Mark Dohle
Well-Known Member
The weight of suffering and injustice
I meet men and women here in the retreat house from time to time whose connection with the suffering of others is extreme and very hard to bear. They seem to be plugged into the pain of the world and it causes them a great deal of inner distress. When they speak to me about this, I feel powerless and it makes me understand how little I can actually do for others, but just listen. Faith does not take away from the realities of life, but can perhaps give courage not to succumb to bitterness and despair.
One man was so torn up over the problem of suffering and why God did not intervene more in protecting us from the tragedies of life, that all I could say, was that “mankind has not figured this out no matter how much this has been studied, thought about and prayed over, I doubt that you will either. There are issues in this life we have to live with, the tension that comes from believing in a loving God, in an often unloving world filled with cruelty, greed, and injustice. Not to mention the suffering often caused by nature and disease”. I said this not to really do anything for the poor man, but to let him know that I don’t have an answer that will satisfy his rational mind.
I told one guest that it is important to make an act of trust in God. She reacted in an angry manner and told me that was impossible. So I said, well as long as you tell yourself that, it will be. The Christian faith can give a hold on this problem, but not one that figures it all out. When Christ suffered and died, he was filled with fear and anguish and with deep sorrow over the betrayal and abandonment of his followers. Yet he went through it. On the Cross, he recited Psalm 22.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
It starts off as an appeal to a God ‘is’ silent. I do think that this is the experience of all of mankind on a personal level for each, at least once in their lives. When ill, dying, or going through deep pain on a physical, emotional and spiritual level, this is often the unconscious prayer expressed in many ways. I believe that Christ carried all of the angst of mankind on the cross. The nature of love is to share the suffering of the beloved. So to say that God is Love is not some sentimental nonsense, but a love stronger than death, pain, despair, and abandonment seemingly by God. Yet Psalm 22 ends in hope. So trust in the midst of deep suffering and even in the midst of darkness is possible, it is an assent of the will, the heart will follow.
People who are affected by the suffering of the world need our support and prayers and deep patience. In fact, I would think most of us feel that way more than we let on. In prayer, we can get an insight, but it is of a different nature than a philosophical or scientific approach.
Being childlike is not an easy road to walk down because bitterness, anger, and fear can eat away at our trust in life’s process. It is easier to allow the darkness to swallow us than to die to self and trust in the love and light of God’s love. Perhaps when Paul stated that he taught “Christ Crucified” is his way of expressing that reality of “God with us”.
Understanding
We will not always understand,
all we can do is to take one step at a time,
each day a new beginning even when weighed down
by injustice, pain, and fear.
To trust is an act of the will,
from a deep place often hidden until pain comes
and we are brought to a place of choice,
a death to self that is truly filled with anguish,
but in the end, will lead to joy.
We will not always understand,
all we can do is to take one step at a time,
each day a new beginning even when weighed down
by injustice, pain, and fear.
To trust is an act of the will,
from a deep place often hidden until pain comes
and we are brought to a place of choice,
a death to self that is truly filled with anguish,
but in the end, will lead to joy.
