SALVATION THROUGH SUFFERING

29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Is 53: 10 – 11 / Ps 33 / Heb 4: 14 – 16 / Mk 10: 35 – 45 or 42 – 45

We all want to be saved from the perils of life.  We all want to be saved from family problems, from our enemies, from our worries of the future, and even from our utangs! That is why alongside this dream for salvation is our longing for a Salvador del Mundo! Thus, parents expect a lot from their children to finish college in order to uplift them from poverty. The rising number of OFWs is another indication of our desire for “saviors” who will build our homes, feed our stomachs, and even pay our debts. Even Onyok in FPJ’s Probinsyano is longing for a savior, his Kuya Cardo, who will save him and the other children from the human traffickers. We all want to be saved. We all long for a savior.

Prior to the Gospel text which I read is the conflict among the disciples after James and John asked to sit at the sides of Jesus. However, for this Sunday, let us not go into the discussion of the disciples. Rather, let us go immediately to the point which Jesus wants to highlight. After all, the Gospel is all about the Good News of Jesus Christ.

“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

We have to remember that when Jesus said these words, he and his disciples were going down to Jerusalem where he eventually faced and embraced his suffering and death.  Thus, Jesus is telling us that he is the Savior for he is “to give his life as a ransom for many.” And this work of salvation happens through suffering. In our Gospel today, we learn that Jesus is the Suffering Savior.

Jesus as the Suffering Savior is attested to us in our first and second readings today. In our first reading, the Lord tells Isaiah us that “through his suffering, my servant shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear.” In our second reading, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews tells us that “we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who similarly has been tested in every way except sin.”  Indeed, Jesus is the Suffering Savior. Salvation through suffering!

But we ask ourselves, why did Jesus prefer to suffer in order to save us? Why not save us by a mere blink of his eyes? Why not save us through his angels? Why suffer on the cross? Pope Benedict XVI once said, “the more we can bear pain, the more we will be able to understand others and open ourselves to them.” Jesus chose to save us through suffering on the cross in order for him to truly understand our humanity; for him to open himself more to us who are also suffering. Jesus chose to save us through suffering because he is not manhid o may pusong bato. Rather, he is truly Emmanuel, a God who is with us in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, in good times and bad times.

This is therefore our challenge this 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As we save others from their misery and pain, as we serve other people’s lives, let us never forget that our service is always accompanied with suffering.

Real service happens when the servant is willing to suffer so that others will be saved. And such is the story of a lay minister from a diocese in Central Philippines.

The Bishop of the diocese once interviewed a lay minister of a certain parish regarding his Sunday apostolate of distributing Communion to his barrio. The lay minister shared with the Bishop that it takes 36 kilometers for him to reach the parish from the barrio. And so, the Bishop asked him how much he spends every Sunday for the habal – habal ride. The lay minister humbly replied, “kon plite atong hisgotan, Bishop, nan, dili ko maka anhi sa parokya matag Dominggo kay wala man koy kwarta. Mao nga matag Dominggo, maglakaw lamang ako. (If we talk about money, Bishop, then, I cannot come to the parish every Sunday because I do not have money. All I have to do is walk.) Through his suffering, people in his barrio experienced salvation for they were able to receive Holy Communion. Such story is a story of salvation through suffering. The lay minister is an example of a suffering servant.

Before we choose our next set of officials from either Ro-Ro, Poe Francis, BinGo, or MiBong, the willingness to suffer is a good criterion. However, before going to the elections, let us also ask ourselves. Am I a Christian who is willing to suffer so that others will be saved? Amen.

Photo taken from  thinkclearly.ca453 × 500