In the men’s final of the Australian Open Tennis Championship last weekend, we saw two superb players contend with one another  for nearly six hours, to the point of utter exhaustion.  When it was over, they struggled to stand upright during the interviews and promotional speeches, until someone brought them chairs to collapse into.  What was their motivation?  Huge money, fame and status, love of the game…

In the gospel story today, we see Jesus giving his all, from early morning till night, to the point of exhaustion, healing, teaching, casting out demons.  Let us not impute to him a divine resilience to make this easier.   Jesus was man, subject to emotional and physical fatigue, with the added dimension of faith or lack of it and diabolical possession among those he ministered to.  What was his motivation?  Without doubt, love for his Father.  And how did Jesus restore his energies? 

“In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.”

 How beautiful is that!

The first reading, from the Book of Job, speaks of the misery of human drudgery, slavery and hopeless grind.  Usually one expects to find a parallel between the first reading and the gospel, but surely we cannot attribute to Jesus (or even the tennis players) “nothing more than pressed service”.  And a comparison would rob Jesus of the warmth of love that was always manifest in his ministry.   Nevertheless, a comparison does make plain just how fully Jesus gave himself, day after day, “for that is why (he) came”.

And it is what we are called to, daunting as it is.   Can we preach daily?  Can we heal?  Can we cast out demons?  If we are not sure, let us do what Jesus did, go to a lonely place and converse with our God.  God may surprise us…