HOMILY WEEK 11 04 – Yr II

Redemptive Suffering and the Test

(Sir 48:1-14; Ps 97; Mt 6:7-15)

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Elijah continues to be the focus of the first reading in today’s liturgy. In this passage, we hear about him as an epic hero from the point of view of another Old Testament author – Sirach, extolling his praises.

His role and the Our Father in the Gospel invite us into a spiritual journey of transformation through redemptive suffering.

Elijah figures in two significant passages in the New Testament – one involving John the Baptist, and the other at the Transfiguration. Both involve the theme of transformation.

In the gospel, the people wondered if John the Baptist was Elijah returned to turn the hearts of parents towards their children, to bring about conversion and transformation.

At the transfiguration, Jesus is transformed or transfigured in the presence of Moses and Elijah, who were talking to him about his passion, his suffering, his passing in Jerusalem.

The Our Father ends with a prayer not to be led into the “test” or “time of trial” in today’s gospel. That test or trial is the experience of the “apparent absence of God” that Jesus underwent on the Cross. For us, it will be the invitation to accept some suffering in our lives in which God seems to be absent, without bitterness or resentment, as Jesus did.

After St. Mother Theresa died, it was discovered she experienced only dryness and desolation in her life of prayer after she began her ministry to the dying in Calcutta. It appeared to her that God had abandoned her, yet she carried on with her ministry seemingly full of joy flowing from an intimate relationship with God. When this news broke, some in the secular world questioned her sanctity. The reason for that questioning is they did not understand the spiritual reality of this “apparent absence of God” given only to those of great faith, like Jesus on the cross when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Far from a lack of faith, that experience is a sign of great faith.

Well known spiritual writer Henri Nouwen was faced with this reality when he returned to his homeland to be with his dying mother. He was looking forward to being with her during her last moments on earth, because his mother was a holy woman and an exemplary Christian. Instead of a peaceful scene, however, he found her restless and agitated in her last days, and that really bothered him. It wasn’t until he was reflecting on that experience on the way home that he finally understood what had happened – his mother had always prayed she would live and die like Jesus, and her prayer was answered. Jesus did not die calmly like Socrates, but rather as one experiencing fully the human condition of dying – and so did his mother. She was experiencing the “apparent absence of God” just like Jesus.

That is actually what we pray about in the last part of the Our Father. Matthew has the most accurate expression – he has us pray not to be put to the “time of trial” rather than “lead us not into temptation.” That test or trial is precisely that experience of the apparent absence of God. Our faith isn’t as strong as that of Mother Theresa or Nouwen’s mother, so we pray not to be given that experience. It will come to us in small doses – less profound moments of wondering where God is when things don’t go quite our way.

Jesus closes today’s gospel passage with the cryptic saying if we do not forgive those who hurt us, we will not be able to receive forgiveness. This teaching ties in with that experience of the apparent absence of God. Victims of sexual abuse especially are those who cry out, “Where was God when this happened to me?” The answer is that in Jesus, God was there with them, not taking away the pain, but experiencing the pain with them, and if they have faith, giving them the strength to transform that pain into forgiveness. When they are able to do that, their dignity, innocence and self-worth returns to them, because they are just like Jesus on the cross, transforming seemingly meaningless suffering into pure love as forgiveness that leads to the new life of resurrection.

This understanding also sheds light on the desire of Pope Francis to change the wording of the Our Father to take away any impression of God leading us into temptation. That problem would be solved if we used Matthew’s version of the prayer – lead us not into the test, rather than temptation.

The Eucharist is a sharing in the redemptive suffering of Jesus that included the experience of the apparent absence of God. May our celebration empower us to understand and appreciate the role of redemptive suffering in our lives, as the path to personal and communal transformation.