Suffering

"...we also boast in our sufferings..." --St. Paul in Romans 5

This is an often misinterpreted passage from Romans. Taken out of context it seems to say our suffering is a good, almost welcome, thing. And although God can and does draw good out of even the worst of suffering--that's not what St. Paul is getting at in this passage.

He's talking about suffering for the witness to Christ Jesus--persecution. Sufferings like being jailed, flogged, jeered at, stoned, or ostracized. These are the sufferings that he says lead to endurance, character, and hope.

Suffering in the other sense of the word is not admired or applauded, it is to be prevented and alleviated. Christ came into the world as a healer and exorcist He came to put an eventual end to suffering. And Christ leads us through the Spirit in our attempts to hasten that end--through science, medicine, economics. politics, and more.

So perhaps the worst thing we can say to someone who's suffering is "God is trying to teach you something," or some other lovingly misguided malapropism. I believe God abhors suffering and therefore sent his Son to take on the suffering of the world and redeem it. Thereby giving meaning to suffering, while never admiring it for its own sake.

And of course, God is most present in suffering, for that is where we need God most. He's present in the hands and hearts of those who work to end suffering--even us. He's present in the sacraments. And God is present in Spirit to those who call on his name.


Oh God, be with those who suffer this day. Give them courage and hope and strength. Give us the love and knowledge and perseverance to walk with them and seek to end their pain. Amen