I used to occasionally visit an elderly man who was homebound to give him Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion. He was frail and bedridden but I observed that whenever he noticed I came, he would gather whatever strength he could to sit down for Holy Communion. One important thing that I noticed about him was he never complained why he was suffering; never did I hear him complain about anything. He carried his suffering without questioning God. Perhaps he knew that to suffer was part of him being a disciple of Jesus. Eventually, the elderly man died.
In today's Gospel, Jesus told Peter and the disciples that He must undergo suffering to accomplish His mission and Peter reacted with indignation. Perhaps Peter could not accept the fact that a powerful and influential person like Jesus would suffer. Perhaps Peter thought that Jesus was immune to suffering. But the reality is that Jesus was not exempted from suffering, and He went through it for it was part of His destiny and mission.
What about us? Would we follow the elderly man's example, and especially Jesus' example, in taking suffering as part of being a disciple? Would we be humble and willing to embrace whatever suffering that may come our way, to witness to Jesus and to give glory to God?
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