PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION, C
THE FRIEND WHO WALKS
WITH US
What does a suffering person
really need?
The sick in the hospital desire,
not the coldness of the apparatus around them, but the joy of a visit and
consoling words from people who care.
The depressed and hopeless want
not the artificial tones of a counselor but the embrace of a friend.
The poor in the streets pine,
more than for spare coins and food, for the smile of another person who will look on
him as a human being and not a pitiful thing.
The abandoned or oppressed
elderly or child prays not for luxury or comfort, but the assurance of people
who will hold their hands and heal their pain.
A suffering person needs another
person. And it is this other
person that is most difficult to find when one suffers. The visit stops. The
phone does not ring. Family and friends turn away or start to leave.
Jesus’ suffering can only be
explained as God’s response to the suffering of his people. In the suffering
that comes from sickness, loneliness, hopelessness, poverty, and most
specially, sin, there comes also the need for the presence of a friend, a
brother or sister, a concerned individual.
We hear Jesus suffering and dying
on the cross in today’s gospel. He went through all these because he wants to
fill the void that our suffering creates. He is the friend we need, the brother
we desire, the healer we wait for, the Savior who forgives, the God who loves
to walk with his people.
In the suffering of Jesus,
surprisingly, others also made their presence felt. There was Simon who carried
the cross for him. There were the women who followed him weeping. There was
Mary his mother, who never abandoned him. They consoled him in his suffering
and pain.
Lord, in my pain, I need someone
who will extend a generous hand, speak a kind word, kindle hope in my
heart. Thank you for being there
for me, for offering your life for me. Though I too, suffer, inspire me to be
present to others who need my love and my help. Amen.
