Transforming Suffering
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,”God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Mt 16:21-27
After forty days of not eating in the desert, Jesus was tempted by Satan to turn stone to bread so He could eat and not suffer hunger any longer. This was the constant temptation of the devil to Jesus: to avoid suffering because he knows by pain Jesus will win over death including the devil himself and save mankind from sin.
Thus, when Peter objected to Jesus’ suffering and dying, He called Peter “Satan” because Peter was doing the work of Satan which was preventing Jesus from suffering and dying. Matt 16:21-27
Jesus followed the way of suffering so must also all his disciples. Thus, Jeremiah suffered so much from his own fellow Jews in following Yahweh’s calling to warn them of their impending exile into Babylon. We would understand then why Jeremiah complained that he was fooled by Yahweh because in agreeing to be God’s spokesman he had to trek the difficult way of suffering. Jer 20:7-9
St. Paul repeats this idea when invites the Romans to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Rom 12:1-2
Suffering is inevitable in everyone’s life. While it transforms many into bitter persons, a few turn out as better people instead. Why is it so? I suppose it depends on who they follow in their suffering. If Christ is with us, He can make our suffering sweet so that we transform ourselves like unto Him.
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