Sacred Suffering for the Good of the World
When tragedy afflicts a person sometimes their response is, “Where is God?” or “Why is God punishing me, what did I do?” These are human responses when innocent persons suffer. And pious platitude responses certainly are of no help at all in the face of overwhelming grief. “Every cloud has a silver lining.” “God never gives us more than we can bear.” I think I shared with you that one woman said that she had always been raised with that platitude, “Father please tell God for me, He has the wrong person!” Humor is also very important in the midst of adversity.
Adversity is certainly a huge part of the Book of Job, a selection from our readings this weekend. He was prosperous and had a large family. He lost just about everything: children, servants and possessions. To make things worse he developed a loathsome disease and wound up sitting on a dung heap. Sorrow had weighed down his soul. The wisdom of the day would comment that he must have done something very bad to warrant such punishment from God. But Job had not done anything terrible at all; in fact he was generous in helping all people. He serves as the model of an innocent person who suffers.
Job’s friends show up to console him. They insist he must have sinned and invite him to repent. But Job protests his innocence. He curses the day he was born and longs for death. Even Job’s wife, who won’t accept his protestations of innocence, urges him to “Curse your God and die!” In other words, God has abandoned you already, curse him and then you’ll be punished with death-the last punishment.
Job is suffering and he calls out to God to explain himself. “My pain is more than I can bear. I can’t sleep at night. I shall not see happiness again.” Job questions God’s goodness, why God has allowed pain to exist. God finally appears to Job near the end of the Book. “If you know so much as to question me, then where were you when I created the world? How is it that the heavens work, the sun and the moon? Were you there helping me when I created the whale?” and so forth. Job realizes that he has spoken foolishly and submits to God’s wisdom. Job concludes that looking for a rational reason for suffering gets us nowhere. Nor will he take his wife’s suggestion because, despite his loss and grief, he will not let go of God-Job loves God no matter what. However he turns to God to voice his complaint, after all God created him and placed him here, God can take it.
Like Job we want answers to life’s important questions, especially why the innocent suffer. The Book of Job does not end with a definitive answer to the questions it raises about suffering. Along with Job we are left with mystery and are called to trust and have faith. There is no answer to such great mysteries, except for those of us with faith; for the “answer” we have received is Jesus Christ. In Jesus-God addresses our questions and our needs. He quickly begins to show us God’s response to us in his ministry and immense sacrificial love.
Jesus repeatedly demonstrates his mission and ministry including in our Gospel story for this Sunday, the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. A friend of mine who is a nun said “…isn’t that just like a man, get her out of the sick bed so she can get up and cook!” Jesus also healed those “who were ill or possessed by demons.”
These first disciples must have seen Jesus as a wonder worker – a cure-all remedy for human needs. They probably thought they had latched onto a good thing, a bright future for themselves with Jesus. They go looking for Jesus because there were more miracles to be performed in the place where they were. But Jesus tells them they must go on to other villages. They must leave behind the excitement Jesus has aroused by his cures and the light of popularity they shared with him. He has more work to do and they still have much to learn.
While Jesus is a healer and can cast out evil spirits, the question for them and us is, “What do his spectacular deeds tell us about who he is? What do they tell us about God, especially in the face of our suffering and need?” Jesus’ disciples only saw a wonder-worker.
Jesus reveals God’s concern and healing presence to us. It gives us hope that, while we don’t have answers, we have assurance that evil will not ultimately triumph and that through Jesus-God is on our side. Jesus has revealed the true nature of the loving God who, even in our suffering and dejections, won’t let go of us. Our God dies for us! God in Christ Jesus is the means to endure inescapable suffering, a part of the human condition. We may have hope in our suffering for God is with us.
Let us offer up our suffering to Christ for the good of others that may be suffering more that we are. Sacred suffering, unitive suffering in Christ, heals the world. Fr. Gordon