23 OCTOBER 2021 LUKE 13:1-9
Saturday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time
WAKE-UP CALLS
But unless you repent, you too will all perish (Luke 13:5).
Todays’ gospel refers to two tragedies that occurred at the time of Jesus. The first one is political, that is Pontius Pilate’s massacre of several Galileans accused of inciting a rebellion. The second is the accidental death of 18 people at Siloam on whom a tower fell.
The focus of Jesus is not on the tragedies themselves, but on the attitudes of Jews on the victims as sinners. To associate “mystery of suffering” manifested in tragedies with sin is a human tendency. Such a judgmental attitude developed from the traditional understanding of retribution. Retributive ideology tells that rewards/ punishments come in this life itself. That means, if you do good you will be rewarded and if you sins you will be punished. The attitude of looking at tragedies and the sufferings inflicted as divine punishments adds more bitterness to the suffering of victims.
Retributive ideology seems not true in practical life as we see a lot of good people suffering bad things and bad people becoming unworthy receivers of good things. When you are spared or saved from a disaster if you would say it is providential forgetting about the victims you would be affirming that God has taken a double stand by favoring you.
Silence could be the best communication at the suffering of others, although silence may not be an answer to tragedies. Still, there is a good result out of silence that in silence we can explore the catechetical value of the mystery of suffering as wakeup calls for repentance and conversion! This is reflected in Jesus’ warning, “…. If you do not repent, you will all perish as they did” (Luke 13:5).
Optimistic responses towards the mystery of suffering makes life better, and pessimism makes life bitter. Face the mystery of suffering with fortitude and blessings with gratitude. If we look into disasters/hardships/suffering as providential interventions for repentance we can transform even the worst tragedies of life into a hymn of love.
“Look at tragedies not as divine punishments, but as wakeup calls for conversion”. Amen.