Dear friends,
Peter’s reaction in today’s gospel reading is something that deserves attention. He sees but glory and success in the life of Christ that it is unthinkable for him to expect any kind of suffering. At the end of the day, Jesus is the King; why would He talk about suffering? Who could blame Peter? After all Jesus is the Christ who came to establish the long-awaited kingdom and give it back to the chosen people of God. This time of glory would not be fulfilled if it were to bring back memories of pain and suffering. Moreover, suffering is synonym of God’s curse. It therefore is unacceptable for the anointed one to experience suffering. That would even contradict His existence and presence as the Messiah.
Jesus on the other hand does not see His mission that way. His kingship is the one that passes through suffering and death. He rebukes Peter because of his lack of understanding. To prevent Jesus from suffering would mean to obstruct the plan of the Father for the salvation of humanity. Here Jesus reveals to us another dimension, the true one, of the meaning of suffering accepted with love and faith in God for the sake of His glory and the salvation of loved ones.
In today’s culture characterized by the tendency to flee from and to reject suffering, Jesus’s reaction in today’s gospel constitue an eye opener call to rediscover the meaning of suffering. In our community, like in every human community, we face different aspects of suffering: health issues, family misunderstanding, loneliness, isolation, loss of loved one, which bring us the feeling of dejection. Today Jesus calls us to lift up our eyes and hearts to Him as He assures us that He will always be at our side. Accepted in faith and with trust in God, suffering ceases to be seen as curse to become participation in the Passion of the Lord.
Striving to interpret suffering in light of faith and understanding it as participation in the Passion of Christ, let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family.
Fr. Emery