29th Sunday Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11, Hebrews 3:14-16, Mark 10:35-45

The first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, clearly speaks about the role of sufferings in life, not only for the “suffering servant”. But also, for us, ordinary people. The call of God of our ancestors is an invitation to accept the sufferings of others into our own lives in order to bring about a deep love and reconciliation in the world.

Anyone who has ever lived with others- and that is all of us!-knows the difference between taking on another person’s sufferings or leaving the person to find his or her own way or even rejecting the person. If we meditate for a moment about taking on the sufferings of another person, we can think of some examples. When someone bursts into my life full of anger directed at me, my instinct is to become angry right back in order to protect myself. The whole relationship can change if I am willing to take on the sufferings (anger in this case). A relationship change’s also when someone comes to my door asking for money and I am able to give them a good word (even when I cannot give money). We can think of so many similar situations in which our response to a perhaps negative event causes the whole event to change character.

Once we have meditated on this first reading, we begin to understand its relationship to today’s Gospel. Jesus is face to face with his followers, who want some kind of prestige and honor. Right away we notice that Jesus does not rebuke them. Jesus does not react to such desires except to point out that there’s another way to live. This truly is taking on the sufferings of others rather than responding to such faults with love and with a different point of view. The whole situation changes.

Today we can reflect on these teachings of Jesus. Are we willing to be servants of others? Probably no very much! Are we willing to strive for inner peace and tranquility so that we face every situation with this inner freedom to respond and to invite others to the path peace? Let us take on the sufferings of others in order to help bring peace to our world- and to follow our Lord Christ.