Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
We all suffer. This is a given fact of life, we come with many wounds. These wounds can be from a childhood marked by abuse, poverty, ridicule, maybe racism, or trauma. We might have wounds because we have made poor choices that have marked us, maybe you have had an affair, or got in trouble with the law, or cut off a family member from your life. You might have physical or mental difficulties that make normal living difficult. We all have wounds. But there is power in what we suffer.
Yes, you heard me correctly, there is power in your suffering. Look at the leper in the gospel today. He was in great suffering. His body was racked with sores and lesions, cut off from society and the people he loved, and hated by those who saw him. Yet! Yet, his suffering brought about the power of God. Jesus willed that he be loved and encountered in his pain, and then be healed.
While his physical ailments were healed, we still have to consider the harm done to him by religious society and by his friends and family for casting him out. What about that? You might have received some physical or mental healing but still have to deal with the darkness that came with it. Is that still power? Yes.
The leper went and proclaimed Jesus Christ and his power, and it released the anger and hatred he may have had because he allowed the light to enter the darkness. The power comes in owning the suffering, in allowing God to encounter and heal it, and then to proclaim it, releasing you from its grasp. There is great power in what you suffer.
Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections