Oblates of St. Francis de Sales

New DeSales World Newsletter - Summer Edition

29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (October 22, 2006)

Readings Is 53: 10-11 Ps 33: 4-5, 18-20, 22 Heb 4: 14-16 Mk 10: 35-45 or 10: 42-45

Suggested Emphasis

"Through his suffering my servant shall justify many."

Salesian Perspective

Following the admonition of Christ that we should be the servants of others wouldn't sound so daunting if it weren't for one little word.

Suffering.

Jesus is very clear: to serve is to suffer; to suffer is to serve. This begs the question: did Jesus serve because he liked pain?

Consider the meaning of the word "suffering." The American Heritage Dictionary describes suffering as "to feel pain or distress; sustain loss, injury, harm or punishment." Jesus certainly experienced all these things in a big way. In this regard, we have in Christ one who is able to sympathize with us. (Hebrews)

But suffering is more than simply experiencing pain. The same dictionary directs the reader to consider the roots of the English word servant, and therein we find a powerful revelation: in its root meaning, to suffer is to carry, to bear, to "bear children."

Suffering is not simply the ability to experience pain. No, suffering is the willingness to forbear, to persevere, to carry on in doing what is right and just, what is healthy and holy even in the face of opposition or resistance. Suffering is the pain that comes from efforts at bringing forth life in the lives of others.

This kind of suffering is not powerless passivity. This suffering - divine suffering - is about being proactive. This suffering - this service - is a matter of choice: the choice to love.

Jesus did not love to suffer. Jesus suffered precisely because he was willing to love. Jesus suffered - he persevered - in his commitment to being a source of love in the lives of others.

That's what made Jesus a servant. That's what can make us true servants. Like Jesus, while our love will be marked with suffering, it is far more important that our suffering be expressions of our love.

Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS, is the Executive Director of the De Sales Spirituality Center.