We finally get a break from the darkness, don’t we? Today is the day that Christians around the
world celebrate Easter, or as I prefer to call it “The Feast of the
Resurrection.” After suffering a
humiliating death, Jesus of Nazareth is raised from the dead. We have a lot of hopes and poems that go with
this event, as we should…this event is almost euphoric, but what does it have
to do with Theodicy? Absolutely nothing
if one has not suffered. I think the
Gospel stories show that for those who have not suffered, or who have run from
suffering, this Resurrection is simply a wonderful fairy-tale; a hope that their
ego will be perpetuated throughout eternity.
Only to the broken, to the oppressed, to those who Jesus brought good
news will the Resurrection be any true light of hope. The Resurrection is only really significant
to those who have suffered; to the prosperous it is bad news. Let’s look at some stories.
The First Witnesses
All the Gospel accounts agree the first persons to see the
Resurrected Jesus are the ones who stood by him during his crucifixion, the
women. The women did not abandon him,
they were present in his suffering, and so were the first to see and recognize
him. Mary Magdalene in John’s Gospel is
the first one to recognize Jesus and tell the rest of the disciples. She is known in the Eastern Church as an “apostle
to the apostles,” for she was the first witness to Jesus being raised from the
dead and share the good news.
Those who did not suffer with Jesus have a more difficult
time recognizing him in the stories.
Take the gentlemen on the Emmaus Road in the Gospel of Luke for example. Jesus walks with them
for quite a bit, but they do not recognize him. They are caught up in their own worlds, their
own disappointments. Once the gentlemen and Jesus get to Emmaus, Jesus is about
to walk off, but the gentlemen insist on providing hospitality to the stranger
and invite him to dinner. Jesus accepts
the invitation. It is at the table, the
sharing of a meal (an intimate act), they finally recognize Jesus for who he
is. They did not recognize the Risen
Jesus by sharing suffering, but through welcoming and sharing a meal with the
stranger. Let this be a word to
“Prosperity Gospel” Christians…if you insist on NOT suffering, you better damn
well welcome the stranger into your lives showing radical hospitality. If you do neither, you will have no part in
the Risen Lord.
The Difficulty of
Good News to Those Who Do Not Suffer
In the Gospel of John we have the famous story of “Doubting
Thomas,” but in Luke’s Gospel the rest of the disciples don’t fare any
better. Or I should say the “men” don’t
fare any better. Remember it was the men who abandoned Jesus, they did not
stand by his side to suffer with him as the women did. They were not present in his suffering. So in the Gospel of Luke when Jesus appears
to them they don’t believe it. “We are
seeing a ghost,” they say to themselves. Mind you, the women who witnessed the
Resurrection had already told them Jesus had risen…but they still could not
believe. So they have to see and touch his wounds; they still don’t
believe. Then they give him something to
eat to convince themselves more.
Finally, they are convinced.
Thomas probably heard this display, and made his demand “I will not
believe unless I put my hands in his wounds.”
Whether they like it or not, they are going to have to recognize Jesus’
suffering before they can believe in his Resurrection. But why the doubt? Well, it is an outrageous story. But, I am not convinced that is what we are
being taught in these stories. Surely
they saw the miracles before; they ought to be open to the miraculous. The persistent
theme appears to be that those who suffer are able to receive the Good News,
those who run away from suffering will not get it; they will refuse to believe,
or worse…they simply are unable to believe.
There is Something
Different about You Jesus
But what about Jesus?
I mean, certainly we don’t believe that it can all go back to the way it
was before the gruesome ordeal. After
suffering abandonment, humiliation, immense pain, despair, and death…that will
leave its mark. And it does. Jesus seems
well healed, but he still has the marks of that suffering.
And what of the men on the road to Emmaus? They seemed to know who Jesus was before the Crucifixion; why were
they so upset if they had not known him? Yet, they do not recognize him now. Something has changed Jesus enough to make
him unrecognizable. Suffering and
brokenness can do that; more so if one gets through it healed (but with
scars).
What the Gospels teach us about suffering and the
Resurrected Jesus is that something has changed in who he is. He is the “same, but different.” Suffering has changed him, for the only thing
between the Last Supper and this moment was His Passion and Death.
The Good News?
In the Resurrection of Jesus we see a story that declares
suffering and evil do not have the final word, and that certainly is hopeful. The Christian believes that death is not the
end; defeat in pain is not how the story will end. Death is real, but so is Resurrection. Is
death conquered? Obviously not, simply
look around, but death does lose its sting; the power/fear of death is
nullified. The suffering Christian no
longer has a fear of death, and in that there is the perfect freedom to love,
which means the perfect freedom to obey the Mandate of Jesus. There is something that endures through pain,
that transcends suffering…and in Jesus we are given a promise God will raise
that up on the last day.
In the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we see
that there is Good News indeed, but only to those who suffer (and/or those who
suffer with others). For Jesus, the
suffering of the cross was the gateway to the glory of the Resurrection. For us, our own suffering and trauma can be a
gateway to glory, but how? Because
somehow in pain and suffering we are able to see the proper relationship
between us and God in a distilled way; an awareness of Absolute Powerlessness is the first step to Surrender to
God.
For the women who suffered with Jesus during his crucifixion,
that brave and compassionate act prepared them to be the first witnesses to the
Resurrection. In experiencing other
people’s pain or our own we prepare ourselves for Resurrection, and for new
life because we become critically aware of our own mortality, and our own limits. We are on the path to dying to self, dying to
sin, so that we may be made alive in a different way. Perhaps it is better to say in suffering, we
prepare ourselves for a new altered vision and understanding of Creation. But to those who refuse to suffer, who evade
it, who trample others to run away from it, the Resurrection is meaningless. In
fact, it should be terrifying.
Resurrection does not deny death…we all will die. We all will experience that moment where we
will have nothing to cling to but the will of the Creator for our continued
existence. To some that will be
wonderful; to others terrifying. And
not because they don’t believe in God, but because they never suffered enough,
never surrendered enough, and so never trusted enough in the abundant goodness
of God in the face of their extinction.
So…Alleluia! Christ is Risen! Glory to God in the Highest and peace to you
who suffer, to those who are oppressed, to those who grieve, to those who are
poor or sick, to those who know death!
This is your day of Victory! From the story of Jesus t
appears you are the precious ones of God, and with you He shows particular care
and favor. God is with you now…and will
see you through to the end.
On the last blog I will expand this further. In the light of Jesus’ life, death and
Resurrection I will finally answer “What is a Christian Approach to Suffering
and Evil?” Also, I will discuss some
errors in trying to explain “why” evil and suffering exists; and how such
intentions can fall into the sin of Job’s friends.
