Homily 372 – Saved Through Suffering – 5th Sunday of Lent

Throughout salvation history, God has chosen to enter into covenants with his people. We may think of this word as being similar to a contract, but there is key distinction. Contracts involve the exchange of things or services; a covenant in biblical language always involves an exchange of persons, creating a new family relationship.

Jesus has this kind of relationship with his father. It is relationship of intimacy and not mere obligation. It is this intimate trust that allows Jesus to surrender himself to the Father’s will in the Garden of Gethsemane. The prayer of Jesus is described as involving “loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death.” That sounds like some powerful prayer, but why then did the Father seemingly not answer the prayer? If he was the one who could save Jesus from death, why didn’t he?

I contend that he did. The Father did save the son from death, but not by avoiding death. Rather, Jesus was saved from death by going through it and conquering it. This is a much greater “saving” than if Jesus had simply avoided the cross. Now, none of us need fear death at all. We know that there is something better on the other side of death and so death no longer has power over us. Jesus conquered death not by avoiding death but by going through it.

This is the seeming paradox of the Christian life. You want to bear fruit and really live? You have to be like a seed and die. You want to keep your life? Lose it. You want to be happy? Accept suffering. In fact, spending life trying to avoid suffering is a recipe for great unhappiness. Jesus gives us the example. Do we trust the Father enough to surrender to his will? Are we willing to die to ourselves so that we can live? Instead of avoiding suffering, make it your prayer. Cry out to God, even with tears. You too can be saved through suffering.