gingabaan

The Jews believed that God punished the builders of the tower in Siloam because they knew that the money used for the project of Pontius Pilate came from the temple treasury. The Jews believed that whatever is offered to the temple belongs to God alone and it could never be used for other purposes. Thus they believed that the tower of Siloam was cursed and true indeed it collapsed and 18 workers died. People thought they saw the connection – gingabaan sila.
This also happened with the Galileans who while offering sacrifices in the temple protested against the policies of Pontius Pilate and because of that they were killed and their blood mingled with their sacrifices.


Did these people die because of their sins? Gingabaan bala sila?
Jews believed that these people died because of their sins. They suffered death because they offended God. This is an age-old problem. Is suffering a punishment from God? Is sickness caused by our offenses? Do we suffer because of our sins? Then why do good people suffer? Why should an innocent child suffer?
This is a difficult question to answer even the old testament gives us different answers. But when Jesus came and took unto himself suffering and pain, he gave suffering a new meaning. When Jesus he accepted suffering and pain though he was innocent thus giving suffering a new purpose. Jesus chose to suffer for our sake and by this he is telling us that suffering can be the way to glory.
In Jesus sickness is not a punishment, pain is not a cruel torture because of our sins - rather it is an opportunity, a gift from God to the person who suffer, because one is given the opportunity to follow Jesus not just in his life but also in his suffering and death. In Jesus suffering is a gift and not a punishment. Even St. Paul would say, I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. In suffering we become participants in the sacrifice of Jesus for his church. May we learn to embrace our pains and sufferings in the same way that Christ embraced his.