Scripture is comprised of human-interest stories. And so is life today. For example, a pastor, while eating lunch in a local restaurant, opened a letter from his mother, and a twenty-dollar bill fell out. He thought, Thanks, Mom. I could use that. But as he left, he noticed a person who seemed “out of work” on the sidewalk. He put the twenty back in the envelope and wrote “Persevere!” and handed it to the man.
Next day, the same man handed the pastor a big wad of money. The pastor asked, “What’s this?” The man said, “It's your half of the winnings. Persevere won at the track, thirty to one.” That’s an example of perseverance paying off.
To encourage our own perseverance, the word of God takes us back to the sixth century before Jesus, via the Book of Isaiah. Here is one of the four so-called “servant songs.” The author portrays an innocent servant who suffers and dies so that others can have life.
The early Christians saw in this song Jesus, who through his death and resurrection re-connected us to the triune God.
The author may be asking us whether we are growing in our relationship with God? The Letter to the Hebrews proclaims a great high priest, completely divine yet completely human, who through his horrific death and glorious resurrection re-establishes our relationship with God.
And so the question may be: do we realize that at the heart of Christianity is our relationship with the triune God and one another?
In the Gospel, two disciples argue over the privilege of status in “the age to come” without realizing the cost of discipleship here and now.
Jesus says: “Can you drink the cup that I drink?” That is, the “cup of suffering.” Then Jesus concludes: to be a disciple is to serve others.
Serving is what true leadership is all about in our faith community. Good leadership, many would argue, is achieving goals for the greater common good and at the same time preserving one's integrity.
In light of the bible readings, I would like to reflect briefly on the mystery of suffering.
Our faith proclaims that hidden in every Good Friday is an Easter hope or joy. Think about it. Someone in a family is diagnosed with a severe illness, or loses a job, or sees a relationship unravel. Together, this family tries to deal with this “cross” and thereby brings hope, healing, and peace to this situation.
We sometimes find ourselves stuck in problems– these challenges may batter and even overwhelm us. Yet our faith challenges us to remember that good ultimately will conquer evil, that love transforms hate, that light shatters darkness. The ministry of Jesus did not end in the tragedy of the cross but in the triumph of the Resurrection.
In his memoir book “The Night,” Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel describes how Nazi guards marched all the inmates at a concentration camp outside and there hung a youngster – as a warning not to try an escape. As the youngster died, Elie Wiesel, a youngster himself, heard a voice say: Where is God now?
This is an eternal question. As we reflect upon the human situation today, we realize the entire planet yearns for God’s healing grace.
There is of course no satisfactory answer to the mystery of suffering and evil. Suffering does sometimes result from immoral behavior, from the misuse of freedom.
At other times, suffering results from a universe in progress, to paraphrase St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. Hurricanes are an example: a natural disaster with which we must grapple.
Ultimately, how to respond to inescapable suffering?
First, remember that God is always near us, bringing us to fuller life. God will never abandon us. The book of Isaiah says, “Can a mother forget her infant…and, even if she does, I will never forget you.”
And second, the mystery of inescapable suffering can have healing and redemptive power. Jesus, through his passion, death and resurrection re-established the relationship we had with God in the beginning. Jesus brought forth for all the best of the Talmud which urged:
“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.
Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly now.
You are not obligated to complete the work,
but neither are you free to abandon it.”
Yes, our inescapable pains, borne with love, can be redemptive; can bring forth new life in ourselves and in others. The sufferings of Jesus did precisely that. Remember that we have in Jesus a companion able to sympathize with our weaknesses, who has similarly been tested in every way. (Heb.)
We cannot begin to imagine what life after this earthly life will be like. Yet, in light of the word of God, hidden in the sufferings of Jesus on Good Friday was the glory of his resurrection on Easter.
And we can bring Easter hope to someone’s suffering by reaching out with a helping hand, a listening ear, an encouraging message.
