We have a hard act to follow. Jesus Christ suffered the loss of everything for the kingdom of God. He surrendered his life to the Roman authorities and was crucified on a cross, undergoing physical suffering that none of the people he healed could ever imagine. And in the three days he was in the grave, he suffered spiritually such that no one could ever WANT to imagine, with the weight of the sin of all humanity on his shoulders. Jesus WAS the sacrifice to END all sacrifice – he was the final Passover lamb, the final sin offering that signalled the forgiveness of sins for all who follow him, for all time.
And on the third day, God JUSTIFIED the suffering of Jesus by raising him from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus proves his suffering was NOT in vain, but instead was transformed by God into something glorious. Resurrection is the RESULT of Jesus' suffering – and it is the resurrection of Jesus that enables us to put our trust in God's salvation, and gives us the power to place our highest value in God's kingdom.
We believe that it is not OUR suffering that earns us eternal life – only the suffering of Jesus could have accomplished that. We are not called to SEEK OUT suffering, as if it were beneficial to us at face value. But we also believe that in a life of truly following Jesus, suffering is pretty much inevitable. Responding to the needs of those around us, responding to the opportunities given to us to witness, responding to the trespasses committed against us – this is where our time, talents, and treasure go in the name of Christ. In the little, or the big, day-to-day suffering we endure, we put our discipleship on display. And I hate to disagree with Paul in our second reading, but even in THIS life, our discipleship in Christ brings us benefits, because it is through commitment to the kingdom of God that our lives become MEANINGFUL. The choices we make for our kids, our parents, our community, our church, our business, our craft, our country...our Lord – the choices that are not comfortable but are instead heroic, this is what is REMEMBERED of us, and this is what we WANT remembered of us. Following Jesus gives us a meaningful life in THIS life.
And since, “in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died,” we also receive something much greater than the comforts of this life – we receive the great reward in heaven...of the resurrected everlasting life with God.
Heavenly Father, keep us from getting comfortable in our lives, and keep us open to opportunities to expand your kingdom. Remind us always of the wonderful gift that Jesus has made possible for us through HIS suffering, in his name, amen.