Both readings present innocent men of God in deep trouble. Jesus is about to be stoned and Jeremiah is surrounded by enemies who want to kill him. The suffering of good and innocent people puzzles many of us. For some people, it is a stumbling block against belief in a loving God. But throughout the Old and the New Testament, we meet faithful and loyal men and women persecuted, tortured, and killed. And it does not end there. Church history is a history of martyrdom. I do not speak of the Catholic Church only, but all Christian denominations have their martyrs, faithful souls who were persecuted for their faith.
Why do good people have to suffer so much? We encounter here one of the deepest mysteries of our faith. And since it is a mystery, we might not be able to find a satisfying answer. In a book by Peter Kreeft, “Making Choices”, I found these profound lines: “God in His wisdom deliberately allows bad times, troubles, trials and temptations to happen precisely to hammer out saints on the anvil of suffering in the furnace of wickedness.”
Without…
Just think for a moment: How difficult it would be to become a saint if everything in life were easy! Without suffering, we would not develop compassion. Without suffering, we would not know what courage is. Further, without the temptation to lie, we would not struggle for the virtue of honesty. Without attacks on our faith, we would not be challenged to defend and fight for our faith. “If sanctity would not cost anything, how could it be worthy for anything?” Peter Kreeft asks and concludes that “only in a bad world can we become good.”
Saints are men and women with a core of steel. No saint was ever soft. All were “hammered on the anvil of suffering” into saints. Do not believe those sweet pictures of Jesus or of the saints who look as if they were made from sugar.
The persecuted prophet Jeremiah, Jesus and the saints make us look at suffering from a new angle: It is a way God molds us into strong saints with an iron core.
Lord, thank You for opening my eyes to a deeper meaning of suffering. Help me to discover behind the unpleasant facade of trials Your divine love, molding me into something better than I am now.
Reflection Question:
How do I face suffering when it enters my life?
