A Far Greater Inheritance

Homily: Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Mark 8:27-35

15 September 2024 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez 

I have a question for all of you. Do you like suffering?  Do you enjoy it when your body is so tired or in pain that you just want to collapse but you can’t even sleep because of discomfort? This is a physical suffering often endured by those growing older. What about emotional suffering? Do you delight in having your heart broken by people you love or perhaps by seeing your loved ones suffer? I think no one can honestly say they want themselves or their loved ones to suffer. 

Suffering bears such a negative connotation, doesn’t it? A normal person is just averse to pain and if possible, would avoid inconveniences. It is the same with Peter in our gospel. Jesus clearly reveals Himself to be “the Christ” who will suffer and die to accomplish the work of salvation He was given by the Father to do. He predicts His cruel fate in the hands of the religious authorities in Jerusalem. “Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise after three days.” (Mark 8:31) Peter would not hear of it. He takes Jesus aside and rebukes Him! He might have said the equivalent of a disapproving “Huwag ka nga magsalita ng ganyan!” On one hand, he does not want to hear of losing His dear friend. On the other hand, he also realises that such talk could scare off and demoralise Jesus’ disciples and future army. Peter was still expecting that Jesus would still become a kingly, warrior Messiah who would save them all in a glorious display of power. To his shock, Jesus scolds him with a stern, “Get behind me Satan”. (Mark 8:33) Peter must have thought he was being a good friend, only to be called the enemy. 

Do you think if Jesus did not go through with the crucifixion there would be no suffering on earth? Of course not! Suffering and misery are the consequence of the first sin. Adam and Eve had the perfect life in Eden until they disobeyed God and were banished from the Garden. Eve was condemned to suffer in childbirth and Adam had to suffer the difficulty of providing for his family. Up to now, people suffer because of the selfish, greedy, and hateful choices made also by people. There is flooding because people throw waste carelessly or cut too many trees without thinking of the consequences. When food industry businessmen cut corners to make more profits, they contribute to their consumers becoming unhealthy and sickly.  If we can’t eradicate suffering, what is the point of living you may ask. 

Focus on the explanation as to why Jesus rebukes Peter. He says “you are thinking not as God does but as human beings do.” (Mark 8:33) The truth is, Christ’s suffering and death on the cross are what won for us salvation. It is what gives us a chance at heaven.  It is all part of God the Father’s plan. For a Christian who believes in Jesus and His teachings, suffering is a bearable phase because it is not something we endure in vain. By accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we accept the cost of following Him. Jesus says “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34) 

Pope Francis once said: “There is no Christianity without the cross. And there’s no cross without Jesus Christ.” Our world is so imperfect that it cannot be devoid of suffering. There is suffering; there is pain and there is death which comes our way each day. We do not have to find them. Our Christian vocation entails a readiness to accept suffering in this life, perhaps even an untimely death if that is our lot. Suffering is not something that we desire for its own sake. Rather, we deal with it knowing that it is not the end of the story. God’s power transforms suffering. Jesus ends His passion prediction with His ultimate vindication… “and rise after three days” (Mark 8:31) His resurrection! This is something we believers can hope for — that we too will rise on the last day and spend eternity with God. 

There is a recently-added movie on Netflix entitled How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies. (Spoilers alert!) The main character, M, is a jobless and carefree young man, who lives with his mother and just plays computer games all day. Inspired by the good fortune of his friend who cared for her own sick lolo (grandpa), he thought that if he cared for his own sick lola (grandma), she might favour him and leave him a handsome inheritance so he could finally upgrade his gaming equipment.  He moves in with his lola and takes care of her as she is being treated for cancer. Would you say he is doing good work if he acts on selfish motives just to be on his lola’s good side — to be her “number one” and so get the house as inheritance? He starts to have true compassion for her when he witnesses her suffer from the disease and from longing for the love and attention of her grown children. Still, M gets deeply upset when his grandma leaves the inheritance to her heartless, gambler of a son. He angrily asks his grandma: “Why am I not your number one?” When  he learns his uncle has dumped her in the ward of a nursing home, he is moved by his grandma’s disappointment and loneliness and M has a change of heart. Now motivated by love and a genuine concern for her, he takes her home where he and his mom lovingly care for her. 

Isaiah and St James remind us today that to rise above tribulation and suffering and to continue to do good works are the marks of a true follower of Jesus, the suffering Messiah. You know caregivers of the elderly also suffer. It is not easy work and it is painful to watch a loved one slowly deteriorate and weaken. In the story, M realises that his effort was not in vain after all because he inherited something even greater. In the end, he tearfully declares, “Amah, you’re my number one.”  We, the faithful, who endure our share of the suffering of our Lord Jesus, can also be assured that with God, we too have a far greater inheritance for our faithfulness and perseverance  — eternity with God, our Father — our “number one”!  

Let me end with the words of St. Paul,  “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18) As we walk through suffering today or in the days to come, we walk with confidence knowing that we have a far greater inheritance — fullness of life to come!