TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
It has been a really hard time, these past 18 months, hasn’t it!?! We’ve all experienced hardships and heartaches. I’ve lost a priesthood classmate and dear friend to COVID-19, along with several other friends and some parishioners. Like every other parish around the world, we’ve struggled to stay open and keep our ministries and parish activities going, trying to keep our parish community together while striving to ensure that everyone stays safe and healthy. We’ve all wondered, “What is God trying to teach us? What do we have to learn from this time, unlike anything that any of us have experienced in our lifetimes?” Well, this morning’s readings certainly help us to grasp the lessons we can learn. But, we have to listen well. So, let me begin by asking this question. How many of you have had this experience? You are trying to have a serious conversation with someone – let’s say it’s your husband or wife, your son or daughter or your neighbor or co-worker – and you’re making a very important point. And, the person with whom you’re having this conversation responds with, “What’s for dinner?” It’s obvious that he/she just wasn’t listening.
We’ve all had this experience; it’s really frustrating, isn’t it? That’s exactly what we encounter in today’s Gospel. Although we don’t hear it, Jesus has just told his disciples, for a third time, that he is going to be put to death. Let’s listen to the passage that comes just before the account we hear today. Jesus tells his disciples, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death.” You will notice that it’s not just once, but twice, that he says that he will be put to death – he will be killed! And how do his closest followers respond? Are they sympathetic or concerned for Jesus? Two of them make it very clear that they haven’t been listening to a word Jesus has been saying by asking to be seated, one on his right and the other at his left, in his glory! Of course, before we become too critical of these two disciples, let’s examine the other two readings that were proclaimed for our reflection today. Our first reading from Isaiah’s Song of the Suffering Servant is very short and can be easily overlooked as we focus to reflect on the Gospel. But Isaiah actually sets the stage for the Gospel passage by addressing the question of human suffering. For most of us, suffering seems to go against our basic image of our God, who we see as loving and caring. In the face of all of the suffering that we hear about – and even experience ourselves, especially right now – we can find ourselves asking the question: how could God let this happen? We’ve probably all asked this question over these past several months.
Throughout history, philosophers and theologians have tried to answer this difficult question. Some consider suffering to be a divine punishment while others see it as a test or an opportunity to strengthen faith or to show heroic virtue or fidelity. There is some truth in all of these answers, although we Catholics don’t consider it as divine punishment but natural consequences of our actions or of the world around us – like this virus that circles the globe, terrorizing us all. But, in the end, suffering remains a mystery – beyond our full comprehension and, like Job, we humbly bow before God, recognizing that God’s ways are not our ways.
In today’s readings, we do, however, get some insight into this mystery. Isaiah tells us that “the Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity,” and the Letter to the Hebrews tells us that Jesus was “similarly … tested in every way.” When we look through the eyes of faith, we see that these words are not simply meant to explain suffering, but to help us realize that even in suffering there can be good.
The suffering of the Servant is not without purpose or meaning, for the prophet tells us that through suffering “he shall justify many” as he bears their guilt. The word “justify” is central here. It’s a term that speaks of being acquitted and restored to a right relationship with God. This passage anticipates Jesus’ saving act on the cross. Jesus Christ, in his suffering, has paid the price so that, as we hear in our second reading today, we can “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy.”
Discovering meaning in suffering is also an element in today’s Gospel passage. The disciples have basked in the glory and fame of Jesus as he went around healing people and now they want a little more – a place of status and glory in the kingdom that Jesus is proclaiming is at hand. What they are surprised to hear is that authority and leadership in this kingdom is not about glory but about self-giving – even to the point of suffering and perhaps even death. Clearly this is not what they’re looking for.
So if discipleship and authority have a new meaning in God’s kingdom, is it too much to conclude that suffering, too, may have a new meaning? While it cannot be avoided or even fully explained, we can begin to use it for a greater purpose. We can learn from it and, as people of faith, join our suffering to those of the Suffering Servant whom we now recognize as Jesus himself. Then, our suffering might not seem so meaningless. Then, we can become Christ to others – an image of the Servant in the midst of our world. What gives us final hope is that not only did Jesus experience suffering, as we do, but he ultimately overcame it in the Resurrection. The last thing our Lord told his disciples after he predicted his death was that he would rise from the dead! They didn’t know what that meant, but we do and our hope is that we can share in the resurrection. Boy, isn’t that good news!
In fact, that’s the Good News that we are called to proclaim to the ends of the earth! We are taught so clearly what it is that we are called to proclaim: Jesus has suffered and died for our sins and has been raised. He is now in glory with the Father and Holy Spirit in heaven. And, where he has gone, we hope to follow! In predicting his death and declaring his Resurrection, Jesus assures his disciples – and us – that “after three days I will rise!” We believe in the resurrection, and, with God’s grace are able to face our own suffering and death because we firmly believe that we, too, will rise to new life – isn’t that Good News!
If we’re honest with ourselves, most of us would have to admit that we are more like James and John than like Jesus in today’s Gospel story. It seems to be human nature to strive to be the first, the best, the most popular, the richest, the most powerful. Look at all the television shows dedicated to honoring the best: the best actor, the best singer, the best dancer, the best cook, the best home remodeler. Think of all the sport leagues and what their goal is; to be the best in their sport. And, in being the best, these people gain power, prestige, possessions or pleasure.
And, once again, we hear Jesus turn our world upside down. When James and John ask Jesus to “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left,” Jesus responds with, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But, it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the slave of all.” How many of us want to be servants or slaves? It goes against our very grain, does it!?! Except in the eyes of God, who sent his Son to serve us, to “give his life as a ransom” for us.
Yes, we are called to be the best – the best servant, the most generous, the most merciful, the hardest worker in building up God’s kingdom here on earth. Grateful for the infinite love that God has given us, we are called to eagerly share that love with others. Humbly aware of God’s mercy toward us, we are called to be forgiving of others. Thankful for everything that God has given us, we are challenged to share our time, talent and treasure to build God’s kingdom in our midst.
And, we are called to share in our Lord’s suffering – and even death. It is through our suffering that we configure ourselves more closely to Jesus and rely solely on God for meaning in our lives. And, in dying to ourselves we are able to live more fully in God’s presence. That’s not what the world teaches but what God teaches us so clearly. It is the way to eternal life in heaven, where there will be no more suffering or death but only unimaginable joy forever in the presence of our ever-loving God. Let’s listen carefully to that message as we accompany one another during this ongoing pandemic and, indeed, throughout our journey through all the struggles of this life to the glory of heaven.