Sexagesima Sunday 12 February 2023 Suffering for Love
St Paul, in the epistle is showing how seriously one can
take discipleship.
Christianity makes much of suffering, honouring the martyrs
and those who are persecuted for their faith.
We honour them for their supreme love of Christ. They were
forgetful of themselves being so focused on Him.
Those who suffer for Christ do not mind the suffering. The
saints teach us that being in union with Christ more than compensates for
whatever hardships we may suffer along the way.
Allow me to become food for the wild beasts, through
whose means it will be granted me to reach God. (St Ignatius of Antioch). He
did not want to be deprived of the privilege of dying for Christ!
We can tell how much we value Christ by how much we would be
prepared to suffer in His name.
Really serious Christians can find some share of what St
Paul went through, being ostracised, ridiculed, losing employment or chances of
promotion. Many are still killed in our day, and many falsely imprisoned (cf
Cardinal Pell).
Lesser disciples want their belief to be kept at a moderate
level - enough religion to feel good, but not to the point of painful sacrifice.
(those in the Sower parable who gave up when it got too hard.)
We do not seek suffering as an end in itself, but as a way
to experiencing union with Divine Love, our true calling.
To be united with Christ is the best thing that can happen
to anyone. It is in that state that we are discovering the greatest goodness
and blessing possible. This is the key to all else.
God is not just a vague powerful impersonal force somewhere
out there in the universe. We see Him as a personal presence, interested in us,
desiring to help us.
‘I call you My friends’ (Jn 15,15).
We might wish He were further away in our desire to take
liberties with His commands, but we always come back to realizing He is the
only way we can find happiness.
He is indeed far away but also close, aware of our innermost
thoughts. We cannot hide even if we wanted to; but we don’t want to, not when
we have sorted out a few things.
As we come to know more about God we see what all the controversy
was about. The saints show us the way to follow. While everyone is playing Him
down they give all for His sake.
He is not just a wise man, or another prophet, cut off too
soon.
He Is God, and so must be given all the attention, honour
and obedience. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain (Rev 5,12).
If we don’t see this now we will see it later, either at a
point of personal conversion or death.
The parable of the Sower presents the final status of each
disciple, but for those who are still alive there is still time to repent.
So we can get to the fourth group, with the rich harvest, if
we can focus ourselves in that direction.
With a sufficient dosage of heavenly grace we can start
again.
For now let us rejoice in Christ’s existence, importance,
goodness, desirability and similar qualities, and take from St Paul and other
saints the example of what it means to
seek God and really get serious about knowing Him, not fearing what the world
does to us, but claiming that world for Him. Thy Kingdom come!
The human race does not think they need Him; they can do
better. They cannot, but they think they can!
We are here to show what can be achieved by faithful
disciples who love Him enough to suffer in His name.
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