Don’t run from suffering; embrace it!

Matthew 16:21-27

21 From that time Jesus began telling his followers that he must go to Jerusalem. He explained that the older Jewish leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of the law would make him suffer many things. And he told his followers that he must be killed. Then, on the third day, he would be raised from death.

22 Peter took Jesus away from the other followers to talk to him alone. He began to criticize him. He said, “God save you from those sufferings, Lord! That will never happen to you!”

23 Then Jesus said to Peter, “Get away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the same things God does. You care only about things that people think are important.”

24 Then Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me. 25 Any of you who try to save the life you have will lose it. But you who give up your life for me will find true life. 26 It is worth nothing for you to have the whole world if you yourself are lost. You could never pay enough to buy back your life. 27 The Son of Man will come again with his Father’s glory and with his angels. And he will reward everyone for what they have done.

Food for thought!

A nun was explaining the Stations of the Cross to her class. They got to the fourth Station were Jesus on the road to Calvary meets his mother. The nun explained that even though they could not talk to each other, mother and son spoke just using their eyes. "What do you think they said to each other?" she asked the pupils. The class gave many different answers. One kid suggested that she said, "This is unfair." Another kid suggested that she said, "Why me?" Finally a sickly little girl raised her thin hand, got up and said: "Sister, I know what the Blessed Mother told Jesus. She said to him, 'Keep on going, Jesus!'" 

Why would a mother encourage her only son on the way to crucifixion to keep on going? Because any mother understands the divine principle of "no cross, no crown." Unless there were mothers prepared to take risks, no child would ever be born. It is the simple lesson of history that it has always been the adventurous souls, bidding farewell to security and safety, who wrote their names on history and greatly helped the world of men. Unless there had been those prepared to take risks, many a medical cure would not exist. 

Peter took Jesus away from the other followers to talk to him alone.

Did you notice what Peter did? He took Jesus. He lead Jesus away. He was in front and Jesus behind! This is why Jesus said to Peter: "Peter, your place is behind me, not in front of me. It is your place to follow me in the way I choose, not to try to lead me in the way you would like me to go." He  recalled him to his proper place, as a follower walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Our place is behind, not ahead of Jesus. We're not in the driver's seat. Jesus is.

What made the temptation more acute was the fact that it came from one who loved him. The hardest temptation of all is the one which comes from a close friend; even friends can become obstacles for us; can become Satan. Satan is any force which seeks to deflect us from the way of God; Satan is any influence which seeks to make us turn back from the hard way that God has set before us; Satan is any power which seeks to change the principle of "no cross, no crown" to "no cross, all crown.''  

In the face of disappointment, bereavement, sickness, ingratitude and failure, our question should never be "Why me?" but ''Why not me?" We must recognise that in every life where there's no pain there's no gain. Let us remember that himself. Not an angel. Not an ambassador. Not an emissary, but Jesus himself. Lived fully. Not partially. Not nearly. Not to a large degree. Entirely! Jesus lived fully the principle: "no cross, no crown."

Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive.