Colossians 1:24 - 2:3 / Luke 6:6-11 (2019)
It would be strange to hear people say that they like to suffer. We might think that they are a bit masochistic or something.
Because suffering is synonymous with pain, and whether it is suffering or pain, it is a physical evil that afflicts the beauty of humanity.
Yet in the 1st reading, St. Paul makes an astonishing statement: It makes me happy to suffer for you.
And he gives the reason for this - in his sufferings, he makes up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of His body, the Church.
But St. Paul struggled on, even though wearily, because he was helped by the power of Christ which drives him irresistibly.
In other words, it was the power of Christ's love that made St. Paul accept suffering gladly and loving for the sake the Church.
Even for Jesus, when He did the good and right deed, what He got in return was indifference to say the least, and on the extreme end, a murderous plot against Him.
Yet Jesus accepted that persecution and suffering because He came to do good and to save what was lost.
Today's readings remind us that when we do the good and right thing, not only may we not be thanked and rewarded, we may even find ourselves being criticized and ridiculed.
Yet we must keep doing the good and right thing, even when we face opposition and suffering, because the power of Christ's love will drive us on, just as it was for St. Paul.
We must remember that suffering and pain, and even evil, is not going to be eternal.
What is eternal is the power of Christ's love that will drive us to do the good and right thing on earth, so as to reach the glory that is waiting for us above.