A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 4, n. 43)
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – September 17, 2006
“The Suffering Servant-Messiah”
BIBLE READINGS
Is 50:4c-9a // Jas 2:14-18 // Mk 8:27-35
N.B. This new series of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY presents a biblico-liturgical study of the First Reading of each Sunday Mass to serve as background for a better understanding of the Gospel proclaimed in the liturgy. For a biblico-liturgical study of the Gospel for each Sunday, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US.
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
One of the most beautiful stories I have ever read is “To Live Again” by Harold Koenig, M.D. (cf. “To Live Again” in GUIDEPOSTS, September 2006, p. 20-24). The psychiatrist Dr. Koenig, who is the coordinator of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University in North Carolina, suffers from a crippling disease that racks him with vicious pain. Here is the inspiring personal account of how he was to deal with his sickness and suffering.
“I had been diagnosed with psoriatic inflammatory arthritis. My immune system was attacking my tendons and joints. Any part of my body I used repetitively – legs, knees, ankles, hands, shoulders, back – could become inflamed. The disease could be progressive. There was no cure. Part of me was relieved to have a diagnosis – no more mystery pain. But then I saw the fear in Charmin’s eyes. I knew she was already mourning our walks together, our hiking vacations. I looked at Jordan. What kind of father will I be? Will we play baseball together? Can we even roughhouse? That night, I lay in bed, unable to sleep. My back was throbbing. But it wasn’t just the pain keeping me awake. Why? I asked, cycling through thoughts of patients, research, all that I felt God had called me to do. Is all this work for nothing? Is it all going to get swallowed up in some disease? What am I supposed to do?
The bedroom was dark, the pain relentless. Finally, I got up and limped to the sofa in the living room. I lay on it and found the soft cushions eased the ache. Thank you, God, I prayed. And then it hit me. It was such a simple movement, from bed to sofa. God didn’t snap his fingers and make the pain go away. He didn’t promise to cure me. But he did show me how to adapt, how to live instead of giving up. Maybe that’s what I’m supposed to do, learn to follow God with the pain – and then help others do the same. Lord, that sounds hard. But if you’re with me, I’ll try. ”
God showed Dr. Koenig how to live with pain and how to help others cope with it. In embracing the mystery of suffering and in trusting the divine saving will, he was able to experience that God works through our weakness and our strength. Indeed, Dr. Koenig is a sterling example of how a disciple could participate fully and intimately in the paschal destiny of Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant- Messiah.
In today’s Old Testament reading (Is 50:4c-9a) we hear the confessions of the Suffering Servant of Yahweh whose faith in God is unflinching, despite tremendous opposition and persecution. Taken from the third poem of the “Suffering Servant”, this Sunday’s passage is a poetic reflection on suffering in the service of God. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 5, comment: “In this poem, the Servant himself speaks. He evokes the ill treatment that his torturers have inflicted on him, resorting to blows in order to crush him by physical pain, and to insulting actions in order to overwhelm him under their contempt … But the way in which these torments are spoken of shows us a man of extraordinary grandeur and dignity: physically reduced to nothing in his body, he has not been injured in his soul. What is more, he remains serene beyond what we can imagine. No violence has succeeded in altering in the slightest his nonviolence. The Suffering Servant indicates from what sources he draws the strength of his nonviolence and his serenity in the worst of tribulations: The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear. And I have not rebelled; have not turned back. Therefore, this man has heard God revealing both his plan and mission to which he calls his servant in view of accomplishing his work. At the same time, this man learned of the difficulties he would have to face. God never deals with anybody in a disloyal manner. But he expects a complete trust and a total commitment of being, soul and body, from those he calls … Then, in spite of their weakness, humans become able to do anything. The servant experiences this certitude again and again: The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.”
Christian tradition has seen the Suffering Servant, persecuted unjustly by his enemies but then glorified by God, as one of the most striking figures of Jesus Christ. It was Jesus who remained true to his mission in spite of opposition and persecution. It was Jesus who suffered cruel torments with unflinching courage. Abandoned and rejected, Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant-Messiah, relied on God alone for strength and vindication.
The prophetic image of the Suffering Servant can also be applied to any Christian disciple who stands for principle against all odds. The Servant of Yahweh who suffers in the service of God is a model of Christian discipleship, which involves denying oneself, taking up the cross, and losing one’s life for the sake of Christ and his Gospel. Such radical discipleship is made possible by the Lord God who comes to the aid of the suffering servant who is totally surrendered to the divine ineffable love. Indeed, suffering is integral to Christian faith. The following of Jesus involves redemptive sacrifice.
The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent remarks: “We see the Christian’s suffering as a sharing in the glorious Passion of Christ as he undertakes the redemption of mankind and the rebuilding of the world. The suffering of the Servant of God, that is, of Christ is a priestly sacrifice. Consequently, as each Christian follows the lead of Christ, he shares more fully in the priesthood of Christ who offers himself and mankind. From this we see that the only useless suffering is the suffering we do not accept and offer to God; every other suffering is redemptive.”
