“Suffering and pain is a reality of existence. “
The psalmist tells us that the lifespan of man is seventy years, or eighty for those who are strong, and most of these are emptiness and pain. Our Lord promised us that following Him would not bring us comfort and ease but rather persecution and death. But we know that God makes all things work towards the good, so what is the purpose of our suffering?
The Sons of Thunder
In today’s Gospel, the sons of Zebedee do not know what they are asking. They are still thinking in terms of an earthly kingdom with royal privileges and honors. But rather than flatly deny them, Jesus instead tries to make them understand that what they have asked for is to share in His passion. They readily assure Jesus that they can handle it. Our Lord then promises them that they will indeed share in His cup.
Isaiah speaks of the suffering servant who gives up his life that many will be justified. This is what James and John have asked to share in, to suffer for the sake of others.
For James this prophecy was fulfilled 14 years later. At that time Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, was “king” over Judea and Samaria. In his great zeal to please the people, Herod Agrippa perpetuated cruelties against the Church, whose rapid growth caused much anxiety among the Jewish people.
Perhaps because of his famous temper, and his part in leading the early Jewish Christian communities, James was arrested. The Book of Acts tells us that Herod Agrippa killed James, the brother of John, with the sword.
John, the beloved disciple, was also persecuted by authorities. According to tradition several attempts were made on his life. He was, at different times, handed a cup of poison and tossed into a cauldron of boiling oil, neither of which had any effect on him. Finally he was exiled to Patmos, an island in Aegean Sea still in the grip of the Roman Gods. There, far from the center of 1st century political life, John lived a solitary life.
When Emperor Domition died, it is said John returned to Ephesus where he lived out the remainder of his life.
Pain and Suffering
Theologians and philosophers have long debated why God allows suffering in the world. Perhaps this is the closest we will ever come to an answer.
In a miraculous and mysterious way, all suffering, sickness, torture, and martyrdom, endured for the sake of Christ and His Gospel is united to the suffering of Christ on the cross. And as we share in His suffering we also share in the fruits of that passion. Our sorrows united with those of Christ are offered for the redemption and atonement of the many.
Stephen Colbert is a comedian and late night talk show host. At the age of 10 he lost his father and two of his brothers in a plane accident. The tragedy would affect his entire life.
In a wide ranging interview with Anderson Cooper, the comedian was asked:
“You told an interviewer that you have learned to–in your words–‘love the thing that I most wish had not happened.’ You went on to say, ‘What punishments of God are not gifts?’ Do you really believe that?”
“Yes,” answered Colbert, “It’s a gift to exist, and with existence comes suffering. There’s no escaping that.”
He then went on to talk more about his father’s death.
“I don’t want it to have happened. I want it to not have happened, but if you are grateful for your life, which I think is a positive thing to do, not everybody is–and I am not always–but it’s the most positive thing to do, then you have to be grateful for all of it.
You can’t pick and choose what you’re grateful for.
So, what do you get from loss? You get awareness of other people’s loss, which allows you to connect with that other person, which allows you to love more deeply and to understand what it’s like to be a human being, if it’s true that all humans suffer.”
In saying, “What punishments of God are not gifts?” Colbert quotes a letter from J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien also knew the tragedy of losing his father at a young age. In unfinished, unsent letter to a fan, Tolkien wrote:
“A divine ‘punishment’ is also a divine ‘gift,’ if accepted, since its object is ultimate blessing, and the supreme inventiveness of the Creator will make ‘punishments’ (that is, changes of design) produce a good not otherwise to be attained.” (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 286)
In the world of the Lord of the Rings, the immortal elves envied the mortality of men. As a people we are subject to loss, suffering and death. If we accept these “punishments” as “gifts” they can bring about a greater good, an ultimate blessing, that we would otherwise not have known.
“Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” (The Book of Job 2:10)
We have been baptized into the passion and death of Christ. Our sufferings are our portion of the cup promised to those who believe in Him and follow Him, a cup that is also the source of our salvation. Let us confidently approach the throne of grace, and partake in that saving cup.
Pax Vobiscum
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time