The Wisdom and Love in Suffering

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Aug. 28, 2011 (Mt 16:21-27)

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?"

"For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct."

After Peter was able to profess through God's revelation that Jesus was the Messiah, Jesus explains what being the Messiah meant. The Jews were hoping that the Messiah will be the leader who will liberate them from the hands of their oppressors. But Jesus revealed to His apostles that He whom they have confirmed to be the Messiah will have to suffer, die and be raised on the third day.

This probably came as a shock for them. Peter could not accept this new revelation. He accepted and professed that Jesus is the Messiah; but he could not accept that this Messiah would have to suffer. Naturally, he was concerned for his Master so he didn't want him to suffer. But what he failed to realize is that the revelation that Jesus had to suffer, die and be raised is a revelation of how God, in His wisdom, has planned the salvation of men.

It sounded foolish to Peter and to the apostles that their expected liberator would have to suffer. As St. Paul said, "Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Cor 1:22-23)." Yes, since Peter was not thinking as God does, he could not see Jesus' suffering and death as wise. Even we, thinking as human beings do, cannot fathom why or cannot appreciate that Jesus, the Messiah and the Son of God, had to suffer. But once we accept without doubt what God is revealing to us, we can see not only the wisdom of God's plan of salvation, but also the great love He has for us that He would let His Son die for us. Only then do we realize that "the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom (1 Cor 1:25)." And we marvel at this.

After rebuking Peter, Jesus explained that anyone who wishes to follow Him should take up His cross and be willing to lose their life for Him. This is a radical call. Jesus seems to be forgetting that man naturally loves what is comfortable and that man always clings to dear life. But again, this is a revelation. Jesus is warning His apostles, and even us who wish to follow Him, that becoming a Christian is no easy task. It is rewarding, but it is not easy.

Being a Christian means living out the values that Jesus taught us and rejecting the values of the world. Sometimes, we may be inconvenienced, ridiculed or even persecuted because we live as Christians, but we must remain loyal to Christ anyway. Again, it may be foolish to accept these difficulties instead of escaping them, but as in the case of Jesus who died for us, we do it anyway because we do it out of love - even if the world does not get it.

Jesus exhorts us today to think with the wisdom of God and to love with the love of God. Once we do, accepting suffering and carrying the cross will not seem foolish to us. It will be an expression of our love and loyalty to our Master who did the same, and even more, out of love for us.

God's Welcoming Embrace

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Aug. 14, 2011 (Mt 15:21-28)

Then Jesus went from that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But he did not say a word in answer to her.

His disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."

He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."

He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs."

She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters."

Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

God's love is universal. This is a fact that was revealed little by little throughout salvation history. In the Old Testament, it is clear that the Israelites were the chosen people - the children of God. Nevertheless, reading forward until the New Testament, we come to realize that Israel was indeed God's firstborn, but the entire human race enjoys the Fatherhood of God.

Even in the days of the Israelites' journey towards the promised land, God has welcomed into His people some foreigners who have demonstrated faith in Him. He welcomed Rahab, the inhabitant of Jericho who helped the Israelite spies escape. God let Ruth, a woman who showed compassion and loyalty towards her mother-in-law Naomi, become part of Jesus' family tree. God has also shown favor upon a foreigner who came to His prophet for healing - Naaman the leper. All these stories tell us that God's goodness extends to all mankind.

In today's Gospel, though emphasizing that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Jesus acknowledges the great faith of a Canaanite woman who came to Him for her daughter's healing. At first, it seemed that Jesus was being rather rude and exclusive in His words. But here He was probably just giving the woman an opportunity to demonstrate her faith in Him.

What made this woman's faith remarkable? First, she came humbly asking Jesus for help. Her faith transcended the boundaries of culture and even of religious belief itself. Second, she addressed Jesus as the Lord, the Son of David. Even the Pharisees who were Jesus' fellow Jews did not address Him with this kind of reverence! And isn't it written that no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:3)? It is probably safe to assume, then, that this woman was filled by the Holy Spirit! Probably, this woman was moved by the Spirit of God, not only for her to find healing for her daughter, but to proclaim the message that God's love is universal and that faith is God's gift to all men. In the end, because the woman demonstrated her great faith, her daughter was healed.

Indeed, faith is a gift that we have received from God. Our faith is not a product of our own efforts, but a gift from God that we must nurture. And the nourishment of our faith, and even our healing, as we find in the Gospel today, can only be found if we come to Jesus. We grow in faith every time we come to Jesus in prayer, every time we reflect on His Words and most especially every time we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. Faith is a gift that must be treasured and taken care of.

As we realize the necessity of cultivating our faith, we also come to acknowledge the fact that we are not the only ones who received this faith from God. Every man, even the most hardened sinner and even the most atheistic, received the gift of faith. Once we realize this, we see it as our responsibility to cultivate our faith together, as a community, as a Church where all men are welcome and where no one should be left behind. The Gospel today rejects the notion that "outside the Church, there is no salvation".

As believers building the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, we see it as God's mercy at work when He welcomes new people to His Church. We must, therefore, also have a welcoming heart like our Father. We must have arms big enough to embrace the world as our brethren in Christ. We should look at non-believers and sinners as brothers who are as of yet lost, but are still loved by our Father.