THEME: THE PARADOX OF PAIN
Everyone, sooner or later, in varying degrees suffers. The pain flows from loneliness, isolation, uselessness, loss, abandonment, failure, sickness and death. We all go through a period of desolation and such periods can either draw us closer to God or lead us farther away from God.
In the First reading, in boldly terms, Jeremiah’s lament expresses the deep anguish every man feels when he experiences pain. Jeremiah feels seduced and deceived as he suffers insult and derision. He is a laughing stock among his contemporary. There are moments he toys with the idea of giving up but always remain faithful to his prophetic calling. He complained, “O Lord, you have enticed me and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughing stock all day long; everyone mocks me” (Jeremiah 20:7). I guess Jeremiah was fascinated by who God is and he could not resist it.
The reason for Jeremiah’s frustration was that he had been sent “… to root up and to tear down, to build and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:10). What broke the Carmel’s back was the fact that Jeremiah had only started out on his mission. He had not made any significant strides. Here he was despairing. Failure was staring him in the face because according to human standards, he has failed. It is against this background that he cries unto the Lord. He says “… for the Word of God has become for me a reproach and derision all day” (Jeremiah 20:8b).
The Word of God has become a reproach and derision to Jeremiah because his contemporaries who are false prophets are prophesying hope but anything that comes out of Jeremiah’s mouth is destruction. Human as he is, he is tempted not to prophesy but like he says, “ If I say, ‘ I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name, then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am weary with holding it in and I cannot (Jeremiah 20:9).
No matter what people say about us; no matter how we wish to do our o
wn will, we can only find true peace when we present ourselves as living sacrifice to God. St. Paul mentions three important elements that will aid us in having a fruitful relationship with God namely our body, our mind and our will.
Offering our bodies as living sacrifices presupposes that we have yielded our bodies to sinful desires. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and so when we yield our bodies as living sacrifice; it means that for us, everyday is a worship experience when our bodies are yielded to God. The verb “present” is a once and for all action, an action that has an enduring effect.
We are also supposed to give our mind to God. So Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds…” (Romans 12:2). The world wants to control our minds especially when speak against the follies and foibles in our society. If the world controls your thinking then you are a conformer; if God controls your thinking, you are a transformer.
In the will of God, we find our true peace. Paul says, “… be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God- what is good and acceptable and perfect” ( Romans 12:2). Your mind controls your body and your will controls your mind. Many people think that they can control their will by will power but usually they fail. It is only when we yield the will to God that His power can take over and give us the will power that we need to be victorious Christians.
In the Gospel reading of today, Jesus demonstrates to us that even though we are assailed by challenges in our quest to do his will our pain can be meaningful if only we recognize that what gives fullness of meaning to the cross is to carry it behind Jesus, not in a journey of anguished solitude, hopeless wandering or rebellion, but rather in a journey sustained and nourished by the presence of the Lord. Jesus asks us to courageously choose a life similar to his own. Those who would follow Jesus cannot avoid suffering. God's ways are not our ways ... today we are encouraged to conform our ways to God's. Jesus presented his body as a living sacrifice; his mind was one with his Father and he submitted his will totally to God even to the point of dying; dying on the cross (Philippians 2:5-11).
Like Peter, Jesus will call us Satan because we fail everyday to submit our body, our mind and will to him. It must be emphasised that our suffering can only be meaningful if daily we submit to Jesus. You cannot submit today and like Peter become a stumbling block tomorrow. Let us join the Psalmist in saying “ O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you as in dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you” (Psalm 63:1-3).
In sum, today, the cross is an accepted symbol of love and sacrifice. But in the days of Jesus, it was a horrible means of capital punishment. To deny oneself means to give oneself totally to Christ and share in his suffering; it means to identify with Christ in His rejection, shame, suffering and death. Man must expect to meet God at the centre of his pain. This demands courage not to take the easy way out, nor pick the comfortable but destructive option when the alternative hurts but heals. This is the Paradox of pain.
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