Bible
Study: Isaiah 50:5-9. / James 2:14-18. / Mark 8:27-35.
AT the
heart of today’s message lies a question that has never ceased to be on the
lips of Christians generally: “Why do we have to suffer at all?” If God is our
father and he loves and cares for us, then why can’t he prevent us from ever
experiencing even the slightest form of pain?
Basically,
this was the same question that Peter asked Jesus today after Jesus told the
disciples openly about how he was to suffer many things, and be killed to then
rise again. Peter was like: “No, now, this cannot happen to you. No way. Why do
you have to suffer? Is there no other way you can get to glory without having
to pass through such?
Peter,
like every one of us was merely being himself. And I am sure, if anyone of us
here was in Peter’s shoes, we would have done what he did. After all, Peter had
just answered a question that won him an award from Christ himself. Matthew’s
version of today’s Gospel passage mentions how Jesus said to Peter, for
answering correctly, “I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will
build my church.” Matthew 16:18.
That is to
say, when Peter was speaking to Jesus about the need to evade suffering, he wasn’t
doing so as an ordinary fisherman, he was actually making his first official
pronouncement as Pope. His words had the power to change the course of our
salvation history. But the great shock came when Jesus out of the blues responded:
GET BEHIND ME SATAN. This words must have caused a psychological earthquake
both for Peter himself and the entire disciples with him.
Have you
ever had course to ask God this same question before? Why must we suffer? Today,
God is giving us an answer. We cannot get to him without letting go of the
world. And if letting go of the world requires that we suffer the pain of not having
enough or total detachment from material things, then we must embrace suffering
wholeheartedly. We cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. For instance,
a lady is desperately looking for a job and each time, she turns down a job
offer simply because she refuses to jump into bed with the men offering to help
her. Her pain and suffering is because she is a Christian, her joblessness is a
cross but she knows that her soul is more important than even earning a seven
digit salary.
It is
funny how Christians and ministers today interpret the Bible. They tell you
that since Christ has died, he has carried all our sorrows away, that, Christ
has nailed all our sufferings to the cross and that since he said on the cross
that “It is finished” all our troubles and difficulties are subsequently
finished. So therefore, they erroneously preach that as Christians, we are
meant to enjoy the best of all life has to offer. This is the root of the
Gospel of Prosperity.
But let’s
look carefully at it. Did Christ ever say that once he carried his cross, we
would never have to suffer ourselves? Did Christ say we would only enjoy
prosperity and riches and glory and never have to give up anything since he has
suffered already on our behalf? What exactly did Christ say?
Mark
8:34-38 states: “If any man would come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF and TAKE
UP HIS CROSS and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and
whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does
it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? For what can a
man give in return for his life? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man also be
ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
In a
climate like ours that has already become so used to hearing things like “My
God is not a poor God” or “God will supply all my needs according to his riches
in glory” or “I desire above all things that you may prosper even as your souls
prospereth”, in a climate like ours that loves to sing songs such as “Me, I no
go suffer, I no go beg for food, God of miracle, na my papa eeeh, na my papa
eeh,” it would sound like a shock to say this but it is the truth: That, UNLESS
WE ARE READY TO SUFFER, WE CANNOT GET TO HEAVEN.
What Prosperity
Gospel does is to deny the cross and turn the earth into some kind of heaven. It
takes our mind away from God into the object of material riches such that
having money becomes even more important than living a holy life. When Jesus
Christ himself says we must deny ourselves, detach ourselves from worldly
things, take up our cross to follow him, prosperity Gospel declares the very
opposite. It says we must attach ourselves, and acquire as much as we can of
the world’s goods as evidence of following Jesus. Dear friends, if there is anything
one can boast of, for having to follow Jesus, it is the cross that one is
carrying, not the size of one’s bank account nor the type of car one is
driving. At the heart of this prosperity Gospel is a satanic lust for riches
and wealth.
Let us not
be deceived, anybody offering you a cross-less Christ is an anti-Christ. Anybody
who tries to preach to you that suffering is a curse, anybody telling you that
since you are Christian, you will never have to make any sacrifice or deny
yourself from pleasures of the world, please say to such a person: GET BEHIND
ME SATAN.
In Matthew
6:19-21, Jesus says to us: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and
where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also.” Going further in that same passage, verse 31 to 33, Jesus
says: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall
we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and
his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”
How do we
seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness? By helping the poor. That is why in
Luke 12:33, Jesus says: “Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide
yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens
that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.” This is
what St. James is talking about in today’s Second reading. The only way we can
show that we really have faith in God is by helping the poor.
Each time
we give freely, we do so because we know that God is seeing what we do in
secret and that he would reward us in due time. On the other hand, if we turn a
cold heart towards the poor and needy, we are simply doing so because we don’t trust
that God will provide for us so we are trying to guard what we have as if our
life depends on our strength. Coldness to the poor is a sign of a deep seated
lack of faith and attachment to material goods.
Conclusion:
To put all that I have said to far in one sentence, suffering is part of our
lives as Christians, we suffer not because God is not powerful enough or is not
loving enough, we suffer because we cannot get to God unless we drop the things
of the world behind and one way we are encouraged to suffer is by giving out
our goods freely to the poor and needy that we may gain treasures in heaven.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, I take my daily crosses, I welcome the monotony, discomfort,
disappointment, tensions, set-backs that may come to me if only to remain with
you. Help me to carry my cross diligently and share my goods with the poor.
Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy Sunday.
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