One way of looking at this is to suggest that the faith struggles of the disciples can also serve as a model for us. We need to have patience and perseverance when our own faith is weak. There is also the additional encouragement that even “a little faith” can indeed achieve much good when and as this faith is nourished.

When considering the wide span of biblical teachings on justice the scriptures tell us over and over that biblical justice is primarily about fidelity to the demands of relationship. We see this fidelity in Jesus’ act of love and healing, in the love of the father in the miracle story who is concerned about his son’s suffering and his future, and in the disciples struggling with their “little faith” which over time can grow into something lasting and wonderful. There is indeed hope for us too as we still live in a world where charity and justice seem to often not prevail. The good news of the scriptures today is that our faith leads us into deeper relationship with the Lord of Justice. This is our experience and our life now even when we do not fully understand or grasp all of its mystery.
—Francis T. Hannafey SJ

Today’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.