20170915
SUFFERING FOR LOVE
Hebrew 5:7-9
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and
petitions with
fervent cries and tears to
the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though
he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered9 and, once
made perfect, he
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
Psalms 31:2-6, 15-16, 20
2 Incline thy ear to me,
rescue
me speedily!
Be
thou a rock of refuge for me,
a
strong fortress to save me!
3 Yea, thou art my rock and my fortress;
for
thy name’s sake lead me and guide me,
4 take me out of the net which is hidden for me,
for
thou art my refuge.
5 Into thy hand I commit my spirit;
thou
hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful
God.
but
I trust in the Lord.
15 My times are in thy hand;
deliver
me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors!
16 Let thy face shine on thy servant;
save
me in thy steadfast love!
20 In the covert of thy presence thou hidest them
from
the plots of men;
thou
holdest them safe under thy shelter
from
the strife of tongues.
|
Gospel Acclamation
|
Ps147:12,15
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
He sends out his word to the earth.
Alleluia!
|
Or
|
Jn17:17
|
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.
Alleluia!
EITHER:
|
Gospel
|
John 19:25-27 ©
|
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother and his mother’s sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. Seeing his mother and the
disciple he loved standing near her, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is
your son.’ Then to the disciple he said, ‘This is your mother.’ And from that
moment the disciple made a place for her in his home.
OR:
|
Alternative
Gospel
|
Luke 2:33-35 ©
|
As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the
things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his
mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of
many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will
pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid
bare.’
SUFFERING FOR LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Heb 5:7-9; Ps 31: 2-6, 15-16, 20; Jn 19:25-27 or Lk 2:33-35 ]
Yesterday we
celebrated the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Today, the
Church as a corollary to the Passion of Christ celebrates the Feast of our Lady
of Sorrows. What is the connection between these two
celebrations? Obviously, both went through the passion and carried the
cross in their own ways. This is why the Church felt the need to give the
title, Co-redemptrix to our Blessed Mother because of her intimate association
with the suffering and the passion of Christ. But it is more than the
fact that they suffered together but that they suffered with the same passion,
that is, with love and for love of humanity and the heavenly Father.
In the first
reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, we read of how Christ suffered
when He was on earth, particularly at the Garden of Gethsemane.
“During his life on earth, Christ offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in
silent tears, to the one who had the power to save him out of death.” His
suffering was real. Jesus was truly a man and He went through all our
sufferings, emotional, physical and spiritual. He was rejected,
humiliated, mocked, slandered, wrongly accused and unjustly punished.
Physically, He was spat at, scourged and nailed to the cross. He
suffered tremendous loss of water and blood. Spiritually, He also
experienced the absence of His Father like any atheist would. A life
without God has no meaning and no purpose. Going through the dark night
of the Spirit, like many saints did, including St Teresa of Calcutta, is
perhaps the most difficult cross to bear. This is because to carry the
cross without the love of God and His presence in our hearts is akin to
carrying the cross all alone, and that is what makes it so unbearable.
Yet, we are
told that because of His sufferings in His humanity, Jesus learnt obedience. “Although he was Son,
he learnt to obey through suffering.” What does it mean when we say that
He learnt obedience? Christ has always been obedient to the Father at
every point of His life. So how could He learn obedience? In saying
this, the author is saying that Christ who took upon Himself the sufferings of
humanity, become so identified with us that He could be said to be a true man
who suffered all that we could suffer. This is why the author concluded
by saying that “having been made perfect, he became for all who obey him the
source of eternal salvation.” To be made perfect is not so much a
moral or metaphysical perfection, but rather it was His complete identification
with our human pain and suffering. For this reason, all those who obey
Him, that is, follow Him in carrying the cross, will also find salvation.
In other words, Jesus is the perfect exemplar and leader of how any human being
can and should carry his or her cross in daily life. If we have this same
attitude, we too will learn obedience, that is, surrender to the Father.
