Suffering. This is a very real term. Suffering has been and continues to be a universal truth. Suffering is certain right along with “death and taxes.” Suffering is the uniting force that everyone is a part of and bot one can escape from. And I surely don’t have to convince you of this reality of suffering—all you need to do is talk a walk in your neighborhood, drive through the streets of your city, turn on your television, or look in the mirror. Indeed, you do not need to look hard or far to find suffering in this world or in your own life.
And since this is such a real and constast presence in our lives, we want to understand it. Great thinkers, philosophers, theologians, writers, poets, mothers wiping dirt-stained tears off their child’s face—all have grappled with the cause, meaning, or explanation of suffering because maybe then suffering could be contained or avoided all together. Why do we suffer? It’s a question for the ages.
In a sermon during his tenure as Minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached a sermon on the human condition.
There is something wrong with human nature, something basically and fundamentally wrong. A recognition of this fact stands as one of the basic assumptions of our Christian faith… Wherever we discover life, somehow we discover this gone-wrongness. Wherever there is a struggle for goodness, we discover, on the other hand, a powerful antagonism, something demonic, something that seems to bring our loveliest qualifies to evil and our greatest endeavors to failure. Theologians have referred to this over the years as “sin.” That is something that stands at the core of life, this element of sin. And whenever we think about man we must think of this tragic fact-that man is a sinner.[1]
We are sinners. All of us. Sin is the core problem in our lives and the core cause of our sufferings. Sin—inwardly or outwardly. Sin—individually, communally, systemically. Sin is our problem.
We don’t much like that word, “sin” though. It’s accusatory and harsh and so, we as a church, as a culture, as individuals—have devised ways to skirt around the issue. We’ve evolved as a people. We know better now. We’ve softened the language and psychologized the theology so we don’t feel so “bad” about sin. We’re so progressive. We’re so well-intentioned. We’re so “woke” that sin isn’t really a problem for us anymore. Maybe sin still exists metaphorically, or maybe sin exists for “those” people, but certainly not for me, right?...The greatest sinner is the one who denies the existence of sin within themselves.
If we peel back the protective layers of denial and expose the truth in ourselves—our thoughts, words, deeds, jerk reactions, racing thoughts, actions or inactions, our hatred or indifference of injustice towards marginalized people, our participation in the perpetual destruction of the Earth and its resources, the self-loathing that permeates every fiber of our being. When we peel back the layers, the truth about us is exposed: We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.
Sin is real. Sin leads to suffering.
And if this were the end, what a bleak and depressing reality that would be. If this were the only truth how could we ever have the strength to face another day, another moment, another breath in this life?
But, my dear Brothers and Sisters, this is not the end. We are not abandoned and left alone to succumb in our sin-sick state. For you see, Brothers and Sisters, we have a Savior. A Savior named Jesus the Christ, who, while we were still sinners, claimed us as Beloved, and died on a cross to rescue us from our sinful selves.
The Apostle writes, “God proves God’s love for us in this: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8).
This is the reality and truth that we cling to. And it is because of this reality and this truth—that Christ died for us sinners—because of this that the Apostle Paul proclaims that we can boast in our suffering. And it is because of this truth and reality that Martin Luther wrote, “God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong [or sin boldly], but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.”[2] Sin boldly. Boast in suffering. What odd concepts!
We boast in our suffering, not because we have to “smile through the pain” or as some sort of masochistic act. We boast in our suffering because God USES our suffering for good. Boast in our suffering because “suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope and hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5:3-5).
God knows your suffering. Jesus Christ knew suffering and God used his suffering on the cross to reclaim us and save us from our sinful selves. God does not promise to spare us from suffering, but God promises to walk with us as we go through it. God promises to use our suffering and indeed all of our experiences for God’s good in the world. God uses our suffering so that we, filled with the oomph of the Holy Spirit can be the hands and feet of God for the world and our neighbors in need.
Suffering is real. But so are God’s promises. The promise to give to the faith, courage, mercy and hope to endure whatever you face on your journey. The promise to be with your from your first breath until you last, from this day until the end of days. The promise of resurrection into New Life.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.
May God bless you with discomfort,
At easy answers, half-truths,
And superficial relationships
So that you may live
Deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression,
And exploitation of people,
So that you may work for
Justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears,
To shed for those who suffer pain,
Rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand
To comfort them and
To turn their pain to joy
And may God bless you
With enough foolishness
To believe that you can
Make a difference in the world,
So that you can do
What others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness
To all our children and the poor.
Amen.
--Sr. Ruth Marlene Fox
[1] The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., Sermon. “Man’s Sin and God’s Grace.” Montgomery, Alabama. 1954-1960. http://okra.stanford.edu/transcription/document_images/Vol06Scans/1954-1960Man'sSinandGod'sGrace.pdf
[2]Martin Luther. “Let Your Sins Be Strong: A Letter From Luther to Melanchthon” Letter no. 99, 1 August 1521, From the Wartburg. LW Vol. 15:2585-2590.