Selection of the sermons of Father Ezekiel Oko
Human suffering also has a meaning: the important lesson from the passion of Jesus Christ
We are already on Palm Sunday, a day also called Passion Sunday. This day is about the suffering of Christ, but before that about his royal entry into Jerusalem. The same crowd that had praised and praised him and accompanied him to Jerusalem in celebration soon afterwards condemned him and demanded his crucifixion. Yes, we heard the suffering of the Son of God today in the Passion. We know the story of suffering well, but we often forget that the Son of God also suffered. He is not exempt from man's destiny. He not only shared in our suffering and fate, but also taught us how to deal with this fate. Moreover, our suffering is sanctified and meaningful by his.
Suffering is the feeling of pain that affects our body or mind, but because the human body and mind form an inseparable unit, the pain does not remain a matter of the body or mind alone, but of the human being as a whole. Man suffers - whether in body or in spirit. The question is, what is the meaning of our suffering? To answer that question, let's consider two important things we can learn from Christ's suffering:
- Suffering is undesirable, but also inevitable. No one desires suffering or pain, but it is inevitable in our lives. It makes sense that we try to avoid suffering whenever possible. In Gethsemane Jesus gave us an example that we may first examine the origin of suffering before we should accept it. He asked his father to spare him the cup of pain. He has expressed that he would like to be spared from suffering. But he has also shown his willingness to accept suffering, if it makes any sense to be in his father's will. I am thinking of the serenity prayer by Reinhard Niebuhr, an American theologian, philosopher and political scientist: "God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can change and... the wisdom to know one from the other.” The more we regret the suffering we cannot avoid, the more we suffer. However, the fact that we have to suffer in some situations does not mean that we do not have a choice in these situations. no After all, we have the choice of accepting suffering in order to find its "why" or rejecting it. However, the attitude of rejection increases the suffering. Because it doubles our suffering.
- Don't ask "Why?", but "Why?". Normally, when faced with inevitable suffering, we ask God, "Why?" "God, why me?" "Why now?" "Why so …?" Such questions are useless. The helpful question is, "God, what is the point of suffering?" That is, we try to find out the meaning of suffering. It is not often that we succeed in discovering the meaning of suffering at the outset. We almost always discover meaning at the very end of suffering. So, we often only recognize the "why" of our suffering at the very end. But there is no suffering that has no “why”. It is not correct to say that God sends us suffering. For suffering is the effect of the behavior of creation, be it human or nature. But, because God is the one who writes straight on crooked lines, He brings all our suffering to a good end. Jesus spoke three times about his suffering. He already knew that his suffering had a purpose. He didn't ask "Why?" but he said to his father, "If your will allows it, then I accept it." One has to adopt the attitude of self-transcendence before any good can come from one's suffering. The attitude of self-transcendence means looking beyond the painful situation or moment, directing one's thoughts to the possible good that can come from suffering. At its best, the attitude of self-transcendence means turning your eyes to God, who absolutely can bring good out of any suffering. Only when I look beyond my destiny and direct my thoughts to God and his power and love can I bear my suffering better.
Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot avoid suffering. Because it is our destiny as humans. But we can choose our attitude towards our suffering. The greatest pain does not come from suffering, but from a wrong attitude towards suffering. Jesus gave us an example so that we too can accept our suffering with serenity. In his suffering, our suffering is sanctified so that we no longer suffer in vain. Let's join all our sorrows to His. He gives us the grace to keep going even when we weep and scream in pain. Because beyond the suffering there is meaning.
Overview