Posted by The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr Fred Saniel SVD — Catholic Trade Manila
Tuesday 4th Week in Ordinary Time
Image: Wikimedia Commons, The resurrection of the daughter of Jairus.
Every human being who suffers from a lingering or life-threatening illness would always ask: “Lord, what have I done to deserve this kind of punishment?”
Others would ask, “Why did the Lord allow these pains and agonies to happen to me?”
Others would, however, seek new meaning and purpose and ask, “Lord, what do you want to tell me in my sufferings?”
Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ does not make us suffer as he is not a punitive God or a God who punishes us whenever we do something wrong. The Gospel proclaims Jesus Christ as a healer, one who rescues us from the sufferings of this world.
Sufferings are effects of evil. We suffer, and others suffer, because of the wrong we have done. In a broader context, we suffer because of the sins of others and because of the sins of the world. Sins are works of evil. The effects of sin make us suffer.
The experience of suffering tells us that our human dignity is being taken away from us simultaneously as we are being deprived of living in peace and joy. Thus, Jesus Christ came to save us from all evils, to exorcise the devil in our midst. He proclaims and inaugurates the reign of God by his healing ministry to rescue us from the pains and agonies of suffering.
As our source of healing, Jesus Christ is the mystery of God’s love in person. His great love for humankind led him to suffer and die on the cross. In suffering and death, he brought us back to life.
So powerful is this mystery of love that evil is driven out when we are restored to a happy state. It is a mystery of love that we can find and experience in reading the Word of God, who is Jesus himself bringing to us his saving words.
What then are we to do in the midst of suffering? As the Gospel tells us, we bring to Jesus our pains. But we have to bring them with faith. Our faith in Jesus is the key through which the mystery of his healing love can make wonders in our lives.
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