The Suffering Servant

Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies

Bishop Robert Barron

Spirituality, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality:christianity

4.8 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 18 October 2009

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

This Sunday's readings highlight the idea of redemptive suffering. The revelation of Christ changes our disposition towards the difficulties of life, filling these experiences with the potential for goodness. In his Incarnation, Christ did not evade the often harsh realities of human experience, but he accepted them, knowing that he would be with us in all things. The challenge for us is that in the face of the inevitable challenges of life is this: will we accept hardship as an occasion to grow in holiness and deepen our relationship with the Lord.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Cardinal Francis George. I invite you to join me for the next few minutes to reflect
0:09.0	with Father Robert Barron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire. Word on Fire Catholic
0:14.2	Ministries is a non-profit ministry at the forefront of Catholic evangelization, using
0:18.9	new media to spread the faith and every continent. Father Barron challenges us to open our hearts
0:23.9	to the Word on Fire, which is God's Word of Love for each of us. If our hearts are open,
0:29.5	the Lord can change and transform us so that we might speak with love about the one who
0:34.6	is love. The global benefactors of Word on Fire with the support of the Archdiocese of
0:39.4	Chicago now present Word on Fire. Peace be with you. Friends, our readings for today come
0:49.5	together in speaking of one of the most central themes in our religion. The theme of
0:57.3	redemptive suffering. Redemptive suffering. If we fail to grasp this idea, we fail to grasp
1:08.6	Christianity. And I would submit to you, this is a hard concept to get. How can one person
1:17.2	suffer for another? How can suffering be redemptive for someone else? You know, when I was a teenager,
1:27.2	and I first started puzzling over these religious questions, this one really bothered me. I knew
1:35.5	that we said Jesus suffered for us, that he died for our sins, but I couldn't really grasp what
1:44.2	this meant. What does that mean precisely? He died for us, or that his terrible suffering on that
1:51.2	cross did something good for me. I just couldn't really get what that means. Well, let me state the
2:00.6	principle. Unjust suffering. Patiently and lovingly born has redemptive power. That's the
2:13.2	principle. Again, unjust suffering. Patiently and lovingly born has redemptive power. See,
2:24.5	suffering that comes because of my own sin or my own injustice or my own stupidity, well,
2:31.4	that's just the law of karma. You know, that law that can be found really in all religions,
2:36.0	but somehow evil is answered by evil. There has to be a redressing of the imbalance. Suffering
2:44.2	that comes because of my own stupidity and sin doesn't redeem anybody else, it just redresses the
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