Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
A friend of mine lost her brother recently following a very short illness. She traveled for hours back and forth to be with him during the weeks of his hospitalization. She also found herself unwittingly immersed a family situation very difficult to navigate. The day after his funeral she was suffering a great deal and the only thing she needed was someone to simply listen to her. It seemed to be how God would be present to her in that moment. Raw pain and grief—suffering—is very difficult to endure or witness in others. But suffering, an inescapable part of being human, can be recognized as an invitation from God. Unsuspecting as we are, every meaningful relationship in life opens us to this painful, yet life giving reality.
St Paul, in the reading from Colossians, states, "I rejoice in my sufferings…". Paul was absolutely compelled by the grace of God. Form the moment of his conversion, Paul felt compelled to carry the Gospel to others and nurture the communities he fostered. The suffering he endured in no way deterred him. In fact, Paul's statement that he rejoiced in his sufferings clues us in to one of the most profound aspects of suffering: love is an invitation to suffering. When I think about the times I have experienced suffering, even as a result of personal sin, it has always been related to love. In the latter circumstance, suffering actually drives me back to the one and only source of Love-God—who creates purely for the purpose of love. In today's Gospel, Jesus heals the (suffering) man with the withered hand out of love. In God's Kingdom love is superior to all. Jesus was fully aware that curing the man on the Sabbath would provoke the scribes and Pharisees and only add to his own suffering. It did not matter to him at all.
As for my friend, she continues to suffer on many levels and will take time to heal. But while listening to her story, it was clear she was willing to let Jesus come very close to her during his illness and after his passing. Her reliance on Jesus opened a floodgate of grace for the entire family and ushered them towards deeper acceptance and understanding of themselves and one another. And even as her pain was so acute, God's love for her was very evident to her.
As for me, I am asking some tough questions. Where in my pain do I seek the Lord? Where in my suffering do I see the love of Jesus? How is Jesus inviting me to accept his love, his comfort, his healing? In the fog and confusion of personal suffering, can I stretch out my hand and let the Lord touch me, trusting God's providence and wisdom far exceeds my comprehension?
This day, in my place of quiet, I pray God will reveal the meaning of my personal suffering as well as the manner in which God's love is always at work, always inviting me to come closer…ever closer.
--Gail Lyman