The world doesn’t like suffering, and let’s face it, neither do we. In this morning’s first reading, we see the suffering servant talking about the key to suffering, to salvific suffering. The beginning lines talk about how God has trained his tongue, and morning after morning, God opens his ears to hear. That’s why we are here at Mass. We hear the word of God. The liturgy envelops us with the Sacred Scriptures. It’s also why the church encourages us to study scripture, pray with it, meditate on it throughout the day, and follow the church’s liturgical rhythms as they flow throughout the year.
It is when we allow the word of God to steep in our lives, to saturate us so completely, that we can begin to glimpse the value of redemptive suffering. The suffering servant didn’t just hear the word of God; he lived it out. He endures suffering, hatred, rejection by those who oppose him, and instead of retaliating, he turns his face toward the Father who is the only one who can save.
Knowing that suffering endured with patience has saving power does not take away the sting of suffering, but it enables us to bring God’s love even to those who cause our suffering. That is truly one of the most difficult things. It’s easy to forgive those we love. Easy enough as well to forgive those who are similar to us. But to forgive our “them,” our enemy, those who oppress and abuse us, that comes only with the grace of God.
In the face of hate, we must begin to truly understand what it means that God is the ultimate vindicator. We must stand up for those who are without a voice; we must both see them as an opportunity to serve Jesus and as an opportunity for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus at the same time. When we give of ourselves, our time, our talent, our treasure; we begin to be the servant Christ to others. That’s when sacrifice, when suffering has value. Not suffering for the sake of suffering, but suffering to draw closer to Christ on the cross, to His Suffering Body in the world today.
His body is wounded by sin in this world, for we are the body of Christ. That suffering, too, can be transformed into an ongoing redemptive moment when we turn to Jesus in the Sacraments to be configured to His Likeness and then go into the world to bring Him to all of those in need. It’s not easy to do, but the key is humility. It’s when we try to do it on our own that we always fall. Our Faith lets us know that we can’t do it without Him and that He will always, in his great love, answer and sustain us in our time of need.
A homily for Wednesday of Holy Week: 4/1/2021