Mt 17:9a,10-13
Suffering Is Part of the Plan
9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”10 The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
The Disciples were so fixed on John the Baptist that they missed Jesus's prediction of his impending sufferings and death. And certainly they had no thoughts about their own persecution, sufferings and death. Neither do we, except that when illness and suffering turn our lives in a different direction, we realize that God is calling us to something deeper, to union with him in his sufferings, and yes, even death. It's not easy to forgo a former way of life and adjust, let's say, to a more sedentary, less independent lifestyle. It's not easy to depend on others for rides and not just jump into our own vehicle and take off to do our errands or go to a movie. For the bed-ridden, it's even worse, but if Jesus could suffer, so can and must we. Let us turn our lives more and more over to him, and accept whatever he is asking us to do.
Bro. Rene
Dear Jesus, help me to drink willingly from the cup of suffering as you did. Amen.
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