October 18, 2009 29th Ordinary Sunday of the Year   Is. 53:10-11; Heb. 4:4, 14-16; Mk. 10:35-45 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   Readings:http://www.usccb.org/nab/101809.shtml   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   What is the point of suffering? If God is so good, why are we subjected to so much pain? People have always tried to provide answers to such questions. Many of these answers are found within our own religious tradition, such as suffering is punishment for sin; it is a trial to test the strength of our virtue; it is an opportunity to strengthen our inner beings; or, as we find in the Book of Job, it is a mystery beyond our comprehension.   The prophet Isaiah tells us that the servant was actually afflicted by God. The passage from Hebrews says that Christ too was tested. Then in the Gospel, two of Jesus’ closest companions are told that they must drink the cup of suffering that he drinks.   The message of the readings has little or nothing to do with the why of suffering. Rather, they focus on the value that might be derived from it. This theme is developed in the Gospel. James and John realize how privileged they are to be numbered among Jesus’ closest friends, and they seek the glory that they presume accompanies such privilege.   Much to their surprise, Jesus offers them a share in his own cup of suffering. They are told that the way to exercise authority over others is through service to them. Jesus’ words should alert us to the reversal of perspective that following him so often requires. If discipleship and leadership are to be understood in a new way, perhaps the same is true for suffering. The nature of Christian discipleship is laid out in unselfish service, the willingness to risk one’s life for another and commitment to others beyond the call of duty.   Suffering of various kinds and intensities explodes in the life of every human being. We cannot stave it off, regardless of how innocent we may be. If we are to be true followers of Christ, we will have to learn how we might use it to accomplish something good. When we make this decision, we might find the grace of God helping us see that there can be a point to suffering.   The challenge for us is to become the person God wants us to be, not necessarily the person we want to be, to find our place of service in his kingdom, not his protection in this world. To learn as James and John that if we listen, truly listen, we will hear the command to love one another, not to expect others to do for us. We will hear the challenge to seek, to serve, and not to be served--to give with no expectation of return.     <<   Previous: 28th Sunday of the Year  |   Next: 30th Sunday of the Year >>     Go Back to SERMONS (Year B)