In the readings
today, including the Psalms, I am reminded that suffering is not only a
condition of our human experience it is a part of our story as the
People of God. This fact is chiefly manifested in the Messianic
event; in Luke we read Jesus saying, “The Son of Man must undergo
great suffering and be rejected...and be killed.” As Christians we
learn from the Messiah that God's plan for salvation does NOT
evade suffering, but embraces it, and redeems it. The fact that
Jesus is clear that he MUST undergo great suffering to complete his
task on earth is quite profound. Christian Theology of Incarnation
holds that in Jesus of Nazareth God experiences suffering along with
us. God saves us first by participating with us in the suffering of
this life (as well as the joys-that cannot be forgotten either). Our
God holds our in hand in the midst of it.
The author of James
recognizes that suffering has been redeemed and not something to be
shunned: “whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing
but joy (?!?!), because you know that the testing of your faith
produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that
you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.” We know the
author is not talking about riches as he later says how the rich will
wither away in their busyness; so what is it that we will have? I
will not answer that here; I believe we will have something that is
not to be described, but to be experienced.
In Deuteronomy we
are reminded of how God has used suffering to be redemptive to God's
People: “He humbled you by letting you hunger, THEN by feeding you
manna...in order to make you understand that one does not live by
bread alone; but by every word that comes from the mouth of the
Lord.” And later, “Know then in your heart that as a parent
disciplines a child so the Lord your God disciplines you.”
Suffering here is seen as means to discipline and humble us to
realize where we stand in faith with God. James follows this with
“Blessed be the one who resists temptation,” one who is not
“double-minded and unstable in every way.” Despair in the midst
of suffering is a condition that, though understandable, is not the
path of faith. In our own despair we are called to remember God and
our story. In suffering we must find our place in this Great Narrative. Like God we are called to go to places of despair and
bring hope to those lost in the darkness by participating in their
suffering.
The story of our
faith has a delicate and intimate marriage to suffering because we
have a God who transcends and conquers suffering through Love. And
in His/Her participation in our suffering, God brings us to that
place where we too are victorious over it. One of the primary themes
in our faith story is that of Liberation. In our faith we are
liberated from the power of misery and suffering, from the power of
death and oppression. The experience of suffering is the means in
which we get to that place. Anyone who seeks to be a follower of the
Messiah must understand that suffering is a part of our fidelity to
God and God's vision for the Ultimate Reconciliation, the Ultimate
Triumph. Jesus says : “If anyone wants to become my followers, let
them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For
those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose
their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if
they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?” And so
we see that suffering is the purchase price for our ticket to save
ourselves, to find ourselves, to be a new creation.
So to those who
suffer: Blessed are you, for you are on the path of the Redeemed, the
path of the Redeemer. To those in pain: Blessed are you, for you are
walking with our Savior, and He is walking with you. Take courage,
for you will be brought to a “good land, a land of flowing waters.”
And in faith you too will be conquerors of this life.
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