As a
consequence, we will share in His triumph over suffering and death. This is what the Lord promised
us. The author said that “he submitted so humbly that his prayer was
heard.” Our prayers will also be heard if only we submit ourselves to the
will of God instead of fighting with Him. It is our resistance against
His holy will that causes us to suffer more than is necessary. Just as
the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He too will raise us up and vindicate
us. This is what Simeon prophesied as well. “You see this child: he
is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel.” However
those who fail to submit to God’s will in obedience will fall. In
choosing to go their own way, they will ultimately cause themselves to fall
further because self-will, pride and disobedience will bring about our
downfall. So today, we are called to suffer with Jesus, not simply with
Jesus alone but rather, we are called to suffer with Him and the Father and
humanity with love and for love. This was the secret of Mary. She
was perfected in her humanity because like Jesus, she suffered in union with
her Son.
That Mary
suffered for love is seen in the fact of her presence at the cross of
Jesus. Although it was true that Mary had always suffered for the love of
God, for humanity and her Son Jesus throughout His life, whether as an infant,
a child or when He was misunderstood in ministry, for Mary to be with Jesus
right to the end was certainly the ultimate expression of love. The truth
is that it was very dangerous for Mary to stand underneath the cross of our
Lord. To support a political opponent of the Emperor would have spelt
trouble for anyone. Who would want to associate with an enemy of the
Emperor? Again, who would want to be a friend of Jesus when the
Orthodox religious leaders considered Him a heretic? This explains why
the apostles fled from the scene because they were fearful that they would be
arrested with Jesus and put to death.
But what gave
Mary the strength to endure and the courage to be with Jesus underneath the
cross? It
was her motherly love for the Lord. She would do anything for the love of
Jesus. When there is love, there is no fear, since St John says, “There
is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with
punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 Jn 4:18)
The love of Mary was so deep that she feared no one. The only fear was
that she did not love Jesus enough. She preferred to be humiliated
together with Him, suffering in shame and rejection together. Mary was a
woman capable of love, and therefore of passion and suffering. When there
is love, every suffering could be endured patiently and courageously.
Truly, no one knows the pain and sorrow of Mary except for those of us who are mothers.
No mother would sacrifice her son for anything, even if that son was considered
a criminal, stupid, useless or hopeless by the world. For a mother, her
son is always the most lovable person in her life.
What is said
of Mary can also be said of the other women and St John who stood by the cross. Particularly, we can
single out Mary Magdalene. We remember her as the woman whom Jesus cast
out the seven devils. Could she also be the woman who was caught in
adultery? Regardless, the point is that Mary Magdalene loved the Lord so
deeply because she was set free of her fears and sins by Him. St John
wrote, “We love, because he first loved us.” (1 Jn 4:19)
She could love the Lord and be ready to die and suffer with and for the Lord
because she was loved. Then we have St John the Beloved disciple of
the Lord. He too was there. He knew Jesus and His love. We
can be sure that it was his personal intimacy with the Lord that gave him the
courage to stay with Jesus when all the other apostles fled for fear of being
arrested.
But even in
our sorrows, let it be clear that Jesus would not abandon us to suffer alone. On the cross, in
spite of His excruciating pain, the Lord was not thinking of His own suffering
but that of His mother. So even on the cross, He demonstrated His filial
piety by entrusting His mother to John who was aptly the person to care for
her. This was because John was the son of Salome, the sister of Mary, and
therefore her nephew. Furthermore, John was the beloved disciple of
Jesus. So rightly so, the best person that the Lord could ask to care for
His mother was John.
Theologically,
this entrusting of Mary to St John was the evangelist’s interpretation of how
the Hour had come now, not just for Jesus to be glorified as the Saviour and
Lord of the world by His death and resurrection but also the role of Mary in
the economy of salvation. Earlier at the Wedding at Cana, Jesus told Mary, “O woman, what
have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (Jn 2:4)
But now that the hour has come, (cf Jn 19:28 cf Jn 13:1)
“Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, this is your son.’ Then to the disciple he
said, ‘This is your mother.’” Mary now could assume the role of
that woman, the mother of the Church. She continues to play her role in
bringing us to the Lord. Even in His sorrows Jesus was thinking of us and
His disciples. He wanted Mary His mother to be with us in our journey,
leading and teaching us how to carry our sorrows and sufferings with love and
for love of God and humanity. Thus, we must follow St John the disciple
who “made a place for her in his home.” On this feast of Our Lady of Sorrows,
let us imitate Mary in carrying the cross with Jesus.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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