First Reading - Job 42:1-3,5-6,12-17
Gospel - Luke 10:17-24
In the first reading, Job reaches the end of his long journey of suffering and questioning. Earlier, Job wanted answers. He wanted to understand why so many painful things had happened to him. Now, after encountering God, he says, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.”
This is the great transformation in Job. God does not simply give him an explanation for everything that happened. Instead, Job comes to know God more deeply. His relationship with God has moved from what he had heard to personal encounter.
And that changes everything.
The Gospel presents us with the disciples returning from their mission. They are excited because they have experienced success: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name!” There is genuine joy in their experience. They have seen the power of Jesus working through them.
But Jesus redirects their joy. He says, “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Jesus is not denying that their mission is important. Rather, he teaches them where their deepest joy should come from. Their identity is not ultimately found in what they can accomplish for God, but in the fact that they belong to God.
This is precisely what Job discovers. At first, his relationship with God is deeply connected with his questions about what has happened to him. At the end, he discovers something greater: God himself is more important than the answers he was seeking.
The same can happen in our spiritual life. Sometimes we measure our faith by what we accomplish: how much we pray, how many people we help, how successful our ministry is, how many people appreciate us, or how many good things happen through our work.
But Jesus reminds us: “Rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Our deepest identity is not in our achievements. It is in being known and loved by God.
There is also a beautiful line at the end of the Gospel: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” Jesus tells his disciples that they are privileged because they are witnessing something that generations before them longed to see.
This connects beautifully with Job’s words: “Now my eye sees you.”
Both readings speak about seeing. Job moves from hearing about God to seeing God. The disciples are blessed because their eyes are seeing the presence and work of Christ. In both cases, faith is ultimately about encounter.
Perhaps today we need to ask ourselves: What gives me joy? Is my joy dependent on success, recognition, appreciation, or circumstances? Or is my deepest joy rooted in the fact that I belong to God?
Success can disappear. Recognition can disappear. Health, possessions, and circumstances can change. Even our accomplishments can be forgotten. But our relationship with God remains.
Job lost much, but he gained a deeper knowledge of God. The disciples accomplished much, but Jesus reminded them that their greatest treasure was not their power—it was their belonging to God.
May we therefore learn to say with Job, “Now my eye sees you.” And may we receive Jesus’ invitation to rejoice not simply in what we do for God, but in what God has done for us: he has called us, known us, loved us, and written our names in heaven.
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