Hall brings in some clarification to what it is to suffer as the church as he bring the chapter "The Church and the Cross" to an end.
...the suffering of the church can be badly distorted if it becomes interesting in itself. It is for this reason that I claimed...that where the theme of Christian suffering has been acknowledged in certain Christian (especially Lutheran) traditions, it has been too marred by introversion and subjectivization: "See how I suffer, see how we suffer, life is a cross," etc.
The necessary corrective to this kind of melancholy self-preoccupation on the part of Christians and churches is their being made newly conscious of the suffering that lies outside their own person and communities. Surely if it is truly Jesus Christ whom we follow, that is the direction in which we must move; for in the scriptural sources we never hear of a Jesus preoccupied with his own pain. Even on the cross itself he is conscious, chiefly, of the pain of others - of the thieves on either side, and the pathetic little group of his followers standing beneath the cross, devastated.
How good it is to be drawn back into the stories of Jesus in Scripture. There, as Hall notes, is a Jesus always focused on the other and how the other is suffering in any shape and form. This is a focus for our contemplation. How can we begin to help one another deal with the realities of life that can and is painful for us at times and yet, keep our focus on those around us who are in need of others to stand with them when oppressed and thrown down by the world. One of the ways I always talk of the life of a congregation is to mention its "ministry and mission." We cannot be engulfed in just one and not the other. We care for ourselves so that we are liberated and free to care for others in need. Both sides of this coin are needed. Unfortunately, it is quite easy to get stuck on us...to spin down into that spiral that does not let us see the needs of others - only our own anxious and troubled lives. The church is a people who guide one another out of that self-indulgent spiral and out into a life that is given and shed for other and also fed in the middle of that adventure.
Connection: Balance. It is not only good to be able to practice physical balance in order to maintain good health, it is good to consider what it is to be balanced in regard to our identity as followers of Jesus. Balance a little bit today!
Lead us Lord, beyond our ways. Lead us Lord, throughout this day. Lead us Lord, when we know not where to go for we need you Lord to make us whole. Amen.
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