"Better Together": A Reflection on the Gospel for September 16th, 2018: Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Mark 8.27-35 

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the Prophets.”

Jesus asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly.

And Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are thinking not as God does, but as humans do.”

Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to become my follower, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.”

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​In my suffering, I am gifted an opportunity. In Christ, suffering can become something entirely new. In my suffering, I can become someone entirely new.

I often avoid any occasion that I suspect will cause me some form of pain. And when I do encounter pain, I can easily conclude that, “Because this hurts right now, it cannot be God’s will”. However, that is not always the case—as Christ clearly demonstrates as he journeys towards and experiences his Passion.

The consequences of original sin, and every sin thereafter, make it so God’s plan must involve suffering. Each sin damages our freedom, and we are inclined to move further from love and into a great and terrible loneliness. We suffer because we are not in communion—with anyone in creation or our creator. But we are made for communion. The separation of humanity from God is suffering, and no amount of wishing ‘good vibes’ or seeking distractions or consuming numbing agents will change that reality. There will be moments of suffering in every person, relationship, family, community, country—at every stretch of this earth. That is, until we learn what to do with our suffering.

When we are faced with suffering, we are offered an invitation. Jesus extends a hand to us, and says, “Follow me”. He invites us to join Him—crosses in tow.

Do we fear that this will increase our pain? We must remember that it won’t, and believe that it is rather, our remedy. Jesus sees our suffering and He willingly joins us. He has a merciful heart—a heart that suffers with—and He meets us where we are and asks us to accept His help (which we so desperately need).

If we read the Passion carefully, we see that Jesus freely offers himself and allows everything that is happening to Him to transpire. He does not do this because He enjoys being tortured, or because He is weak and unable to stop the actions of His accusers. He suffers in service of the mission--His mission of salvation. That is, His mission to heal and restore the relationship between humanity and God and make that ultimate relationship and redemption accessible to every soul. He knew before and during His Passion that, through His suffering, you and I could be saved. That knowledge is what brought purpose and meaning to every moment of agony. Christ, God Himself experienced what it was like to be separated from the love of the Father. He took on the consequences of sin as we experience them, and then He conquered them.

Jesus did not run from His suffering, because He knew that it was intimately connected with His mission. He defended its importance, even while His friends couldn’t (yet) understand why He had to go through those terrible trials. Peter believed that Jesus would be a suffering victim. Jesus knew that He would be a suffering servant.

There are many questions that still surround suffering for me. Throughout history, there have been so many people who have been innocent and wounded deeply. There are times that I see how my pain is a result of my own sin, but other times I don’t understand where it comes from or why a friend of mine is going through pain. It can appear meaningless without faith. But with faith, we know that we are never alone and that no amount of suffering need ever be wasted. I pray that I can accept any suffering that God allows me to endure and gift it to Him so that I become more fully one with Love—and I pray the same for you.

"Suffering that is nourished by the flame of faith becomes something beautiful." -Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati

​Kendra Chisholm

"In Christ, suffering can become something entirely new. In my suffering, I can become someone entirely new."
​- Kendra Chisholm (Ora Reflections)

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