The Lord comes to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults.
Have you ever wondered how Jesus went through the Passion so meekly, without retaliating or blaming anyone?
What made Jesus go through such a painful, ignominious death?
Was Jesus obligated to go through all this?
Jesus identified with our reality of a world filled with difficulties and sufferings. Pain and suffering are part and parcel of everyone’s life. Jesus shows us that it is possible to endure suffering if we are focused on love. The love of Jesus is shown in his willingness to suffer for us. He had said, ‘No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn 15:13) Looking at Jesus on the cross, should remind us of this, that in love there is no suffering that is not worth enduring. How much do you value the other is shown in the suffering that you are willing to endure for the one you love.
Suffering should lead a person to conversion, and this is where suffering is redemptive. Looking at suffering as suffering is meaningless because it is all but pain and misery. When we look at what it is trying to teach us, we can learn and grow.
Jesus wanted to show us how we can be closer to our Father – through obedience and in love.