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_{24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 17, 2006} 

            Jewish tradition preserves a story about Rabbi Asher.  He lived in Europe in medieval times.  During that period in history, hoards of barbarians roamed Europe.  They attacked caravans.  And sometimes they attacked whole villages, killing the villagers and stealing their cattle and valuables. 

          One day Rabbi Asher had to make a long journey, traveling by himself.  He knew it would be dangerous, but he had no choice.  So he set out, taking only three things with him: a rooster, a donkey, and a small oil lamp.  The rabbi took the rooster to wake him up each morning because he was a notoriously heavy sleeper.  He took the donkey because the roads were bad and he might fall, hurt himself, and need the donkey to carry him.  Finally, he took the oil lamp so that he could read the Bible each night before he went to sleep. 

          One evening the rabbi came to a village, hoping to stay there for the night.  But the villagers were suspicious of him and drove him away.  The rabbi didn't become angry.  He simply said to himself, "God knows best; He always has His reasons."

          And so the rabbi camped out under the stars near a stream outside the village.  There he lit his lamp to read his Bible before going to sleep.  But the wind kept blowing out the lamp.  The rabbi finally gave up and said to himself, "God knows best; He always has His reasons."

          About midnight the rabbi woke up with a start.  He discovered that a thief had stolen his donkey.  He also discovered that a wild animal had killed his rooster.  The rabbi did not grow angry.  He simply said to himself, "God knows best; He always has His reasons."

          The next day the rabbi learned that during the night a band of barbarians had attacked the village, killed the villagers, and taken their cattle and valuables.  Had the rabbi stayed in the village, the barbarians would have killed him too.  The rabbi also learned that the barbarians had come to the stream looking for travelers.  Had they seen him reading by his lamp or heard his rooster crow or his donkey bray, they would have killed him and taken what little he had.

           That night when the rabbi knelt to say his prayers, he looked up to heaven and said, "God, you know best; you always have your reasons." 

          That story is still told and retold by Jews.  It reminds them of something they tend to forget.  It reminds them that they should look upon everything with the eyes of faith.  It reminds them of what Rabbi Asher said: "God knows best; He always has His reasons."  This is especially true of the kind of pain and suffering that Isaiah talks about in today's First Reading.  And it’s also true of the kind of pain and suffering that Jesus talks about in today's Gospel.

           The greatest act of faith that we can make is to say to God, "I don't know the reason for the cross that you sent me, but I will pick it up and carry it anyway, simply because your Son, Jesus, said I should."

           Almost anyone can carry a cross if he or she can see the reason for it.  But it takes people of great love and faith to carry a cross they can’t see the reason for it.  It takes people of great love and faith to pick up a cross and say what Rabbi Asher said: "God knows best; He always has His reasons." 

          Years ago a young man was studying for the priesthood at St. Mary’s of the Lake Seminary in Chicago.  A year before his ordination he contracted a fatal disease.  Shortly before his death he wrote to a friend:  "Every so often we have showdowns in our lives by which we are challenged…to grow in our faith or to lose it.  I feel that this experience is that kind of a challenge…If we really are the Christians we claim to be, we have to believe that every part of our lives has value, including an illness like this."

          That young seminarian was living by faith.  He was doing what Jesus said to do.  He was picking up his cross and carrying it.  He was living by faith, in the finest sense of the word.  He was saying that everything happens for a purpose.  He was saying what the rabbi said: "God knows best; He always has His reasons."

           Suffering and sorrow are like birth and death.  They are a part of life.  There’s no way we can escape them.  They will seek us out and find us, no matter who we are or where we go. 

 The important thing isn't the suffering and sorrow that come our way.  The important thing is how we respond to them, how we accept them, and how we use them.

 We can't avoid suffering and sorrow, but with God's help we can use them.  We can turn them into something that is constructive, not destructive.  We can turn them into something that is life-giving, not death-dealing.  We can turn them into something that will draw us closer to God instead of driving us farther away.

 Today's Gospel reading is a call to faith.  It's a call to do what Jesus Himself did, what Rabbi Asher did, what the young seminarian did.  It's a call to pick up our cross and carry it.  And if we do this, if we heed this call, we will discover what Jesus, Rabbi Asher, and the young seminarian did.  We will discover that the reverse side of every cross contains a blessing far greater than the cross itself. 

If you would like to reinforce this thought I recommend reading Chapter 8 of Paul’s Letter to the Romans.  There Paul writes:  "The sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us." And "We know that all things work for good for those who love God." 

Have faith in those words.  Have faith in this good news that Jesus wishes to share with us today!