Share the Sufferings of Christ for love of Him and plunge the depths of Perfect Joy.
"And if, urged by cold and hunger, we knock again, calling to the porter and entreating him with many tears to open to us and give us shelter, for the love of God, and if he comes out more angry than before, exclaiming, ‘These are but importunate rascals, I will deal with them as they deserve’; and taking a knotted stick, he seize us by the hood, throwing us on the ground, rolling us in the snow, and shall beat and wound us with the knots in the stick - if we bear all these injuries with patience and joy, thinking of the sufferings of our Blessed Lord, which we would share out of love for him, write, O Brother Leo, that here, finally, is perfect joy."
For Francis and brother Leo (at least in the story), the sufferings get worse. The porter is now taking a weapon to them as he seeks to maximize the pain and suffering of the brothers, rolling them in the snow and, joint by joint, beating them with the stick.
Francis talks about enduring with patience and joy the sufferings inflicted on them. He has previously told Leo (and us) how to deal with unjustified and cruel abuse by changing our perspective: that our persecutors know that we are sinful people; that God is using them to speak to us about what He thinks/feels about us as unrepentent sinners; that we are spiritual 'imposters' and 'thieves' (hypocrites) and deserving of all that we suffer (and then some!) All of these are all very useful spiritual (and Holy Spirit inspired) tools in dealing appropriately with verbal and physical abuse.
Francis gives us the last (and most powerful) tool in his arsenal for handling the sometimes heartless acts of others toward us! It is to suffer FOR Christ - for the One who freely, willingly and with "Perfect Joy" offered His body and soul for each of us on the cross. If we have only thought, felt, acted and spoken out of love, truth and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit towards our persecutors - and we still suffer - then, we are now suffering for Christ - what a great honor and blessing that is!
But . . . who wants to share these sufferings? Why do we need to? Jesus Himself suffered for us only because it was necessary. Well, one of the goals Jesus has is to make us like Himself - children of our Father in heaven. Being like Jesus enables us to experience the beauty and goodness of God perfectly. Remember, St. Paul said that "Jesus was made perfect by the things that He suffered."
It is by faith that we are made perfect. It is by having our faith tested through hardships, both physical and emotional, that our faith (our trust in God) is brought to perfection. The basis of love is faith - trusting so completely in the one loved that they could do anything to us and we would still believe in their own goodness and goodwill toward us. If we hold to the fact that God is love and that all goodness comes through Him and, in the face of the most terrible trials that come upon us, that confidence remains unshaken - that is true love and true faith and . . . Perfect Joy.
Jesus made this cryptic statement during the last supper, "A man lays down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I have asked You." Jesus, of course, subsequently proved that He meant what He said. Are you Jesus' friend? The disciples deserted Jesus. The three closest apostles fell asleep while Jesus was sweating blood in the garden and then ran away when the soldiers arrived to arrest Him. One close 'friend' betrayed Him and another denied Him (with curses). Are you sleeping while Jesus is suffering in silence? Will you let Jesus suffer alone? He was trembling with terror, feeling desperately alone, weeping tears, with no one to care for Him! (The only comfort he got was the Angels sent by God to support Him!) Jesus was there for us, going to the cross and suffering, because He loved us. He loved us even though we have spent our lives in selfishness, self-absorbed, proving thereby that all we deserved from God was rejection and punishment.
Francis realized that to suffer unjustly was to suffer like Christ. To experience pain and sorrow, emotionally and physically, while walking the path of Christ was to get a taste of what Christ suffered and to share, in some small way, those sufferings of His. Experiencing suffering in this way - was to be a 'friend' of Christ. This is why Jesus said that we should 'rejoice' when we are persecuted, "Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for Your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you!" Also, remember Jesus said, " . . . offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone who asks and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away . . . love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . ." Jesus did these things and remember, we are called to walk in His footsteps.
If Jesus willingly experienced the worst pain a human can endure - for love of us. Isn't it right for us to be willing to return the favor - to show the same kind of love and commitment to Him? Such suffering is an opportunity to show that He can trust us now - that we won't disappoint Him, run and hide, deny or betray Him - when things get difficult for us. That we not only have recieved (gratefully) His love for us but are returning it with joy - Perfect Joy. Our Father tells us that we must become like Him - returning good for evil and conquering hate with love. This is what it means to be a Christian - to be Christ -like. One who is like Christ knows Christ's joy!
Brothers and sisters, without faith what Francis talks about doing seems impossible. Jesus said to His disciples just hours before He would be arrested, abused, tortured and murdered, "In the world you shall suffer tribulations. But be of good cheer. I have overcome the world." St. Paul said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." All men suffer. Those who follow Christ are no exception. However, they are different in that they overcome fear and worry with the peace Christ gives them. They overcome sorrow and loss with the joy Jesus gives them. They overcome hate and evil with the love and goodness that Christ gives them. This is the only way we can overcome the world and oursselves - grasping with confidence the promises of God and moving forward in faith. This is our victory over the world and the basis of Perfect Joy.
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