Suffering

The Nineteenth Day of December (Christmas Novena) A-1

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Heb 10: 37 He who is to come will come and will not delay, and now there will be no fear within our land, for he is our Saviour.

Collect O God, who through the child‑bearing of the holy Virgin graciously revealed the radiance of your glory to the world, grant, we pray, that we may venerate with integrity of faith the mystery of so wondrous an Incarnation and always celebrate it with due reverence. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 19) Blessed Pope Urban V (1310-1370) In 1362, the man elected pope declined the office. When the cardinals could not find another person among them for that important office, they turned to a relative stranger: the holy person we honour today. The new Pope Urban V proved a wise choice. A Benedictine monk and canon lawyer, he was deeply spiritual and brilliant. He lived simply and modestly, which did not always earn him friends among clergymen who had become used to comfort and privilege. Still, he pressed for reform and saw to the restoration of churches and monasteries. Except for a brief period he spent most of his eight years as pope living away from Rome at Avignon, seat of the papacy from 1309 until shortly after his death. He came close but was not able to achieve one of his biggest goals—reuniting the Eastern and Western churches. As pope, Urban continued to follow the Benedictine Rule. Shortly before his death in 1370 he asked to be moved from the papal palace to the nearby home of his brother so he could say goodbye to the ordinary people he had so often helped.

Scripture today: Judges 13:2-7, 24-25a; Psalm 71:3-4a, 5-6ab, 16-17; Luke 1:5-25

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zachary, of the course of Abia; and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name Elizabeth. And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame. They had no son for Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. And it came to pass, when he performed the priestly function in the order of his course before God, according to the custom of the priestly office, it was his lot to offer incense. He went into the temple of the Lord, and all the multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the alter of incense. Zachary seeing him, was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him: Fear not, Zachary, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son, and you will call his name John: And you will have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he will be great before the Lord and will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb. And he will convert many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elias that he may turn the hearts of the fathers unto the children, and the incredulous to the wisdom of the just, to prepare unto the Lord a perfect people. And Zachary said to the angel: How shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years. And the angel answering, said to him: I am Gabriel, who stand before God: and am sent to speak to you and to bring you these good tidings. Behold, you will be dumb, and will not be able to speak until the day wherein these things shall come to pass, because you have not believed my words which will be fulfilled in their time. And the people were waiting for Zachary; and they wondered that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them: and they understood that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he made signs to them, and remained dumb. And it came to pass, after the days of his office were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days, Elizabeth his wife conceived, and hid herself five months, saying: Thus has the Lord dealt with me in the days in which he has chosen to take away my reproach among men. (Luke 1:5-25)

Suffering Today our Gospel scene from St Luke narrates the announcement by the angel Gabriel that Zachary is to have a son who would be a second Elijah. While the passage extols the future child, it also invites us to contemplate the personages who are involved. Luke begins with fulsome praise of Zachary and his wife Elizabeth. They were excellent persons in the sight of God: he himself was a priest “of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly.” They were thoroughly Hebrew, the one a serving priest, the other a descendant of Aaron. They were truly obedient to God, “observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly” (Luke 1:5‑25). Elsewhere in his infancy narrative Luke mentions other holy Israelites. Pre‑eminent are Mary and Joseph, and we remember too Simeon and Anna. But here our scene invites us to consider the figures of Zachary and Elizabeth. They were profoundly observant of God’s commands, but — and let us notice the force of that word “but” — they had no child. It suggests that this “disgrace before others” (as they viewed it) was an anomaly considering their praiseworthy lives. They were content in their faith and love for God but this lack of offspring was a long sadness and a cause for heartfelt prayer to God. But now, the angel appeared to Zachary to announce that his prayer had been heard. That prayer had obviously been persevering, faith‑filled and pleasing to God. His wife would bear a son and he was to name him John. Moreover, God’s answer to Zachary’s prayer for a child was overflowing in generosity and blessings. Yes a son, but what a son! The child would be great in the sight of God, and would go before the Lord as another Elijah to prepare a people ready for his coming. He would be God’s prophet and the precursor of the Messiah.

I would like to suggest that this throws further light on the problem of suffering and apparent evil. The words of the angel would seem to suggest that John the Baptist, this gift of so great a son who would play such an important role in the history of salvation, was God’s response to the prayer of Zachary and Elizabeth. It was certainly profoundly connected with that prayer, and it would seem that in the providence of God this heartfelt petition of the holy couple played an important part in God’s saving plan. But that petition, persevering and marked by trust, was born and sustained by suffering. The apparent evil of being childless fuelled their insistent prayer, and that prayer was given a spectacular answer. The divine answer to their suffering was the great John the Baptist, about whom our Lord said that no one born of woman had been greater. Other examples of this pattern could be mentioned. The centuries of suffering of the descendants of Jacob in the land of Egypt evoked the great answer from God of sending Moses to take them out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Their suffering led, due to the hand of God, to so much that was good. In Christ it ultimately bore fruit for the world. The suffering and evil borne by Zachary and Elizabeth inspired their unceasing petition and that petition issued in the Precursor, whose preaching and holy life proclaimed the arrival of the Messiah. My point is that our Gospel passage today is a further indicator that in the providence of God suffering is not just a meaningless and dark frustration. God has his purposes and all is in his hands. If we but trust him, if we but obey him, if we but pray always and never lose heart, God will show his surprises. How and when, we cannot say. Zachary showed himself to be limited and imperfect in his faith, for he questioned the reliability of the angel. We too are imperfect, but let us persevere in faith, obedience and prayer amid our difficulties and God will surprise us.

As our Lord says in another part of the Gospel, pray always and never lose heart. This we must do, especially in the midst of long lasting suffering and evil. Let us contemplate those many instances in Scripture that show that this broken world and flawed life is in the hands of a holy and compassionate God who will hear our prayer and come to our aid. As St Thomas More said as he approached the scaffold, though I lose my head, I’ll come to no harm.

(E.J.Tyler)

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