Why a suffering Messiah?

WHY A SUFFERING MESSIAH?

Mk 8:27-35

A lady went into a Catholic repository and asked to buy a rosary without a cross attached.  “It’s for my friend,” she explained.  She doesn’t like the cross, she thinks it’s cruel.”  There are many people today who would like to take the cross out of Christianity.  Peter in today’s Gospel felt the same.  He had just made his profession that Jesus was the Messiah.  Then Jesus began to teach them what kind of Messiah He was going to be.  He told them about the cross He was to carry and the death He would endure.  Peter was horrified.  At once he took Jesus aside and would not hear of it.  Yes, he wanted a Messiah, a Redeemer, but not one who would suffer grievously and be put to death.

What was Our Lord’s response?  “Get behind me, Satan!  Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.”  Then He gathered all Apostles around Him and said, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”  In other words, Jesus is saying that if the thought of My cross horrifies you; let me tell you that you have your own cross to bear if you want to be My disciple.  The cross stands at the very centre of the Christian faith.  Without it Jesus would not have been the Messiah Who would save the world, and without us carrying our cross alongside Him we cannot be His followers.

Why did Jesus have to suffer?  It was to take away the sins of the world.  Sin is a very real fact of life.  Why do governments spend millions of pounds on a police force, law courts and prisons?  The answer is because of sin!  Why have nations made themselves bankrupt, making arms that are designed for no other purpose that to kill people?  Again because of sin!  Wherever people are to be found you will find sin.  Sin is bad enough in what it is does to the guilty, but it is at its worst in what it does to the innocent.  It took the most beautiful life this world has ever known and nailed it to a tree.  That is the true horror of sin.  Sin displeases God so much that the only way He could be appeased was for His Son to humble Himself, suffer excruciatingly and die on a cross.  That was the demand His Father wanted to make up for sin.  God the Father and His Son could not have loved us more.  We are so precious to them.  Yet, how easily God forgives us compared to what Jesus suffered for us.  So we must never take our sins lightly.  Sin cost our Saviour a cruel death.

We must never make the mistake of being smug and separating ourselves from those who crucified Jesus.  They may have actually nailed Him to the cross, but it was our sins of pride, greed, hatred, cowardice, jealously, dishonesty, lust and selfishness which were responsible for His death.

Let me again drive home this point and ask the question.  Why was it necessary for Jesus to save us from our sins?  We were so helpless and trapped by sin that we were quite unable to free ourselves.  God our loving Father took pity on us and sent His Son into the world to share our human nature, being like us in everything except sin.  Because He was both human and divine, He was the only one who could make adequate reparation to His Father on our behalf and restore us to God’s friendship.  In His divine nature He had the power to break the grip of sin and with His help we are able to free ourselves from sin.  In all this let us never forget how God the Father suffered seeing His only Son endure such a cruel death.

How do we bring salvation to ourselves which Christ won for us on the Cross?  We weren’t’ present on Calvary when Jesus died.  But He has given us the Mass, which is the same sacrifice of Calvary.  When the Host and Chalice are raised after the consecration if we could hear Jesus speaking to His Father He would say words to this effect, “Heavenly Father, I offer You once again Myself for the salvation of My sinful brothers and sisters who are here present.”  Now if we want to bring salvation to ourselves we must say, “Heavenly Father, I offer You Your Son and myself.”  Believe me they are the noblest thing you can ever do.  Remember the words to say when you see the Host and the Chalice raised, “Heavenly Father, I offer You Your Son and myself.”

But religion means much more than just going to Mass and worshipping in beautiful, comfortable churches and enjoying peaceful music.  What we can forget is that religion also means carrying a cross.  There can be no genuine Christianity without it.  Jesus insists that anyone who wants to follow Him must share His sacrifice by taking up their own cross.  Whatever we suffer in our lives, be it ill health or difficult relationships or hardships that the circumstances of life bring to us, whatever they may be, they can help towards our salvation.  This is the only kind of Christianity that will break the grip of sin on our world.  If we do not prepare to carry our cross, we are like the woman who wanted to buy a rosary without the image of the crucified Jesus on the cross.

Lord Jesus, may we fight the Devil who wants us to remain in our sins and allow You to save us from our sins.  Salvation can only come to us through Your Cross and by us carrying our cross alongside Yours.

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