A Faith Bigger Than Fear

From a young age, Kayla Mueller dedicated her life in service to others. Inspired by her motto, “Let your faith be bigger than your fear,” she traveled to India, Palestine and Israel to give whatever she could to those who suffer. The plight of those living in conditions of poverty, famine and war touched her heart so deeply that she could not just turn away and do nothing. As she once told a reporter, "For as long as I live, I will not let this suffering be normal. [I will not let this be] something we just accept...It's important to stop and realize what we have, why we have it and how privileged we are."

As the conflicts in Syria and Iraq escalated, her heart turned to the plight of the refugees displaced by the violence. At the age of 26, she joined a humanitarian group working on the border of Turkey and Syria. In August 2013, after leaving a hospital in Aleppo, Syria, she was kidnapped by the terror group, ISIS and held captive for eighteen months. She was killed this year while still in captivity. Though the circumstances of her death remain unclear, ISIS claims that she perished in a bomb strike by the Jordanian military.

Her dedication to serving those who suffer wherever they may be has touched many hearts and inspired others to do the same. There is no doubt that her love for others was motivated by a desire to encounter God in the needy. In a letter to her father in 2011, she wrote these remarkable words: "I will always seek God. Some people find God in church. Some people find God in nature. Some people find God in love; I find God in suffering. I've known for some time what my life's work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering."

Many times we Catholics are asked why we portray the cross with Jesus’ body hanging on it when He has risen from the dead. The answer is simple. Though Jesus hung on the cross for only three hours, He continues to suffer in all those who struggle in poverty, flee from violence and endure sickness. When we look upon the crucifix, we do not only remember what Jesus did to save us but how He continues to suffer in the weak and disabled. We find comfort in our own suffering and inspiration to alleviate the suffering of our neighbor.

Jesus came to reveal God to us. As we heard in today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah, He came as one who suffers to make it clear that He has not abandoned us in our misery. He is by our side, suffering alongside us, strengthening us to bear our burden. It is easy to catch glimpses of God’s face in the beauty of nature, in the tenderness of love or in the pageantry of a church service. However, to find God in the suffering of others requires a heart softened by empathy. To find God in our own suffering requires a heart broken by humility.

The cross is the real test of faith. It reveals where our heart lies. It answers the question, “Is it God I am seeking or something else?” If I am seeking something other than God, I will run away when I am persecuted for my faith. When following Jesus becomes too demanding, I will look for another way. If I am seeking my own comfort or the praise of others, the cross will make it clear.

However, if it is truly God I am seeking, nothing will deter me. The rejection and ridicule of family and friends will only convince me the more that I can only rely on God. When difficulties arise because of my faith, it will only spur me on to seek God no matter what. If it is God whom I truly seek, then I will look for Him not only in the good but in the bad. When I come face to face with the cross, I will embrace it rather than flee from it.

The suffering of Jesus on the cross teaches us that God alone is all we need and that we can find Him in those who suffer. We find Him in the faces of those who look to us to comfort them. We find Him in ourselves when we unite our suffering to His and experience how it is transformed through love.

If we find our own suffering or the suffering of those around us too much to bear, we have Mary as an example. Out of love for her son, she stood at the foot of the cross. It is a fate no mother should have to experience, but she endured it out of love for Him and for us. She can teach us how to remain faithful and how to transform our suffering through love. She can help us to understand how we can find God even in the most senseless and horrifying of circumstances.

On this Good Friday, we hold up the wood of the cross as the world’s only salvation. It is a bold statement in a world where so many continue to suffer. Yet if we abandon ourselves to God, seek Him alone and serve those in need we will see darkness transformed into light, pain transformed into joy and death transformed into life.

In a word, we will experience the power of the Resurrection only when we embrace the wood of the cross.