5º Domingo de Pascua

05-15-2022Weekly Reflection© LPi

El Tiempo de la Pascua trata de hacer nuevas todas las cosas, de mirar la vida con ojos nuevos. Es decir, con la memoria siempre viva y activa en la mañana de la resurrección, con la esperanza de que Cristo está presente entre nosotros. No fue un fantasma el que resucitó, es Jesús vivo que pide que lo toquemos como él mismo pidió al apóstol santo Tomás. El sufrimiento es cosa del pasado. ¿Crees esto?

En la segunda Lectura de la Liturgia de la Palabra, el libro del Apocalipsis nos lo presenta así: “Esta es la morada de Dios entre los hombres; el habitará en medio de ellos; ellos serán su pueblo y él será su Dios – con ellos; él enjugará las lágrimas de sus ojos. Ya no habrá muerte ni lamento, ni llanto ni pena, pues todo lo anterior ha pasado” (Apocalipsis 21:3-4). Pero, para que el sufrimiento pase, necesitamos el amor, la compasión, la empatía de los unos para con los otros. Nada se hace por magia, se debe de poner la entrega, el compromiso a la persona. “Les doy un mandamiento nuevo: que se amen los unos a los otros. Ustedes deben amarse unos a otros como yo los he amado” (Juan 13:34-35).

El Papa Francisco nos dice que “El amor es el único documento válido para ser reconocidos como discípulos de Jesús”. Ahora bien, al ya saber todo esto, ¿cuál será nuestra respuesta? ¿Nos quedaremos impávidos sin hacer nada ante el sufrimiento y la injusticia? O, por el contrario, ¿lucharemos contra viento y marea por hacer el bien? ¡De ti depende todo!

“It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Many folks really work very hard to circumvent difficult situations. We prefer the easier way around something, rather than risk inconvenience, hurt or prolonged suffering. It’s no wonder euthanasia is rapidly becoming acceptable around the world. Through purely human eyes, there is no issue bypassing the inevitable, taking control and bringing things more swiftly to a place of peace. If this is the way God sees things, then why does Jesus make such a big deal helping us understand the experience of suffering and embrace it? God’s wisdom clearly takes us in another direction.

Imagine if we were able to eradicate ALL hardship and suffering. Where would we be? As we look at our own journeys, many of our solid more growth producing life lessons have been born of suffering, disappointment, inconvenience, darkness, and despair. There is something sacred about all of these experiences as God uses them to create something new. Envisioning a life without hardship and suffering brings us to a vision where everything is flat-lined and dull. As much as hardship and suffering are difficult crosses to bear, not taking them up runs the risk of us becoming shallow, empty, and lifeless. Helen Keller remarks that, “a happy life consists not in the absence but in the mastery of hardships.” What an incredibly wise insight! Many really successful people and saints were brought to their station in life because they suffered. Suffering teaches us about what’s important and propels us to search the depths of our souls for resources and strength we never would have known before.

This is especially true when we love as Jesus asks us to love. Love, perhaps above any other experience, can cause us great hardship, pain, and suffering especially when it’s authentic and unconditional. While it can thrust us into an incredible experience of God and life on one hand, it can bruise and wound us deeply on the other. Mastering the art of love is the secret to living life well, walking in the presence of God and investing in the joy of the Gospel. Love and suffering walk hand in hand. Compromising one will compromise the other. Maybe that’s why Jesus spent so much time convincing us to accept both.

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