Intro: In these short reflections each month, I try to focus our attention on ways to give a Christian response to life's different situations. In life we suffer, we rejoice and hopefully, finally, we triumph. These situations were present in the lives of Jesus and Mary and are reflected for us in the Mysteries of the Rosary - the Joyful, the Sorrowful and the Glorious. In our last reflection we drew on the First Sorrowful Mystery, the Agony in the Garden of Gethsemani, to consider the need people have to be supported and the pain of being left to suffer alone. Today we move on the Second Mystery - The Scourging of Jesus - in an effort to deal with the problem of random suffering and our response to it.
Experience teaches us that suffering comes into a person's life in two ways; it is self imposed for a purpose, or, randomly, it is inflicted on us from outside sources. When self-imposed, it is done so for a purpose and, generally, is intended as a means of growth - we deny ourselves food to lose weight, or seek to establish a discipline that will enable us to control an addiction. A woman subjects herself to the pains of childbirth because it is creative and gives life. The fact is that whenever we seek growth in our lives, there will always be pain, but it is pain that is tolerable because it leads to growth.
Pain and suffering that comes to us from an outside source is more difficult to deal with, and it is our reaction to it that is important. Such suffering can make people bitter and envious; while others become more sensitive and compassionate. When bad things happen to people, it must be acknowledged that such events are not directly caused by God, but are random events in a random world. The answer to the question, "Why did this happen to me?" is, frequently, "There is no special reason; it happened because that is the kind of world we live in". The answer to the question "What did I do to deserve this?" is, frequently, "You did nothing to deserve it; it just happened". Or, as is frequently said, "Wrong place, wrong time!". If we are to look for meaning in suffering that comes to us from outside sources, it is not to be found in the cause, but in the result. How do we respond to it? The important questions are -"How are you going to react to the suffering that has entered your life?" and "Where are you going to let it lead you?"
The example of Christ at the whipping post gives us new insights into how to deal with pain and suffering. He had been condemned unjustly -"I find no cause against this man; but I will have him whipped"; after the Resurrection, he referred to these experiences as "the pangs that brought life". He is telling us that the indignities we experience before death can be turned to positive advantage. And just as Jesus remained positive in the face of suffering, we can be sure that Mary, too, would have taken a lead from the Son. Although there is little on record concerning Mary's final years, there is every likelihood that they would have resembled those of the average person - an ever-present sense of grieving; general debilitation that comes with advancing years; frustration at not being able to come and go freely; a gradual breakdown of the body's functions. Pain and the fear of death are part of everyone's life. By His patient acceptance of the indignities inflicted on Him, Jesus has shown us that while there is no clear answer to the "why" of suffering, the manner in which we respond has the ability to turn disaster into ultimate victory. [John 16:20] Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.
[John 16:21] When a woman is in labor, she has pain, because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world.
[John 16:22] So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.