Week of March 19, 2000
Rolf J.

"Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected...."
     Matthew 16: 21

When Jesus taught that for him to be the Son of God meant that he would suffer and die, Peter, we are told, rebuked him. Why? Because for Peter, as for many of us, the idea that Jesus is God and that Jesus must suffer were contradictory. But the cross of Christ is not just a mechanism by means of which we are saved; it is not just a transaction between the Father and the Son. The cross is the best clue to what God is like and where God is present in the world. That is, precisely because Jesus is the Son of God he HAD to suffer and die. Because that is where God is... in suffering, in rejection, in death. God does not reveal the divine presence through wealth or power or worldly honor, but in the humbleness of everyday pain. Martin Luther understand that when he wrote:

"True Christian religion begins, not at the top, as other religions do, but at the bottom. Therefore, whenever you are concerned to consider your salvation, you must put away all speculations about the majesty of God, and put away all thoughts of works, traditions, and philosophy. You must run directly to the manger and the virgin's womb, embrace this infant and look at him -- born, nursing, growing up, going about human society, teaching, dying, rising again...." Luther, 'The Commentary on Galatians', 1:4

Lord, teach us to see your death as our life, your suffering as our hope, and your pain as our healing. In your name we pray. Amen.

Contributed by Rolf J.
Published Sunday March 19, 2000
Week 17 of Liturgical Year B