Day 5 Theme :
Witness through suffering
Text - Was it not necessary that the Messiah should
suffer these things and then
enter into his glory? (Luke 24:26)
Readings
Isaiah 50:5-9 The one who
vindicates me is near.
Psalm 124 Our help is in
the name of the Lord.
Romans 8:35-39 God’s love shown forth in Jesus
Christ.
Luke 24:25-27 He interpreted to them the things
about himself.
Commentary
In recent years two events which took place in
Scotland led to this small country suddenly
becoming the centre of attention of the
world’s media. The bomb attack on the plane above
Lockerbie and the massacre of children in Dunblane school brought attention to the nation which
will always remember these terrible
losses of human life. The two events caused suffering and
unimaginable anguish to a large number of
people and the consequences were felt well beyond
the physical borders of the two
places. Innocent people met their death in horrifying
circumstances.
The reality of suffering is something that the
Prophet Isaiah speaks about forcefully in today’s
text, in which he reminds us that God
is never resigned to seeing humanity suffer. In response the
Psalm proclaims the trust that believers must
maintain in their Saviour.
The letter to the Romans proclaims the certainty
that love is always strongest and that suffering
and sorrow will never prevail. For
before offering the resurrection to the world, Christ entered
into a terrible death and into the
dark depths of the tomb so as to be completely with us at our
very lowest ebb.
In the Lord’s footsteps, Christians who seek full
unity show their solidarity to those amongst them
who are confronted in their lives
with tragic situations of suffering, by confessing that love is
stronger than death. And that it was from
the extreme humiliation of the tomb that resurrection
came like a new sun for humanity; a clamouring annunciation of life, forgiveness and
immortality.
Prayer
God our Father, look with compassion on our
situations of poverty, suffering, sin and death, we
ask you for forgiveness, healing, comfort
and support in our ordeals.
We give you thanks for all who manage to see light
in their affliction.
May your divine Spirit teach us the greatness of
your compassion and help us stand alongside our
sisters and brothers in difficulty.
Filled with its blessings, may we in unity proclaim and share
with the world the victory of your
Son who lives for ever.
Reflection questions
1. How can you show empathy to those who suffer and
are in difficulties?
2. What wisdom and deeper understanding have you
gained through suffering you have
known in your own life?
3. How do you live out solidarity with the suffering
and oppression that so many people
living in poverty in our world
experience, and what is your own experience of it?
4. How would you bear witness to the mercy of God
and to the hope you find in the light of
the cross of Christ?