June
5, 2016
10th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
1
Kings 17:17-24; Gal 1:11-19; Luke 7:11-17
I remember two
weeks ago, a friend asked me to say mass at the wake of an old couple who both
died in a tragic car accident which happened abroad. What happened was as the couple was driving
on their way home, a speeding car with a drunken driver hit them. The rescuers
said the couple died holding each other’s hands. When their lifeless bodies
were brought here in the Philippines, I visited the wake and said mass for
them. After the mass one of the daughters approached me and said, “Father thank
you for presence. But honestly, I still ask myself why did this happen to us?
Why did God allow this to happen? Where is God in the midst of this tragic event?”
This is one of
the most difficult questions I have encountered in life – more difficult than
taking any kind of exam. Sometimes the
only response we can give to questions like these is our presence. If we look at our readings today, perhaps we
may find some clues to questions like, where
is God in the midst of suffering? What must we do when we undergo pain and
suffering?
Let
us reflect on this in three points:
WE
MUST APPROACH THE LORD IN TIMES OF PAIN AND SUFFERING. When Jesus in the gospel saw the
widow weeping at the death of her only son, Jesus,
took the initiative to approach her and console her with His very presence. It
is as if Jesus was telling the widow, “I feel what you feel and I am here to
journey with you in your pain.”
Oftentimes when
we feel that God is silent in our own experience of suffering, we feel that God
has left us alone. But Jesus in today’s gospel tells us that he has actually
never left us. God is truly Emmanuel. He is God with us. He journeys with us in
our pain. Perhaps this is the reason why
God seems to be silent – because God also feels the pain we feel. God also
suffers when we suffer. It is alright to approach the Lord, cry out to him especially
in times of pain and suffering.
This was the
prayer of Elijah in the first reading. The widow complained to prophet Elijah
and said, “Did you come here to bring death to my only son and punish me for my
sins?” Elijah in turn complained to the Lord in prayer and said, “O God will
you even afflict the widow who welcomed me as a guest into her house?” God
knows how many times we have lamented before the Lord in the face of undeserved
suffering. Lamenting is a form of
prayer. Let us not hesitate to approach the Lord, cry out to Him, lament before
the Lord. Hopefully this experience of prayer may bring us some consolation.
But how does one find consolation in Jesus?
My brothers and
sisters this is how compassionate our Lord is. He is willing to extend help to
those who are in need. Let us not be afraid to approach Jesus. He has a
merciful and compassionate
heart. If we show Him our wounds, pain and suffering, He will console us. What
is the invitation of the Lord’s compassion to us?
TO
BE COMPASSIONATE AS THE HEAVENLY FATHER IS COMPASSIONATE. This
is actually the theme for this Year of Mercy. Compassion is not only an emotion.
Compassion is not simply sympathizing with the person. Compassion is a force
that moves one to concrete actions of helping those who are in need. It is not
easy to be compassionate especially if we have not yet experienced the Lord’s
compassion. Remember Paul in the second reading,
his conversion experience was a manifestation of the Lord’s compassion. This
became the turning point of his life from being a persecutor of Christians to a
compassionate follower of Jesus. That is why we need to open ourselves to
experience the compassion of Jesus so that we can extend it to others.
In this mass, let
us approach the Lord and present to him our wounds, pain and suffering. Let us
open ourselves to the Lord to experience his consoling compassion so that we in
turn may be compassionate as the Heavenly father is compassionate. Amen.