PERSONAL REFLECTION
By Andy Ruperto
Fresno, CA – U.S.A.
“Only this I want: but to know the Lord, and to bear His cross, so to wear the crown He wore.”
Jesus, my Lord, who are You?
The Gospel passage for this week contains a question that goes to the heart of Christianity and of our Christian faith. It is posed by our Lord Jesus as He journeys with his disciples to “the villages of Caesarea Philippi”. The disciples, at this point, have been with Jesus for a while and have seen Him do mighty deeds, but there is still a cloud of mystery surrounding Jesus’ identity. So our Lord asks two important questions. The first one is “Who do people say that I am?” They answer Him, John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” Then Jesus asks the climactic second question, “But who do you say that I am?”
Jesus, my Lord, who are You?
So Peter replies – St. Peter … so bold … so quick to reply … so eager to speak his mind and to speak his heart. He replies, “You are the Messiah.” Can we speak this from our hearts with our first pope? Can we state it with our whole being? Can we be true to this faith? Well, to state it with our whole being we must first know what it means.
Jesus, my Lord, who are You?
To understand what it means to be the Messiah we look to our Lord’s following words. First he warned His disciples “not to tell anyone about Him”. Then He goes on to predict His passion and the necessity of the Cross. The Messiah is SAVIOR and has a mission to accomplish. The proclamation to the world must come after His death and resurrection. His mission is to become a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin through His blood on the cross. The savior is the one who “saves us from the fires of hell” and allows us to enter into the heavenly kingdom.
Jesus, my Lord, who are You?
We reach here a disparity between Peter’s idea of a Messiah and God’s idea of the Messiah. Peter is right in saying that Jesus is the Messiah, but his idea of what that means has to change. Peter is looking for a glorified earthly Messiah. This is why our Lord must rebuke Simon Peter. Satan’s road is earthly glory and the avoidance of the cross. Jesus has to show the world that to be His disciple is not to avoid or deny the cross but to accept, face, and embrace it as the means to our salvation. Jesus says, “My kingdom is not of this world.” We with Simon Peter must remember that we are in exile and that we are called to be witnesses of the coming kingdom.
Jesus, my Lord, who are You?
So too on our journey of faith, Jesus will ask us, “Who do people say that I am?” We might answer, “You are regarded as a mighty prophet in Islam and Judaism. Others say, “You are one of the many founders of a religion with good teachings …” Then He will ask, “But who do you say that I am?”
And we will say …
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
A. What insights do we glean from the experience of the Suffering Servant whose trust in God is unflinching? Are we faithful to God’s commands and rely on him for strength and vindication? Have we tried to negate, resist or repel the various trials and sufferings that come our way? Have we let ourselves be overwhelmed with despair in the midst of pain and suffering?
B. Do we look to Christ as the fullfilment of the Suffering Servant song? How does the life of Christ, the Suffering Servant-Messiah, touch us and give us strength? Do we trust that the Lord comes to the aid of his Suffering Servant who suffers in the service of God and for his glory?
C. Do we believe that suffering is an integral element of Christian faith? Do we welcome the reality of suffering as a share in the glorious Passion of Christ? Do we wish to participate more fully in the paschal destiny of Christ, the Suffering Servant-Messiah, as he redeems mankind and rebuilds the world? Do we rejoice that our suffering is a priestly and redemptive act?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
(Adapted from Days of the Lord, vol. 5, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1993, p. 228)
Leader: Jesus became the master, not through others’ sufferings but through his own sufferings. And he himself has first tasted bitterness for he has explained to us that we do not become disciples through titles, but through suffering.
Assembly: Lord Jesus, you are our help and strength. Together with you we taste the bitterness of suffering and the dregs of human pain. May we experience the redemptive value of suffering and the saving meaning of the life-giving cross. Enable us to take up our cross daily and follow you on the road that leads to life. Give us the joy and strength to participate more intimately in your paschal destiny as Suffering Servant-Messiah. We thank and praise you for giving us the grace to suffer with you and for transforming our suffering into a priestly sacrifice, for the glory of God and the good of our souls, now and forever. Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.” (Is 50:7)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
A. ACTION PLAN: Pray for those who are afflicted with any kind of pain and are overwhelmed by trials and sufferings. Offer your own sufferings in union with Christ as a priestly sacrifice. Endeavor to help people live through their pain and loneliness, to unite their sacrifice with that of Christ, and to embrace the mystery of the cross with unflinching courage and trust.
B. ACTION PLAN: To help us contemplate more deeply and thank the goodness and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Suffering Servant-Messiah, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR (Vol. 2, n. 43): A Weekly Pastoral Tool.
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US