Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Today is the feast of St. Jerome. I admittedly know little about him other than the fact that he is a doctor of the church and was most well-known for producing a new translation of the bible. In reading a little more about him, I came across a quote attributed to St. Jerome: "I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: 'Search the Scriptures,' and 'Seek and you shall find.' For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." I find his reflection fascinatingly similar to the message of Jesus today in the gospel. “Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” (Lk 10:16) What a poignant call to discipleship. We are invited into relationship with our good and glorious God. Our relationship with one another should reflect our relationship with Christ.
Similarly, as I spent time with our first reading today from Job, I was drawn to the invitation God makes to Job at the wonders of creation. And not just creation in itself, but the power of God bursting through in creation. Consider the ability to ‘command the morning and show the dawn its place’ (Jb 38:12); fathom the ‘sources of the sea’; ‘walk in the depths of the abyss’ (16); ‘comprehend the breadth of the earth’ (18). Can we truly fathom just how great our God truly is? Think of how Job felt in this encounter with God. Talk about a healthy dose of humility. Job had basically lost everything–his family, his property, his health. It is completely understandable to question our situation when everything is crumbling around us. Yet, it is in our moments of desperation and times of deepest suffering, we are presented with an invitation to trust in God. We are drawn into relationship with the all-power, all-knowing, ever-present, ever-loving, and fully good God.
When we trust in God, we are surrounded by His love. We cry out as in the psalm, “Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way” (Ps 139: 24b). God wants what is best for us; we are empowered with what we need in each moment. God has probed us and knows us; when we sit and when we stand; with all [our] ways, [God] is familiar. Let this trust turn our despair into hope. Like St. Jerome, may we seek and find the Lord in all the glories of creation. Today, let us take a moment to marvel at a particular wonder of God’s goodness. The squeals of a laughing toddler, the bloom of a bright yellow sunflower, the cool haze over a field at sunrise on a crisp October morning before families arrive for soccer games. “I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works.” (Ps 139:14ab)
Peace,
Brandon Meyer