“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2
The Passion of Jesus Christ, a source of teaching and comfort.
We are all confronted with suffering at one time or another in our lives. Either because we suffer ourselves or because someone around us does. Or because we cannot ignore the suffering of our neighbors, even if we do not know them personally.
Experiencing suffering raises a whole bunch of questions: Why does God allow it? Why doesn’t He intervene? How should we behave in the face of suffering, what can we do? The Holy Spirit invites us to look at the Passion of Jesus Christ. It is rich in teaching and comfort for the believer.
How do we deal with suffering?
Some see suffering as a punishment inflicted by God. Jesus Christ showed that this is not the case (Lk 13:1-4; Jn 9:1-3). He suffered terribly, even though He was without sin.
Suffering may be the result of a poor decision or wrongful behaviour by the person affected or by someone else. However, this does not explain everything. It is true that the number of victims of an earthquake depends in part on the location and quality of the buildings—so on human decisions. But no one is at the origin of the movement of the tectonic plates…
God allows some suffering because it can contribute to our salvation (Heb 12:4-11). Trials can help us focus on what is important. But this is only true for believers who are old enough to understand. A small child’s cancer has no salvific effect on their soul!
The book of Job teaches us that humankind is incapable of understanding God’s activity. Jesus Christ experienced this at the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” His passion shows us how to react—by surrendering ourselves completely to God (Lk 23:46).
The Passion of Christ, an expression of His perfect love.
The Greek text of Hebrews 12:2 can be translated in two ways. “Christ renounced joy to bring His sacrifice (Phil 2:1-8)” or “Christ was willing to die because of the joy that awaited Him.” Let us look at the first. The Son of God renounced His glory to come to the people who had turned away from Him. He shared their fate to prove His love. He sacrificed His life to save them. How do we express our love for God? Are we willing to renounce ourselves to come to Him and be saved (Mt 16:24)?
How to behave towards God in suffering?
Jesus placed more importance on the joy of being in fellowship with His Father than on His suffering. We have set a goal for ourselves: to be in fellowship with God. We can remain in control of our lives by focusing on our purpose rather than our suffering. We do God’s will to be in fellowship with Him. Even if our obedience does not exempt us from suffering. We ask God to ease our suffering, but above all to help us remain faithful to Him.
How to behave towards others when we are suffering?
Jesus Christ rejoiced to bring salvation to humankind (Lk 15:1-7) and to be in fellowship with His own in His kingdom (Mt 26:29). This joy gave Him the strength to persevere in His mission, despite weakness, betrayal, rejection and hostility from humankind. Christ calls us to contribute to the salvation of others, in good times and bad. Let us not be overwhelmed by our suffering. Let us continue to work joyfully alongside Jesus. Let us rejoice that we will soon have fellowship with Him and His people in His kingdom. Our afflictions must not prevent us from serving and reigning with Christ!
The sufferings of the Church
The Passion of Christ was foretold by the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 53 speaks of a suffering servant. In the eyes of humankind, He appears to have been abandoned by God. But in reality, He won the victory over His enemies and delivered humankind. Today, the Church of Christ is going through a difficult period. One might think that Christ has abandoned His Apostles and that the decline of the Church is inevitable. Some think that the Apostle’s teaching should be adapted to the expectations of people so that they will adhere to it. But Christ expects His church and His Apostles to follow His example, fulfilling God’s will to the end. He promised to be with them until the end. Do not be afraid: the apostolate will fulfill the mission that Christ has entrusted to them. The Bride of Christ will be ready for His return. With or without us, it is up to us…
The Passion of Christ teaches us how to behave in suffering. We trust God, continue to do His will and serve Him. Christ will give victory to those who persevere until His return.