Chosen out of the World

Gospel Reflection for Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023

Jesus said to his disciples:
"If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first.
If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own;
but because you do not belong to the world,
and I have chosen you out of the world,
the world hates you.
Remember the word I spoke to you,
'No slave is greater than his master.'
If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.
If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
And they will do all these things to you on account of my name,
because they do not know the one who sent me."

- Jn 15:18-21

There are several alternate readings for today as this is the day we memorialize the martyrs, Saint Lawrence and his companions and Saint Wenceslaus. Today’s regular Gospel also includes mention of the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist. The message is absolutely clear, the Christian is called to suffer. There is no promise of an easy life for Christians in this life. Even the story of the horrific torture of the devout Jewish family, and their heroism, in the book of Maccabees is included today. This book was removed from Protestant Bibles for the very reason that it teaches Christians to stand firm and to sacrifice everything for the true faith, which since the life, death and resurrection of our Lord, and the day of Pentecost, has been the One, Holy and Apostolic Catholic Church.

Never is this easy. It should not be easy. Another of today’s readings stated that our Lord came to bring not peace, but the sword to those who would follow Him. Imagine that for a moment, the Pince of Peace, did not come to bring us peace in this life. He promises rejection by family and friends, humiliation, struggle and prejudice against those who love Him.

Why, then, would we ever wish to be a faithful Christian and a member of the most hated institution on earth, the Catholic Church? The only answer is that we believe that this life is not all there is. We believe in the afterlife and the resurrection. We believe in the promises of God. We also believe that we may lose the promises of God if we avoid suffering in this life in favor of what is easy and comfortable. We believe that all the good things of this life and the praise of our fellow men, all wealth, power and influence is worth nothing in comparison to what awaits if we strive to do as God asks. We also remember that Satan is the king of this world and that he offered even our Lord all the power and wealth in this life when he tempted Him in the dessert.

It is not a bad thing to be wealthy and powerful, but we must remember that God blesses us with such temporal goods so that we may use them for His purposes. If we have wealth and power, but fail to use it to help others, we sin very gravely. If we have loving friends and family, but fail to love them with the love of God, we sin gravely. If we have health and intelligence, but do not use these gifts in service of God, we commit grave sin. And yes, even if we have none of these things and we suffer horribly, we are still given the choice of suffering in anger and despair as opposed to suffering with and for God.

When God created all that is, He stated that it was very good - all He created is good. He then gave us free will and the ability to use or misuse anything, anyone and any circumstance for either good or evil. We have to cultivate the virtues, personally, so that we may use all aspects of creation for good. In many ways, this is easier than using for good the suffering God allows us to experience.

I recall the words of Viktor Frankl, who suffered in Nazi concentration camps and saw many suffer and die whom he loved. He taught that we cannot choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we respond. How we respond is that on which all hinges. How we respond is our choice between what is natural and what is supernatural. It is so natural as to be essential to human nature that our inclination is to respond to suffering with fear, avoidance, anger, opposition, sadness, resentment, despair, etc. All of these are natural human emotions and responses. To suffer with faith in God’s will, dignity and submission is supernatural and can only come through cooperation with the grace of God.

In every life, each individual is given all that is necessary to attain sainthood. Yes, restraining our base appetites is part of this but, the hardest thing is to suffer as Jesus did and as He calls us to do. In the simplest ailments and heartbreaks, we have the opportunity for holiness. As He said, those who are faithful in the small things will be entrusted with more. If we suffer as called in the small things, our Lord will give us greater struggles and more painful suffering…. this is terrifying! This is a hard truth of Christianity that most of all denominations seek to deny, ignore and hide. But, it is the truth. It is our Way of the Cross.

My grandfather was a Protestant who knew next to nothing about Catholicism. He was a great, powerful man who achieved a great deal of wealth and influence in his life. He was a devout Christian who never failed to help all he could. He gave people jobs and loans, used his influence to help with legal and financial situations. He even built houses and churches for people in his community, of all races, with his own two hands, using the carpentry and brick masonry skills he learned from his father. Many, not all… there were those who resented him, would have said he was a model of Christian masculinity, and I most certainly agree. In the eyes of the world, he should have likely been a senator or a millionaire. Yet, when he was nearing the point of his life where he could stop working so hard and enjoy the fruits of his labor, the home he had built, his farm, his family and his grandchildren, he developed ALS. This physically powerful man with a booming, orator’s voice, who loved to sing, laugh and work with his hands, was paralyzed in every part of his body except for his eyes, heart digestive system. In his last years…. and they were years, he lay in bed, immobile and in excruciating pain. He could only communicate with his eyes, spelling out words by looking right or left as we recited the alphabet and wrote letter by letter on a white board. He breathed with a respirator and had a tube stuck down his throat to vacuum out the mucus from his lungs ever hour. He was fed through a tube inserted in his stomach. He suffered every indignity and even abuse from nurses and so called “medical care.” The brief messages he communicated were often about his mouth being dry, muscle cramps, something poking him or medical tape tearing his bed sores. But, often they were concern for his family.

I will never forget the last message my grandfather taught me before he became immobile. I was maybe 7. I was playing with one of the farm kittens. I had found an old sock and when I held it open, the kitten would stick its head in to see what might be inside. I let go, and suddenly the kitten ran off with the sock stuck on its head. I told my mother what had happened and asked her to help me look for it. My grandfather heard our conversation, and he slowly, painfully rose from his chair, using two canes to help him walk. He motioned for us to follow and he walked down to a pond on the property, indicating that the kitten may have fallen in. He spent hours walking the property, searching for that kitten, experiencing agonizing pain in every step, gasping for air with lungs that were becoming paralyzed and exhausted beyond description.

The thing is though… he knew that kitten would have pulled the sock off of its head and was just fine. He didn’t do that for the kitten. He did it for me. He used his last strength to teach me to be a responsible and caring man. This, to me is a powerful example of the “imitation of Christ”, the suffering to which we are called.

I will end this story with the most important point. My grandfather lived for years in agony, mostly cared for by my mother. She was the only one there when he passed away. It was 4 AM, as it so often is when one passes. She had drifted off into a light sleep. Suddenly, she saw him… young and healthy, running, jumping, laughing and singing gospel songs at the top of his lungs! He was overjoyed to tell her that he was in heaven. She awoke with a start to the sound of the alarms of the medical equipment. His suffering had ended. He had gone to his eternal award, his sins and flaws expiated through faith and suffering.

I do not have any wisdom of my own. I have no answers other than the words of our Lord, the teachings of the Church and the example of those holy people who have gone before me. I can only pray that I will be as faithful.

Judson Carroll is the author of several books, including his newest, Confirmation, an Autobiography of Faith. It is Available in paperback on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C47Q1JNK

His new podcast is The Uncensored Catholic https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-uncensored-catholic