What can the suffering Jesus endured tell us about the place
of suffering in our own lives?
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer greatly,
including not just rejection but death itself.
Peter – who has just stunningly identified Jesus as the Christ or Messiah – responds badly to the idea that Jesus must
suffer. According to the Jewish
tradition, the Messiah was to be a triumphant King who would restore the
independence of Israel. Where’s the
place for suffering in that scenario?
But Jesus needs everyone to hear that salvation is only possible through
the Cross.
But Jesus is not the only one who suffers: we all, as human beings, know suffering of
one kind or another; suffering is part of the human condition. This week’s first reading from Isaiah helps
us to see how we, like Jesus, might accept the suffering that is a part of
life, and move forward: with confidence
that, no matter what life brings, we can sustain any kind of abuse so long as
we know God is with us: The Lord GOD is my help, therefore, I am not
disgraced. I have set my face like flint. Jesus too knows that, on the Cross, he will
not be alone as he suffers; God will be with him, and Love will sustain him
into the resurrection. We, too, are
called to find a place within the pain of life, indeed, within all that life offers—whatever cross we might take up—where
we can remember confidently that God is with us, so that when we call upon the name of the Lord (Psalm), we
know that we will be heard. For suffering
is one context in which God’s Love is powerfully and eloquently revealed
through amazing grace.
This reflection is based on notes from Fr. Pat's Thursday Scripture Class. Photo credit
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