26 July 2006

Today begins a look at how Douglas John Hall looks at the Character of Christian Suffering. He writes about two observations we will consider over the next week.

If I were asked to state a single thesis what this theme is all about, I would borrow a sentence from the first Christian theologian who talked about it more than anyone else, Paul: "While we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifest in our mortal flesh" (2 Corinthians 4:11). ...I shall elaborate on this thesis in two observations: (1) The end (telos - inner aim) of the suffering into which faith is plunged is life-oriented, not death-oriented. (2) This suffering is a necessity that comes with faith, but it is not merely a foregone conclusion, as though it were predetermined or destined; moreover, it has more to do with the suffering that is outside the community of discipleship than with our own personal or ecclesiastical suffering.

Though death is around us we look to life! We do not seek to avoid death; we expect it and in the face of death and its threats we expect life. Remember though that this is included in every relationship in which we enter. Things will die - demands, wants, preferences, traditions - and yet what comes through those deaths is new life. Too often, I'm impatient about that. Then again, I can be too self-absorbed to be willing to face what life comes beyond the death of my own way and my own view. The Lord of Life - is all about life creating even when we are people focused or anxious about death and its many faces. Sometimes it is good to remember that there is time between the crucifixion and death of Jesus and Easter morning. In the meantime - between these two events - is that dark, all-consuming death. Sometimes that is all we are able to see and at other times it is what we avoid viewing and acknowledging. In both of these cases, death has us and owns us. And yet, we are invited to know death well...know its powers, its tricks, its lies, and its inability to win the day. Unfortunately, this is a place of suffering that comes to us in many ways. The followers of Jesus do not look to avoid this time. We are called to walk through it with one another - the whole body of Christ that knows how to suffer for/with/alongside the whole world.

Connection: Nothing is ever going to stay the same. We may want that to happen but...in reality if it does, the creativity we need in our world and our own lives will never take place. Today we must remember to find ways to stay within a dialogical spirit that is willing to experience death and life...and then experience it...again...and...again.

Be present with us, O Lord. Be present with us as we face all that this day will place in our path. Do not let our fear cause us to run away from other and the opportunities we are given to grow into the beloved community of your saints. Amen.