FR.

JOHN’S HOMILY
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 17, 2021

There is an image of the Nativity, beautiful and simple as we all imagine it, however
over this image, there is a shadow of the cross over Jesus. Indicating that the moment He
was born suffering was near. I think it is that way for us as well. As soon as we see light,
the world is cold, we are slapped and we cry. We all know that suffering is part of life. I
can use my own mother as an example. At 84 she is physically weak now, but the mind is
getting a little better. At the age of 12, she was an orphan and lived with her aunt until
she was 16. She moved in with her sister until she married Dad at 19. At 20, I was born,
and by the time she reached 30, she had 7 children. She knew a lot about suffering for
love of others. She would lose her 15 year old daughter to a car wreck. She helped Dad
through the loss of the farm and was with him for the last 6 years of his life as he battled
cancer. Mom’s life is a lot like many others that are here today. Suffering is part of our
lives.
Look at the life of Jesus. Suffering was very much a part of His life. If we are going
to follow him, it has to be a part of our lives too. Remember, His suffering was out of
love for others. Remember Jesus did not have to suffer, but He did, willingly becoming a
sacrificial lamb for us and for our salvation. As we follow Jesus, then this kind of
suffering will become part of our lives too.
Once you give your life to Jesus and recognize Jesus’ love for us, then we enter more
deeply into the Paschal Mystery. The dying to self so that the life of Jesus may live
within us more. The late Archbishop Fulton Sheen used to say that a lot of suffering goes
wasted from the people of faith. Suffering can be redemptive once we united them with
Jesus.
A lady struggling with MS has to go into the hospital for occasional treatments. She
asks the nurse: “Is there anyone who could use a visit today?” This was before the
pandemic and the privacy laws today. Once she has someone, she begins to pray for
them, goes to visit with them, and allows the Lord to use her for that patient’s wellbeing.
She says doing this gets her out of herself. She never complains, and it takes a heroic
effort on her part to use her illness in such a way. She doesn’t waste her suffering.
Look at the life of St. Rose of Lima. She was known for her prayer, contemplation
and suffering for the Lord. She says, “Let all know that grace comes after tribulations.
Let all know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of
grace. Let all know the gifts of grace increase as the struggle increases.” If we understood
the love of God, we would never complain of our cross. There was no wasted suffering
in the life of St. Rose of Lima.
This is the suffering that we hear about today in our reading. Jesus has predicted his
passion three times, the third time coming immediately before today’s Gospel. James and
John ask Jesus the question about being on his right and left. Did they understand what it
meant to follow Jesus? Can you drink from the cup of suffering? However, even then
did he really know what Jesus was referring to of accepting the cup of suffering?
 Jesus basically warns them to be careful what they ask for. There is suffering
involved in following Jesus. Mark doesn’t quote our First Reading from Isaiah, but it’s
in the same spirit. The suffering servant is willing to offer his life for others.
Jesus still can’t give them what they want, sitting on the right and the left, but the
greatest we understand from Jesus is the willingness to be a servant. Remember Jesus
example of the little children, we have to become like them. The least is the greatest in
God’s kingdom.
James and John have already forsaken all else to follow Christ. They are part of
Jesus’ inner circle. They have witnessed many memorable experiences, miracles, cures,
and even the Transfiguration. They were following all the rules. So should there be some
reward for following Jesus?
There is a reward but not necessarily earthly rewards. He does imply other rewards:
the good feeling that comes from serving others, the self-respect you feel when you
sacrifice for a greater good, and the approval of God for those who give their lives to
Jesus and suffer with Him.
Again the path to God’s glory is not an easy path. Can you drink from the cup of
suffering? Can you be baptized into the same Baptism of Jesus? The only thing that
Jesus truly offers them is suffering.
But if you accept suffering because you know that somehow it benefits others, that it
will strengthen your resolve in the face of adversity, and that it will make you a better
person. If we pray and have accepted God’s graces then any notions of material rewards
don’t matter. Experiencing God’s love when we serve others, not the reward, is greater
than that.
Jesus presents himself as the model for us in the way of accepting our crosses and
what it truly means to follow Him. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to
serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus teaches by example and if we
become His disciples, should our path not be as similar as Jesus? Giving one’s life means
dying completely to self. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for
one’s friends. This is Jesus.
Friday was the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila, the great Carmelite mystic and
reformer of her time. One who gave her life completely to Jesus and learned to suffer
much for the Lord and His kingdom. She says that prayer is not just spending time with
God. It is partly that—but if it ends there, it is fruitless. No, prayer is dynamic. Authentic
prayer changes us—unmasks us—strips us—indicates where growth is needed. Authentic
prayer never leads to complacency, but needles us—makes us uneasy at times. It leads us
to true knowledge, to true humility. St. Teresa walked closely with the Lord. She did not
waste any suffering.
Following Jesus is not easy. Suffering for the Lord and for others is our calling as we
unite ourselves more and more to Jesus. There may be no or little reward on this side of
life. But in the next, the rewards in this life will mean very little. Pray for the graces you
need to suffer well. To suffer like Jesus, for the love of others.